This is a special trip because we did it not only with our children but also with our grandparents.
A trip to a beautiful town, full of things to see, fascinating and moving history, monuments, museums, legends and beer.
With a Ryanair flight we leave from Forlì towards Katowice. As soon as we leave the airport we get on a van (€15 per person) that will take us to the Krakow train station where all the bus lines leave to get wherever you want.
Yes, because there are many local transport options in Krakow and they serve the entire centre and the first ring road very well.
We decided to stay not far from the main market square.
Excellent choice because in the evening we could enjoy the illuminated square and its many restaurants… but we will talk about this later.
The old town is perfectly preserved and is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its heart is called Rynek.
In the square there is the bell tower of the Town Hall (Wieza Ratuszowa) of Krakow. We went up to enjoy the view from above. The tower is tilted by 50 cm and is 70 meters high, in its basement there were once ancient dungeons.
The wonderful Basilica of Santa Maria. Gothic church of the 14th century with its towers of different heights, one 69 meters and the other 81 m.
A legend says that two brothers were building them and when the older brother saw that the younger brother was building a tower higher than his, he got angry and killed him and then committed suicide. The knife hangs at the entrance to the cloth market. (Sukiennice)
A market that I recommend you visit especially before leaving because there are so many souvenirs that you can take home.
Every hour a trumpeter plays a melody from the bell tower, but it stops abruptly. This is to remember when, in 1241, when the Tartars attacked Krakow, the guard rang to warn the population but an arrow pierced his neck and he suddenly stopped playing. So at all hours of the day and night this melody resounds, interrupted after a short while.
The city centre is very easy to explore on foot, it is full of little shops and wonderful pastry shops, you have to stop and eat a slice of their giant cakes.
You will be enchanted by its cafes, restaurants, galleries, flower stalls and white carriages pulled by horses and women only.
Walking south you come to Wawel Castle.
The castle is located on the Old Town Hill and can be reached on foot in 10 minutes or by tram (Wawel stop) or by bus (Jubilat stop).
Here you can choose which part to visit. There is the castle with all its rooms, the gardens and the Stanislaus Cathedral. All this is surrounded by the legend of the dragon.
Now I'll tell you:
A long time ago a dragon kept eating the people of Krakow so the king said: “Whoever kills the Dragon will be rewarded with half the kingdom and my daughter as a bride”.
A shoemaker had the idea of filling a sheep with sulfur.
The dragon ate the lamb and the sulfur made him thirsty, very thirsty. He began to drink from the Vistula River, he drank the whole river until he burst.
With children it is great fun to go to the cave where the dragon lives.
At the exit you will find his statue that breathes fire every 5 minutes.
Krakow Castle is a symbolic place for all of Poland, just think that it was here that the sovereigns of the kingdom were crowned.
We went to visit Krakow Cathedral of St. Stanislaus. Built in Gothic style between 1320 and 1364. Here you will find works of art and royal sarcophagi as well as Sigismund's Funeral Chapel with its magnificent golden dome which is considered a masterpiece of Polish Renaissance architecture.
We went up to the bell with the children where you can enjoy a great view and then it is said that if you are looking for your soul mate and you touch the clapper of the bell you will soon find it.
Not to be missed is the Jewish quarter: Kazimierz. It was the center of religious and social life in Jewish Krakow until the Semitic community that lived there was deported to various extermination camps during the Nazi era.
Until a few years ago, the neighborhood was not at all valued, but after the film Schindler's List it became a very lively neighborhood with local artists' shops.
Not to be missed are the facades of the houses on Jozefa Street with their original signs and interior furnishings.
This neighborhood was home to Krakow's Jewish community for 600 years and, before World War II, there were 68,000 of them, about 20% of Krakow's population.
Here you will find various synagogues.
Inside the active one we were lucky enough to attend a ceremony held in the cemetery by a group of Jews. Very touching.
Across the bridge you reach the Podgorge ghetto where the real Krakow ghetto was located. In December 1940, only 16,000 Jews, those considered economically useful, were allowed to remain in 320 buildings.
This meant one apartment for every four families.
In 1942 about two thousand people were shot in the square and the rest were sent to Auschwitz.
Concordia Square is now called Heroes Square where there are 70 chairs each of which commemorates a thousand murdered Jews. Monument donated by director Roman Polanski.
Don't think that children can't understand the story, we think it's very important to tell it to them so that they can grow up and become more aware adults. There are certain horrors that need to be told, obviously with the right words, but it's right that they also know how much man can become a monster.
If you have a few more days I suggest you go see the Auschwitz concentration camp. We will talk about this in another exclusive article.
Only 13 km from Krakow you can see a great spectacle. Beautiful and wonderful are the Wieliczka salt caves where you can also admire the cathedral made entirely of salt. (54m x 12m).
There are buses that take you to these places conveniently from the city center.
Lose yourself in the art of Krakow. We loved the Czartoryski Museum, not only for the thrill of seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” in person, but it is a museum worth seeing in itself. You will also find Rembrandt and Mantegna, as well as many other artists; full of testimonies from various historical periods, a museum that never tires. Perfect for adults and children.
What to eat:
Pierogi are dumplings filled with cheese, meat or other ingredients.
Obvajanek - a typical Krakow bread ring, usually with sesame seeds.
Zapiekanka baguette sandwich with cheese and mushrooms.
Needless to say, beer is one of the best drinks in the world.
I wanted to recommend you a traditional beer house that we found right in front of Wawel Hill.
I leave you the address below: Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa Świętej Gertrudy 26/29
And if you like pierogi then pop into: Pierogarnia Krakowiacy, Szewska 23, a few steps from the Main Square.
It's time to leave again, direction: Katowice because that's where our plane will take off!
Tourism has only recently arrived in Katowice thanks to low-cost flight routes.
Katowice, the capital of Silesia, is a concentration of avant-garde and history; it is one of the most interesting cities to discover in Poland. It is famous for its industrial past and for a fervent artistic and cultural scene.
As a former mining town, Katowice and Upper Silesia have an incredibly complex history of uprisings, plebiscites and an autonomous state within Poland.
In Katowice, nightlife is perhaps the most famous thing, which is why many young people choose it as a travel destination as well as an ERASMUS location for many university students.
Visiting Katowice means entering a city full of Art Nouveau architecture.
We decided to stay right in the center, given the short visit, and we chose: Hornigold Apartments, a wonderful complex 400 meters from the train station and a convenient base to fully enjoy this town.
Walking through the Old Town you will be amazed by the oldest part of the city: Katowice Rynek.
Here are the historical buildings, or at least what remains of them after the demolitions and demolitions of the 1950s. The war and the post-war period were disastrous and undermined the cultural identity of the citizens of Katowice.
Katowice Cathedral is one of the most beautiful monuments in the city. It is a building from the early twentieth century and a very important place of pilgrimage for Poles.
It is a strategic city because it is very close to many interesting destinations: Czestochowa, Ostrava, Wroclaw as well as, of course, our own Krakow.
We hope we've teased you with a new European destination!
Have a good trip and follow us for other adventures!
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