Krakow has always been one of the European cities I’ve most wanted to visit. I’d seen videos and photos about the city and its’ many things to do, so my boyfriend and I headed there in August for a mini city break.

I have to say, Krakow is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to. There is a gorgeous main square that is still lined with historic buildings, plus many tourist attractions that you can visit. Not to mention that everything is dirt cheap.

Here’s what I got up to during my five days in Krakow:

Main Square

Once we’d arrived in Krakow, our first activity was of course, to explore the city. What better way to do that than walk around for hours getting lost?

The main square was actually one of my favourite things about Krakow. As I mentioned earlier, the buildings are historic and the architecture is stunning. The streets are narrow and easy to lose yourself in. However, one thing did shock me about the streets and that was the pavements. I couldn’t count the amount of times I fell down them from staring too much!

Churches

We took what seemed like a golf-cart tour around the city – purely because there was such a large area to cover and it would’ve been painful to walk on foot. Plus, we also wanted to learn more about the city from somebody who lived there, which was why I’d definitely recommend speaking to a tour guide if you visit Krakow.

This city is very religious. There are churches and synagogues almost everywhere you look, and there was no shortage of religious buildings on the tours.

Food

Without a doubt, Polish food coming straight from Krakow itself is one of my favourite foods of all time. Whilst I’m visiting a country, I challenge myself to try to local delicacies. This time, it was pierogi (ravioli-like pasta shells stuffed with meat) and zapienkanka, which I still dream about to this day.

If you’re planning on visiting Krakow, I’d also recommend stopping by the Chimney Cake Bakery, which makes those amazing ‘chimney cakes’. They’re basically rolls of cake, stuffed with nutella, ice cream and all the other goodness that is probably really bad for you.

Activities

As before mentioned, there’s no shortage of things to do in Krakow. We had chance to visit two of the most popular: Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mines.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

I was a huge history buff at school and I distinctly remember a survivor of the Auschwitz camp come into my school to give a talk about the devastation. Since then, it’s always been on my list of places to visit.

You get to walk around the two camps (which are huge!), and learn more about the history of the war. However, it is a huge walk and can be difficult in the sun as there is barely any shade, so wear comfortable shoes!

The camp is split into two, and you get a mini-bus between the two camps. If you’re thinking about visiting Auschwitz, I’d definitely recommend doing it – but make sure that you pre-book as the waiting queue can be extremely long!

Wieliczka Salt Mine

When we arrived in Krakow and received the city information booklet given to us by the hotel, we noticed the Wieliczka Salt Mines and knew that we had to visit.

Essentially a giant underground system of mines where workers collected salt, the Wieliczka site still has some gorgeous features that have been kept, along with machinery that was actually used to collect the salt.

One of the best (and most surprising) things about the salt mine was the gorgeous hall in the middle of the caves. It is now used to hold balls, wedding ceremonies and even concerts thanks to the great acoustics, and really is a shock when you find your way from small, narrow and winding cave tunnels to such a gorgeous, open space.

One more thing to remember – wrap up… If you’re going to be 327m into the ground, it’ll get very cold!

Where is your favourite European city break? We’re always on the look out to visit more!