Krakow

What to see in Krakow

The most visited city in Poland is Krakow, and for a series of excellent reasons. First of all, it is a university city, crowded with students from all over the world, and therefore very lively. Furthermore, it has an elegant historic center, a series of interesting monuments and a pleasant riverfront: the Vistula, which crosses the city, is one of the longest rivers in Europe.

A trip to Krakow definitely includes its castle. Of the Wavel, in addition to admiring its grandeur from the outside, you can also visit the interior, which bears witness to the presence of Poland before the capital moved to Warsaw. For history enthusiasts there is also a medieval harmonia.

As you notice from the photos, the long-visa meadows are a great place to spend sunny days, as they do the many students of Krakow. The Polish climate is certainly not like the Mediterranean one, but the beautiful days are not rare and in spring the colors of parks and gardens are very lively.

The heart of the old city is not the castle but Rynek Glowny, the wide medieval square, surrounded by elegant palaces and with an important story.

Among the various historic buildings of the Aristocracy and the high Polish bourgeoisie, in Piazza del Mercato also rises the church of Santa Maria, with the asymmetric bell towers.

The lively square also hosts the famous Tissue Palace, in the cafeteria of which the great people of the twentieth century sat, including Lenin and the Nazi hierarchs (large in the sense of "historically important", without positive connotations!). In short, in a vacation in Krakow Rynek Glowny is a bit the starting point ... for some time.

However, the most beautiful thing to do in a trip to Krakow is though wandering around its historic center, or be a maistic with the local name. There are lots of interesting streets, Gothic churches, beautiful buildings, as well as local to drink beer and eating.

Other important buildings in Krakow are the Basilica of San Francesco, the Town Hall Tower, from which to see the beautiful view of the city, and the Collegium Maius, where they studied Copernicus and the future Pope John Paul II. In addition, a trip to this splendid Polish city will take you to discover the largest city park in Europe, the gigantic Planty.

What to see outside Krakow

On a vacation in Krakow, there are typically two export trips to make: the first is that at the salt mines of Wieliczka, the second is the one at Auschwitz. Both destinations are a few kilometers from the city and have a great historical value.

If you have to choose one of the two trips, I absolutely recommend going to see the salt mines of Wieliczka, because they are really spectacular ... while Auschwitz is obviously a sad place that I think has little to do with tourism, and I find the selfie Smiling under the sign "The work makes free" of bad taste.
The salt mines are an incredible set of underground tunnels and large caves, with such large spaces to surprise (and so for luck thanks do not give a sense of claustrophobia).

The most surprising place of Wieliczka's salt mines is the chapel of Santa Kinga, an underground church where everything is carved in the salt ... really amazing, alone is worth the journey!

Apparently the salt holds for centuries (the mine was operational from 1200 to 1900s!), So I would say that you can venture to Wieliczka in peace!

In short, in Krakow there is so much to see, goal Perfect for a holiday a few days in all seasons but, in particular, in spring, when the parks are colorful, and in winter if you want to have the chance to see her snowy (but cover yourself well!). Good trip !!
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