A bucket list item is a trip to Poland and I’m thrilled we will be going this summer for 8 days. Krakow is on the list and visting Holocaust sites/museums is the top priority.
We enjoy hiking, outdoor activites, and good food and drink. Not interested in nightlife since I’ m ready for bed by 9. 
I’d love to hear your suggestions of what to see or even what to avoid.
Thanks!
This should probably be over in Off Topic. But I loved Krakow! Of course Auschwitz/Birkenau are a must. Very moving. Wawel Castle is good. Also go see the salt mines. Very fascinating. The carvings in the salt walls are fabulous. I also found the food wonderful and very affordable. Have fun!
I went to Krakow a few years ago. The market square is the oldest in Europe and has an interesting underground museum. The Weiliczka salt mine was an interesting tour. A lot of history and the mine itself has some great salt sculptures - just be warned, the descent is rough 700 stairs…which did NOT agree with my brother’s knees.
Nova Hutta is not far from Krakow and while there is no “tourism” per se there, it was designed and built as the perfect communist town. The main business at the time was a steel mill…except the raw materials had to be shipped in from a distance and there was no real demand for steel in the area so the final product was shipped out a distance and the entire venture operated at a loss.
Wawel castle is an interesting landmark. We went on a self guided tour and listened to a recording of the history while walking around. I got to see the place were the lore of the Wawel dragon came from - I had coloring book about it when I was little.
There is also the Jewish Ghetto where this a memorial to the Jews who lost their life there.
There is also an old Gestapo headquarters/holding cell. It is off the beaten path a bit and I can’t remember the name right now.
If you have a car, there is a little town about an hour away with a memorial to my Uncle, along with a church that’s over 1000 years old and an interesting little chapel and cemetary (if your into that sort of thing). If you stop by, say HI to my uncle - some of his ashes are still there due to red tape - they are hanging basically in storage.
The main cemetary in Krakow also has a section for the Russian soldiers that died there during the soviet occupation, along with a monument. Also, my family plot, where my grandma, great grandma, great grandpa, and other uncle are buried.
Thank you both! We will have a car so we can explore more than just Krakow, but that is top of the list.
@Ajierene, I would be honored to say hi to your uncle and pay my respects.
My maternal grandparents are from Poland so I plan to query family members for details in the hopes of being able to at least visit their hometown.
Hope you have a fabulous trip! For horse related stuff in Poland, I would like someday to visit the Janow Podlaski state stud ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfBQ3eYQlwM I think its on the other end of Poland from Krakow though…) and go to the giant medieval Battle of Grunwald reenactment that happens every July.
My husband and I were in Krakow in 2015. His parents were Polish and I think his one grandfather was from Krakow. We took a day tour out to Zakopana, which is a big ski area in winter, but we were there in June. The tour took us to the top of the hill where there are some neat wood houses and we rode the cable car down into Zakopana, but on the way to there, we stopped in Chocholow where all the houses were made of wood ( I know a lot of buildings are wood). The carvings and workmanship of the houses were incredible. We had about 1/2 hour to walk around, we could have spent most of the day there. My husband years ago had been working in Germany and one weekend took the train to Krakow. He always told me if we ever got there, he would take me for a carriage ride that originates in the main square, so did that too. We also did the salt mines, but did not do any of the camps, as he heard enough of the stories of his parents experiences thru the war being in Siberia etc.
Hope you have a great trip.
I’ve been to Krakow twice and it’s probably my favorite place on earth!
-If you haven’t booked a place, stay in Kazimierz. It is the old Jewish Quarter and has beautiful architecture, is very walkable - including to the main square/old city - and has great food. Plac Nowy is the square in that neighborhood and has great street food (have a zapiekanka from the rotunda in the middle of the square, and some sausage or a kebab from the stands on the edges) and a different market every morning. (Friday AM from 6 to 8 there is a pigeon market!)
-I have basically never had a bad meal in Krakow and the dollar is so strong that you can really eat like a king if you like. Favorites include: Kuchnia u Doroty for classic Polish food, Nolio for amazing Italian (I have been known to eat here twice in a week), Zenit for really any meal, Ranny Ptaszek for brunch.
-Alchemia in Plac Nowy is my favorite bar in Krakow. Everyone smokes inside, though. Propaganda is also pretty funny, lots of socialist memorabilia.
-If you can see something there or just poke your head into the opera house (Teatr im Juliusza Slowackiego), do so. It’s astoundingly beautiful. The Krakow orchestra is world-class if they happen to be performing while you’re in town.
-Salt mine is very cool. An entire city underground.
-For a hiking day trip, journey to Morskie Oko in the Tatras. Known as one of the most beautiful lakes on earth, tucked up in the mountains. It’s about a 9km hike but no problem if you’re fit. Go EARLY - we ended up hiking down in the dark, which would have been scary if there weren’t like, six German families doing the same thing. If you’re wiped, you can hike up and then ride back down in a horse-drawn carriage!
-One of Poland’s best national parks, Ojcow, is right outside Krakow. Never been but it’s supposed to be beautiful.
Have a great time!
Thank you all for the great insight!
So much to see, and eat!
Zakopane, it’s a few hours from Krakow. Good hiking in summer, skiing in winter though its been ages since I was there
I really enjoyed Poland! If you go to Warsaw, the Warsaw Rising Museum was great and informative. There are also remnants of the ghetto wall in places in Warsaw which are worth seeing. We also ate at a “milk bar”, which is a communist era cafeteria restaurant, a really neat experience and the food was pretty good! If you don’t speak Polish, you can use the google translate app to translate the menu.
In Krakow, you already mentioned Aushwitz which would be my top recommendation. Just walking around the historical square is awesome too. Unfortunately Warsaw was destroyed by the Germans so their “historic” old town is a recreation while Krakow’s is the real deal.
I’ll be the outlier and say do not go to the salt mine. I thought it was terrible, like a bad bad Disney-fied but poorly done experience and you are trapped in it and can’t even get out if you wanted. I expected history and a real working mine, I got tacky salt art, no meaningful history, and bad tour guides. I have a pretty high tolerance for cheesy tourist things and this I sincerely regretted wasting my time on.
Eat pierogis!!
Have fun - I loved Poland and I hadn’t expected to (was there for work).
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