Its beauty is beyond question, but for many foreigners and visitors alike, Kraków ’s tourist takeover has made it a no-go zone, not least in summer when stag groups and backpackers battle for numerical superiority: a Polish accent heard on the spectacular Rynek isn’t a rarity, it’s a miracle. Or so that was the case. The post-lockdown reality has sent the city’s visitor figures into a tailspin meaning that a visit now isn’t just recommended – it’s essential.

Bed & Board

There are times you suspect that Kraków has more hotels than the rest of the world put together: frankly, the choice is immense and covers every angle. With Covid-19 keeping the usual waves of tourists at bay, it’s become a buyer’s market with deals easily found. For something truly special, the Hotel Stary deceives with a low-key façade only to reveal itself as the very image of chic sophistication. Decorated with frescoes and friezes from the 15th century, the juxtaposition between old and new becomes even sharper in the spa and swimming pool found in the vaulted, basement cellars. For wallets that are a little lighter, the new Puro Kazimierz is a chic, design-forward spot that’s become an ambassador of sorts for the trendiest hotel group in the country.

Sightseeing Essentials

Usually, given the crowds they attract, you’d be advised to save Wawel Royal Castle & Cathedral for a quieter off-peak time – but guess what, the whole city is currently off-peak. The ancient home of Poland’s monarchs, this magisterial complex is as spellbinding inside as it is out. Having chalked off the Old Town, visitors gravitate towards Kazimierz, the atmospheric former Jewish district which was at the center of the city’s post-communist creative resurgence. Riddled with independent galleries, antique stores and cafes, it represents the very essence of Kraków ’s arty soul. Illuminated at night to showstopping effect, the Father Bernatek Footbridge connects Kazimierz to Podgórze, an upcoming area that’s best-known as the one-time home of the Jewish Ghetto. Here, life under the Nazis is remembered at the Pharmacy Under the Eagle and the Schindler Factory – if the former is something of an old school tourist experience, the latter is an immersive multimedia museum that lays bare the cruelties visited upon the city by the occupying Nazi Germans.

The Art Front

There’s said to be around 2.5 million works of art in the city, with the most famous found in the Czartoryski Museum: with only five other cities in the world touting their own Leonardo da Vinci, it’s no surprise to learn that the museum’s Lady with an Ermine is regarded as one Kraków ’s biggest boasts. A complete departure from traditional forms, MOCAK is by far the most captivating contemporary gallery in the country: even those with an aversion to art are thrilled by its utterly madcap exhibitions.

Blast To The Past

Built on the instruction of Stalin, Nowa Huta became one of only two cities in the world constructed entirely from scratch. Using the socialist realist style sanctioned at the time, the results were more dystopian than utopian. Now absorbed into Kraków, a walk through its colonnaded boulevards teleports you to the times Big Brother meant something even worse than reality TV. At its heart, the Nowa Huta Museum does a cracking job of capturing the paranoia of the time by presenting relics of the age within a network of nuclear proof basements.

Hey Big Spender

If you’re a bookworm, it’s worth heading to Kraków for no other reason than to browse the shelves of Massolit, an English-language bookstore whose shelves creak under the weight of over 20,000 news and used tomes. For upscale fashion, Kraków ’s version of Vitkac is Pasaż 13 (it’s owned by the same family, in fact), a stunning department store set in a restored tenement featuring uncovered frescoes and excavated finds. As for something alcoholic? Head to Szambelan, an enchanting little shop selling homemade elixirs inside a space that looks like Dumbledore’s workshop.

The Food Front

The Old Town is still heavily mined with restaurants aimed with one-time visitors in mind, but there are diamonds in the rough: for example, the Irish-run Milkbar Tomasza which serves hearty, budget Polish classics (and a British breakfast to be reckoned with!) with ingredients sourced daily from the local farmers’ market. Elsewhere, Kazimierz has a wealth of neo-hipster inspired spots such as Zazie Bistro and Zenit Miodowa 19, not to mention the city’s first Michelin-starred restaurant, Bottiglieria 1881. Serving modern Polish cuisine, it warrants the plaudits. 

At Night

Despite its ongoing gentrification, the former Jewish district of Kazimierz is honeycombed with great evening options. Some are superior to others, and while Singer, Eszeweria and Alchemia have been well and truly outed by the guidebooks, they retain a creaky, cobwebbed charisma that’s representative of the area’s Bohemian heyday. A riverfront legend, Forum Przestrzenie is noted for long summer parties and a quirky location inside an abandoned Soviet-era hotel, while the inter-war styled speakeasy known as Mercy Brown frequently features in polls that rank the country’s best cocktails.

Where Is Everyone?

Tytano. Housed in a derelict cigar factory complex, find amaze of bars, restaurants, clubs and hangouts that operate way into the night. Hallmarked by its good-natured pandemonium, let an evening here include a trip to Veganic for fab vegan dishes, craft beer at the 25-tap Weźże Krafta and cocktails at Lastriko – but that’s the tip of the iceberg. Seeing is believing, the place is simply the heart and soul of modern Kraków.