Krakow - Poland

[Milly Molly]

I am planning to take my husband to Krakow for his 50th birthday - travelling February 2007. Can you recommend a cheap and cheerful hotel to stay for approximately 4 nights. Also any must visit/places to eat out would be most helpful. During out stay we will be visiting Oswiecim (Auschwitz) and I hope to do this via the train; if anyone has done this it would be helpful to know how best to use our time what to see and what to leave out! Thanking you for your help...

[Buenchico]

Sorry, I've no personal experience but the Hotel Batory looks quite good to me.

They're offering en-suite double rooms, in February, at �16.05 per person per night, including a buffet breakfast.

I found that hotel on this website:
http://www.hostelworld.com/
Don't be put off the word 'hostel' in the title of that site. It's excellent for finding cheap (but good) hotels. Use 'Advanced search options' and tick the boxes for 'Budget hotels' and 'Guesthouses'

Chris

PS: The official tourism website for Krakow is here:
http://www.krakow.pl/en/turystyka/

[mushroom25]

have only stayed in Krakow on business; the hotel our hosts recommended, whilst very nice (Pod Roza, Florianska) is probably not in the cheap & cheerful range & I didn't get much of a chance to look around. But you should eat at one of the garden cafes surrounding Rynek Glowny, or snack from one or more of the food stalls at the northern end of the square. Then follow that with a visit to one of the many "jazz cellars" for an evening of live entertainment.

[jno]

we stayed in the Radisson, which is probably not what you're looking for but is 5 minutes' walk from the middle of town and very handy. Don't eat at Oscar's on the main square - diabolical cold lasagne and a beer delivery truck parked next to us blocking our view for the whole meal! But there are lots of good cheap places in the nearby streets, with a range of cuisines.
Should still be chilly in Feb, dress warm.

[jno]

PS just strolling streets is excellent. The old part of town from Florianska gate down to the Rynek Glowny then down the royal route to the castle, stopping for several churches; also out to the Jewish area along the river. All survived the war, and then communism, pretty much untouched. There's also a gallery - forget its name - with a Leonardo, Lady with ermine, well worth a visit.

[nat_84]

my mum and her friends (all early 50s) just got back from Krakow - she showed me the pictures last night and said it was a brilliant place to visit.

the photos looked beuatiful and she recommended going down to the salt mines.

[Nemesis9]

Hi Milly
I was in Krakow at the end of January this year, I'm not sure my choice of hotel fits your criteria, but in my opinion the Wentzl is worth the bit extra.

http://www.wentzl.pl/english/index.html

Reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g27477 2-d276796-Reviews-Wentzl_Hotel-Krakow_Southern _Poland.html

I would advise against the train to Auschwitz.. The weather at this time of year can typically drop to -30 (as it did during my visit), even while wearing well insulated clothing it is inadvisable (and painful) to remain outdoors for long, and this would be the case, as the walk from the Oswiecim to the two sites is much further than you might anticipate, and taxis are not always available.
The slightly pricier (but more humane) option is to arrange a private car and driver from your hotel. Typically around �60 for the day.
Please feel free to ask any follow up questions
Regards
Nemesis

[jno]

yes - I went to Auschwitz in winter, the temperature suddenly plummeted and it got very cold.

There are also plenty of local operators doing coach trips; there'll be leaflets at your hotel, I should think.

I forgot to mention the mines, but they're very good and fairly close to town. Temperature underground is cool but constant whatever the weather upstairs.

[Nemesis9]

Personally, I was put off the coach tours after reading reviews on the Tripadvisor and Virtual tourist websites.
The consensus seemed to be that they were hastily shown round without the opportunity to spend time, or 'quietly' reflect on the things they saw.

Entrance to the two sites is free and the guide book is only a few pence, far better to go at your own pace.
You can engage a guide if you want to, but everything is in English so it's not really necessary.

http://www.auschwitz.org.pl/html/eng/start/ind ex.php

It's a very personal and harrowing experience for most people (regardless of faith), there were four in our party and we didn't exchange more than a couple of words for several hours. For me, It would have almost been disrespectful not to have witnessed the sights at my own pace, and I couldn't have done that as part of a large (and by definition, a fairly noisy) group.

[Milly Molly]

Hi this is Milly Molly - just a big thank you to all the kind people who took the time to answer my queries on Krakow on 21.08.06. There has been plently of inforamtion to give me food for thought and I will definitely re-think using the train in February to visit Oswiecim (Auschwitz).