Sunday, May 3, 2009

Cracking Krakow: Poland's Party Town


Although only the third largest city in Poland, I have to say that Krakow was for me, by far the best place we visited - and one of my favourite cities in Eastern Europe. The city has it all: a beautiful old town square with a superb market, great nightlife, friendly and fun people, and in summer at least some very nice sunshine and temperatures into the mid 30s. It is also still relatively cheap once there - in spite of large price increases in the last few years due to the growth in tourism in the region. Heading just out of town there are still places where we managed to grab a 1 litre stein of beer for around £1. Prices are a little higher in the square but still very reasonable in both the bars and restaurants which can be found in abundance in this area. There are also great places to visit nearby such as the salt mines with its huge underground cathedral decorated with ornate salt carvings. You can also take a very inexpensive guide to the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz which is not far from the city. I personally found this to be a very humbling and often distressing experience and it is certainly not for the faint hearted or young children. If you are backpacking as I was when I last visited and are looking for a great hostel I would suggest the NEW (as their are 2 hostels of the same name!) "Goodbye Lenin: Lets Rock" Hostel situated around 3 minutes from the old town square. An excellent hostel with great facilities and staff is yours for around 12 quid a night including breakfast - a very reasonable rate!

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