24 Hours In Krakow
Medieval squares, Renaissance buildings, Art Nouveau cafes... It's a city for time travellers
By Mark Rowe
Published: 22 January 2006
1 The softest pillows in town
08.00: The Hotel Copernicus, a gothic mansion under Wawel Hill at Ulica Kanonicza 16 (00 48 12 424 3400; hotel.com.pl), offers some of the most luxurious pillows in town. Notable features include exposed timbers, portals and 14th-century paintings. B&B from £150 per room.
2 Sip coffee, see the sights
09.00: Krakow's Rynek Glowny (Market Square) is the largest medieval plaza in Europe. Admire the façades, sip a coffee, then browse among the stalls. The best sights are the Town Hall Tower and St Mary's Basilica, which has the largest Gothic high altar in Europe.
3 A stroll around the old town
11.00: Time to explore the Stare Miasto (Old Town). Refresh yourself with a coffee at theJama Michalika Café (00 48 124 22 1561) at Ulica Florianska 45 - an Art Nouveau gem. Then amble around Ulica Florianska, lined with medieval and Renaissance buildings, and Ulica Grodzka, notable for churches, the pick of which is the Baroque Church of Saints Peter and Paul.
4 Go to church with the kings
12.00: Ulica Grodzka leads south from Market Square to theWawel Castle and Cathedral. Cathedrals are tethered to the heart and soul of Poland, and this relationship is at its most intense on Wawel Hill (00 48 1 242 25 155; wawel.krakow.pl), the residence, and burial place, of 41 of Poland's 45 monarchs.
5 Find time for a bohemian break
13.30: Head back to Market Square where, just to the west, is the snug, slightly bohemian Chimera (00 48 12 423 2178) restaurant at Ulica Sw Anny 3. Poultry dishes and salads are the staples here. Reckon on around £8 each for a couple of courses and a drink.
6 Discover the Jewish quarter
15.00: It's worth spending a couple of hours wandering around Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter which today is witnessing a cautious revival - with both synagogues and fashionable shops opening in recent years. It's a 20-minute walk from Market Square. Fewer than 5,000 of Krakow's 70,000 pre-war Jews survived the German occupation; memorials to those who died line the passage to the tiny Remu'h Synagogue on Ulica Szeroka.
7 Splash out on caviar
20.00: Polish restaurant reviewers drool over Cyrano de Bergerac (00 48 12 411 72 88; cyranodebergerac.pl) at Slawkowska 26. French cuisine is the dominant feature, though blinis do make an appearance. Dishes include Astrakhan caviar, calf's kidneys and chocolate and walnut fondant. The bill will probably be £30 per person for three courses and drinks.
The writer travelled as a guest of Regent Holidays (0117-921 1711; www.regent-holidays.co.uk), which offers three nights' b&b at the Hotel Copernicus from £385 per person, based on two sharing, including flights
by Independent.co.uk
