Jake and I have just got back from the most beautiful pre-Christmas autumn break in Krakow, Poland, full of incredible food, cosy cafes, day trips to the mountains, and gothic architecture. Truth be told, the price of a pint alone is enough of an excuse to return – and we’re already planning our next trip.
The city, formerly the capital, is steeped in history and there is so much to see and do both in and around the area. From the underground Salt Mines to Auschwitz, axe throwing to thermal spas, we found our trip to be the perfect mix of history, culture and adventure..
I did a lot of researching before our trip, scrolling through endless TikTok videos, reading reviews online and asking followers for their recommendations, but there was still so much we discovered whilst we were actually there, too. If you’re thinking of visiting Krakow (and you absolutely should), here’s everything we did, everywhere we ate – plus tips I wish I’d known beforehand.
Day one
Checking in to Hotel Senacki
We arrived in the Old Town at about 9pm to check into Hotel Senacki. It’s right in the heart of the Old Town and the location honestly couldn’t have been better. We downloaded the Bolt app before we arrived, as it’s apparently cheaper than Uber and local taxi services. Our cab from the airport to the hotel cost less than £8. Krakow is generally a very walkable city, but it was handy to have the app on hand for longer journeys.
The hotel itself is fantastic, with the building having stood since the 13th century. Our room was on the top floor with stunning wooden beams, sky lights and a view of the 17th-century Baroque Church of Saints Peter and Paul.
Pizzatopia
Dinner was a quick dash across the road to Pizzatopia, which was one of the spots on our places to eat. This place popped up on almost every TikTok video about the Krakow food scene, and while much-hyped venues can sometimes be overrated, Pizzatopia didn’t disappoint. A little bit like if Subway did pizza, you basically build your own sourdough pizza including sauce, cheese and toppings. With two drinks, our order was under £17 and was the perfect post-flight bite after a long day of travelling.
Day two
Wieliczka Salt Mines Tour
Wieliczka Salt Mines are extraordinary, with miles of underground tunnels and chapels carved entirely out of salt, with the tourist route reaching a depth of 135 meters. We booked on Get Your Guide (£115 for two), which included a coach picking us up around 9am from a meeting point, and returning us at 1.30pm. We were WhatsApped all of the details the day before, making for a really smooth experience.
The tour was really interesting, learning about the significance of salt mining in Poland’s heritage and the fact we probably only saw less than 2% of the mine is mindblowing. The most breathtaking part has to be St Kinga’s Chapel, an entire room of salt-carved altars, salt crystal chandeliers and religious imagery etched into the walls, primarily completed by three men over the course of nearly 70 years after their shifts in the mines.
Top tip – Wear comfy shoes and layers – it’s around 17°C underground and involves a lot of walking.
Ramen People
Back in Krakow we headed to Ramen People for dinner, and the queue outside told us everything we needed to know. When we joined the line, the wait time was around 30 minutes, and before long, there was a queue of people right down the street all happily waiting in the rain for a table.
The queue moved quickly, as does the service, opting for dumplings, smacked cucumbers and kimchi to start, followed by a bowl of beef rib ramen and chicken karaage set. We hadn’t realised but the latter actually came with cucumber and kimchi so we needn’t have ordered extra, but it didn’t go to waste either.
The food was delicious and the portions were huge, filling us so much we didn’t end up having anything for tea as it fuelled us for the rest of the day. With a glass of wine and a beer, the total bill was around £42. Beyond excursions, meals out were our biggest expense in the city, but it was still all very reasonably priced and considerably cheaper than the UK.
Polonia Wax Museum
Madame Tussauds, eat your heart out. Polonia Wax Museum is so hilariously bad, it’s good, if not a bit of a rip off. It cost £25 for two tickets, lasted no longer than 15 minutes, but did provide the comedy factor we were looking for.
Inside there are some interesting variety of figures including Kate Middleton and Prince William, Elvis, Bruce Willis, Lionel Messi, The Beatles, Hilary Clinton and more. There’s also a free mirror maze inside to complete the experience.
Honestly, you can take or leave this one. I’d skip it if you’re on a tight budget, but if you need a laugh and you’re nearby, at least you can say you’ve been to the so-called ‘World’s Worst Wax Museum’.
Mr Black’s Bar
I love a secret bar and will always try to seek one out in whatever city I visit. While there are no passwords to enter Mr Black’s, the hidden bar is tricky to find (look out for the yellow neon sign). Heading into the building and up two flights of stairs, you enter the venue through a red velvet curtain.
The bar has a tarot-inspired menu with descriptions of the unique drinks printed on the back of a deck, including The Lovers, The Devil and more. I had The Hanged Man (with notes of burned butter and salted caramel) and The High Priestess (a non-creamy take on a pina colada), while Jake tried fruitier options like The Sun and Wheel of Fortune. Some of the combinations are quite unusual and I guarantee you won’t find another tipple like them in the city, or anywhere else for that matter. All of them are beautifully mixed and garnished, with a speakeasy atmosphere and very friendly staff, though prices are a little higher, coming in around £10 per drink.
Day 3
Zakopane Day Trip
This day trip ended up being my favourite day of the whole trip. We booked the Zakopane tour for £139 for two and were collected by Michael – hands-down one of the best guides we’ve ever had – from around the corner from our hotel at 9am. On the tour, Michael told us all about the highlanders and gave us recommendations not just for Zakopane but for all of Krakow, which was really above and beyond.
Traditional Wooden Village & Shepherd’s Hut
The first stop on our tour was Chocholow, also known as the ‘wooden village’, famed for its unique, perfectly preserved homes made entirely of timber. Just down the road, we stopped at a traditional shepherd’s hut where we tried smoked sheep’s cheese (very similar to halloumi), and some cherry vodka – a very Polish and very warming combo.
Funicular to Gubałówka Hill and Tobogganing
After reaching Zakopane, we took the funicular up the mountain, which gives panoramic views from the top of Gubałówka Hill. On the way up, we spotted a toboggan track and obviously had to try it for £3 per person – it’s something both of us had always wanted to do and it was truly brilliant racing down the hill. Plus it’s so inexpensive, it’s absolutely worth a couple of goes.
Back at the top, we warmed back up with a coffee and cherry mulled wine overlooking the mountains before returning down the hill in the cable car to explore more of Zakopane.
Owczarnia
After a potter around the town, we stopped off at traditional Polish restaurant Owczarnia, as recommended by our guide, Michael, for its grilled meats. The wooden venue served up a range of hearty, mountain dishes at reasonable prices. I had beef goulash while Jake had chicken, both of which were hearty and warming. With drinks, our bill came to £37.
Upside Down House
After lunch we visited the Upside Down House, although I’d probably give this one a miss. It took four minutes, was a bit headache-inducing, and we were the only ones inside. I’d say the Museum of Illusions in Krakow would probably be a better shout for a longer and more photo-worthy experience, though we didn’t personally visit.
Chocholow Thermal Spa
We finished our excursion with 1.5 blissful hours at Chocholow Thermal Spa. Situated at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains, it boasts over 30 pools with mineral-rich water sourced from underground hot springs. We stuck to level -1 which is an adult-only area with indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, salt and steam rooms, as well as a swim-up bar. After completing more than 20,000 steps in 48 hours, it was the ultimate way to unwind.
All of this was included in the Zakopane Day Trip price, but we could have paid extra to have treatments or access to even more areas of the four-story building, but we found that level -1 had plenty of facilities and wasn’t too crowded, either.
Top tip: Take flip flops (we had to buy sandals at the Shephard’s Hut earlier in the day). You can rent towels at the spa for around £2 per person.
Trattoria Mamma Mia
Back in Krakow for 7.30pm, we had pondered over three Italian restaurants but Michael assured us that Mamma Mia was the best. Just outside of the Old Town, with low lighting and authentic flavours, it’s a favourite among locals and tourists alike, so booking is recommended but we managed to get a table without.
Having already had pizza at Pizzatopia earlier in the week, I opted for the carbonara, which was cooked al dente, with a creamy sauce and cured meat pieces. Jake had the grilled beef loin, cooked medium rare, which was presented beautifully with rosemary potatoes and spinach. With drinks and a side of garlic bread (a whole 12” pizza of it), the total amounted to less than £45.
Cosmic Games Bar
Not quite ready to head home, we visited Cosmic Games Bar just a short walk away. Here, £5 per person gets you unlimited access to all of the bars games, including shuffleboard, air hockey, foosball and more, with a bar so you can drink while you play. If it’s busy, you may have to wait a little to get on some of the games, but generally we were always able to find something to have a turn on, with around nine or ten different stations, plus a big ball pit.
Day 4
Gossip Café
Our free hotel breakfast was pleasant enough, but we were looking to eat slightly later and were seeking something a little different, so decided to try TripAdvisor’s number one rated breakfast spot in Krakow since 2012 – Gossip Cafe.
This lovely, independent venue definitely gives off Manchester Northern Quarter vibes, and their bacon bagels were phenomenal, loaded with bacon, cheese, egg, red onion, lettuce, tomato and oddly, BBQ Sauce – sounds strange but don’t knock it before you try it.
Exploring Old Town
We spent some time exploring the Old Town and the main square, passing through the historic Cloth Hall and climbing the Town Hall Tower for some brilliant views of the city. We stopped at Bulldog Bar for a beer and a hot chocolate and got to listen to the hourly Bugle call. Every hour from St Mary’s Basilica tower, a trumpeter plays a short tune which breaks mid-note to commemorate a guard who warned of a Mongol attack and was killed before finishing the call.
Auschwitz–Birkenau
This was one of the most emotionally heavy parts of the trip. We booked free entry tickets online in advance to beat the queues, but in hindsight we wish we’d have done a guided tour on Get Your Guide. Individuals can only visit after 2pm, and in November, the museums close at 4.30pm so we did feel a bit rushed. Plus, the site is vast, and context from the experts would’ve made for an even more detailed experience. We hoped the free tickets would have saved us some money, but Bolt’s to and from Auschwitz cost £50 each way, so it would have been similarly priced either way.
Auschwitz I features a series of museums inside each block, with harrowing details of the Holocaust. While I studied much about WW2 at school, there is nothing that will really tell the story like Auschwitz itself, from seeing the ‘death wall’ and the tributes laid before it, to stepping inside the crematorium where so many lost their lives.
We took a short shuttle over to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, which is enormous in comparison. Seeing the train tracks that enter the site is unbelievably sobering, as are the gas chambers, partially demolished by the SS in an attempt to cover up evidence of the mass killings. Watching the sun set behind the ruins was so poignant, with the entire visit really putting things into perspective.
Café Oranżeria
To round off our day, we visited Café Oranżeria – the sister venue to our hotel. The rooftop restaurant offers phenomenal views of the city, including Wawel Castle and the Vistula River. We got 10% off through our hotel and the food was excellent. We both ordered the bacon and camembert burger which Jake declared as the best he’s ever had, which is pretty high praise.
The burger arrived like an actual tower of beef, crispy potato pancake, camembert, bacon, salad and sriracha mayo sauce, topped with three padron peppers. Initially I was a bit gutted it didn’t come with fries (nor were they an option to order as a side), but actually, the dish didn’t need them at all.
After our meal, we stepped outside onto the terrace to admire the views of the city, with fireworks going off in the distance. It really did feel spectacular and still cost less than £50.
Day 5
Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle is huge and we could have spent hours exploring the grounds and buildings, but pressed for time and conscious we wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of our final day, we opted only to do the free tours. These are still ticketed, with time slots and last around 2.5 hours, with an exceptionally helpful audio guide to talk you through each immersive exhibition. The tour gave a fascinating look at Krakow’s legends and royal history, with impressive artifacts, defenses and artwork. We were able to go below the ground and see the original castle walls up close, later admiring the arcaded courtyard and decorated tiles discovered in the vicinity of Wawel Hill. The free exhibitions are surprisingly good and absolutely worth your time, if you don’t want to pay extra.
Butter Cafe
If Butter Cafe were in the UK, I’d be there every day. The sandwiches here are next-level, made with shokupan – a soft Japanese milk bread – toasted and generously stuffed with a variety of fillings. Jake ordered the scrambled egg and bacon, but for me, the winner was the bulgogi beef with carrots and onions topped with spicy mayo and spring onions. Though a little messy to eat, it was undeniably the most comforting bite we had over there and I’ll be thinking about it approximately four times a week for the foreseeable.
St Mary’s Basilica
Situated in Old Town’s Main Square, St Mary’s Basilica is one of the most astonishing examples of gothic interiors I’ve ever seen. It costs around £5 each to enter and you can spend as little, or as long as you like exploring its altars, stained glass windows and painted murals. Sadly, from November to April, the Bugle Tower is closed which I would have loved to have seen, but it’s definitely something we’d book if we were to return for another city break.
Wodka Café Bar
Wodka Cafe Bar has been open for only a couple of years, but has quickly earned a reputation as one of the best spots to try out some Polish vodka. The cafe has a bar full of weird and wonderful flavours, with the option to order a flight of shots from the menu, or build your own, costing £14 for six shots.
We went for the bestseller, featuring two creamy options – salted caramel and chocolate – plus four fruity tipples in cherry, mango, raspberry and blackberry, the latter of which tasted like Ribena. Of all of them, Jake preferred the raspberry and mango shots, but for me, chocolate and cherry were the winning flavours.
Axe Nation
With still a couple of hours to kill before we headed to the airport, we were seeking a bit of adrenaline, so finished the trip with a spot of axe throwing at Axe Nation, which was just across the road from the hotel – really handy as we could grab the cases and book a taxi straight after.
Jake and I have both tried axe throwing before, but our instructor, Lukazs, helpfully gave us a refresher, and even came to check how we were getting on, offering tips to help us get consistently on-target throws. We got 90 minutes of throwing, plus two drinks for £58, but it’s the same price for up to five people, meaning you could pay as little as around £10 per person, then extra for any drinks.
In all, Krakow ended up being everything I’d hoped for and more for our pre-Christmas, pre-house move getaway. The city is rich in history and full of character, with an unexpectedly great and affordable food scene. If you’re considering a trip, let this be your guide to book it.
Here are my top Krakow tips at a glance:
Before you go
- Book Krakow flights
- Book hotel
- Book Salt Mine tour
- Book Zakopane day trip
- Book Auschwitz
- Download Bolt
- Screenshot all booking confirmations
- Pack comfy shoes (lots of walking)
- Pack warm layers
- Bring flip flops + towel for thermal spa
- Get a Monzo card for easy spending. If you want to take some cash, it’s the Polish złoty (card accepted most places)
Top food spots
- Pizzatopia
- Ramen People
- Mamma Mia
- Owczarnia (Zakopane)
- Butter Café
- Gossip Café
- Café Oranżeria
Best bars
- Mr Black’s Bar
- Wodka Café Bar
- Cosmic Games Bar
- Bulldog Bar
Must-do day trips
- Wieliczka Salt Mine
- Auschwitz–Birkenau
- Zakopane + Thermal Spas
Top Sights in Krakow
- Main Square (Rynek Główny)
- St Mary’s Basilica
- Wawel Castle & Cathedral
- Town Hall Tower
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