I’m planning a trip for next spring, starting in Prague, going to Vienna and Budapest, probably staying in a few of the smaller cities along the way. I’d considered a Danube cruise but I don’t think that’s for us.

I’m considering ending the trip in Krakow but am not sure if the effort is worth it as I truly don’t have an inclination to visit Auschwitz or any other holocaust site. Kraków’s Jewish quarter has been described to me as becoming “Disney-fied” so that sounds less and less appealing to me. For those who like Krakow, what do you like about it if we don’t visit the holocaust sites?

We will be flying on Lot Airlines so it’s not hard to return from there. It’s a bit more problematic to get there, though, and I’m wondering whether we should end in Budapest instead.

We enjoyed 3 days in Krakow, last September. We had no inclination for Auschwitz either, but enjoyed our trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine (short train ride away).

Thanks, ANUJ. That’s good to know.

Krakow is one of my favorite places in Europe. My first view of the rynek was jaw-dropping. A tour of Kazimierz does not need to be centered on the Holocaust; We spent three hours touring with a guide and we didn't even get up to the Holocaust, though we did see a cemetery wall made of broken headstones. Polish history happened before the Holocaust.

We did go to Auschwitz.

We spent 5 nights there.

Thanks, shelemm, I was hoping you’d chime in. I know you’ve mentioned loving Krakow and it’s been on my radar for a while. I’m still mulling it over but will look into it more.

BTW, we drove from Vienna into Slovakia and then onto Prague and back to Vienna. So I have been on some of the route you are considering.

Krakow was a separate trip. But I am always recommending to people the tri-city trip of Prague/Krakow/Vienna, even though Krakow is not exactly on the same trajectory. It's worth it.

Budapest is also a definite but the itinerary becomes a bit clunky with flying to Warsaw and then getting (train?) to Krakow. Not a biggie but a bit annoying since there isn’t a nonstop flight between Budapest and Krakow. I’m mulling over a stop in Warsaw but I also know our energy level flags toward the end of a trip and I’d rather keep the number of stops down.

HI Progol,
We love Krakow! We visited about 20 years ago. Took the train from Prague to Krakow. Krakow is a beautiful city and so interesting. We did visit Auschwitz but it is not necessary to do so. There is plenty in Krakow to keep you occupied.

We love the Rynek Glowny, the Cloth Hall, Wawel Castle, and the Weiliczka Salt Mines. There is a very interesting church, too. Forgot the name. (Trumpeter of Krakow fame.) We also enjoyed wandering around the Jewish Quarter, which was not crowded at all 20 years ago. It’s very atmospheric and old world, almost moody. And there is a small art museum; I think it’s located in the Cloth Hall.

When we were there, the Cloth Hall had vendors selling handmade goods made in Poland, such as amber jewelry and wooden items. I still have a beautiful small red box sitting on my mantel.

We also loved the Polish food. I am of Polish descent, so I grew up eating pierogies, golompkis, borscht, cabbage soup and mushroom soup. We didn’t have one bad meal in Krakow.

I hope Krakow fits in with your travel plans.

I visited Krakow about 10 years ago. Certainly the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial, the museum at Oskar Schindler's factory, and other Holocaust and WWII sites are incredibly important and harrowing, but there are many other things to see and do in the city if you prefer to avoid that part of Krakow's history.

It is a beautiful, interesting city. Karen Woo has listed a number of wonderful tourist sites, and she is probably thinking of St. Mary's with its stunning Veit Stoss altar. I would recommend a tour of the Jagiellonian University Collegium Maius as well. I agree that Polish food is (surprisingly?) excellent, and I have no Polish heritage. We also enjoyed Warsaw.

I suspect both cities are far more heavily touristed these days, but what place isn't?

IMO, Krakow is among the most beautiful cities in Europe. Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine is absolutely stunning, the Stoss altarpiece of St. Mary's is amazing, and even the memory of the trumpeter from St. Mary's still sends shivers up my spine.

Loved Kraków. Spent four nights there in 2008. Lots to see (listed below). Link to 2008 trip report at bottom with some photos. (Chapters Seven - Ten)

Rynek Glówny, the largest medieval town square in Europe
Kościół Mariacki’s (St. Mary’s Church)
Brama Floriańska (Florian Gate)
St. Adalbert’s, the oldest church in Kraków
Bazylika Sw. Franciszka (St Francis Basilica), which was John-Paul’s home church when he served as archbishop of Kraków
Wawel Hill
Wawel Cathedral
Smocza Jama (The Dragon’s Den) - monument to Smok Wawelski, whose name sounds like a jazz musician, but is really a famous dragon in Polish folk history.
Boat ride
Archbishop’s Palace
Wyspianski Museum
Muzeum Czartoryskich
Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter)
High Synagogue and the Old Synagogue. We finally did find the Old Cemetery and walked around there for a little while.
Town Hall Tower
Wieliczka Salt Mine

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cen...e-venice-2008/

We spent 5 nights in Krakow in April 2024 and while we did visit Auschwitz, there’s still so much more to the city than the Holocaust. I could easily have filled another 2 days there and wish we could have found some way to fit it in.

St Mary’s is lovely, and the magnificent old town square, one of the largest in Europe. We did two walking tours which included Wawel Castle and hill, the Jewish quarter and synagogues, (though we missed the cemetery), Florian Gate and other sites. We visited a couple of small museums and also attended a concert at one of the churches. Viola, violin and a wind instrument, it was just out of the world. More so since we just happened upon it, we were at the right place and time.

My sister and niece weren’t interested in Auschwitz and took a pierogi making class which they greatly enjoyed.

You are sure to love Krakow, so don’t give it a pass!

As with the others, I recommend including Krakow if you're able to do so. It is one of the more atmospheric cities we've visited - the Old Town, Wawel Castle, etc. The visit to Schindler's Factory was worthwhile, although Auschwitz was less impactful to me than the POLEN museum and the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw.

Logistics-wise, it would make sense for you to start or end in Krakow as you could go from Krakow to Prague on a train and from there to Vienna and Budapest - or the reverse. If you're trying to go between Budapest and Krakow, you could go via Poprad in eastern Slovakia, but it may mean adding another stop - or fly.

I have been to all the places you are looking to go. Two December's ago, I was in Krakow and there was a winter storm that shut down airports and trains. I was only there for 3 nights and had no interest in anything holocaust related. I have Polish blood which was my main reason for going as my family came from a place about a 30 min drive outside. I was joining a tour (Krakow, Wroclaw, Prague, Berlin) so we visited other places such as Wieliczka Salt Mine, Jewish Ghetto, Rynek Glowny, Cloth Hall, Wawel Castle, Wawel Dragon and hill. Here a few pictures so just ignore the snow and Christmas lights.

Leely2 is correct; I am thinking of St. Mary’s Church and the gorgeous Stoss altar. I wasn’t expecting such a stunning altarpiece, so it was mind-blowing, and to this day, I still remember how awestruck we were.

Progol, have you decided on a hotel in Budapest? We will be in Budapest in September, and I have made reservations at the Queen’s Court Hotel, which Geetika recommended. I don’t think she stayed there but her sister did. I made our reservations directly through the hotel because you get some perks. Forgot what they are. I am not home right now so I don’t have access to my confirmation.

Thank you, thank you all! You’ve given me so much great information and it seems that it’s a no-brainer - we will include Krakow in our plans! It sounds wonderful and will be a good end to our trip. We don’t go until next spring so I have time to figure it out. But we were able to get FF tickets to Prague which is why I need to figure it out now.

sassy, love those photos! A winter wonderland!

KarenWoo, I haven’t even started to look at hotels in Budapest yet but will check out your suggestion. I’ll also look for an apartment since I like having space to spread out when we stay longer in a place.

tripplanner, because we already have our tickets flying into Prague (FF tickets - yay!) it is a bit clunky getting to Krakow from Budapest but I don’t see how to make it smoother. We would fly and either stop in Warsaw for a day or 2 or just fly or train onwards.

geetika, leely2, maitatom, kja - THANK YOU! Such great info! When I’m in the more advanced stage of planning, this will be a wonderful reference!

progol, we took the train from Budapest to Krakow last year. There’s apparently a direct overnight train which you see online, but we weren’t able to buy tickets. We even called the Poland railways, they were extremely helpful and said booking still hadn’t opened, but even a fortnight before travel we couldn’t find anything. Our Airbnb host in Budapest also tried calling, but nothing worked.

We finally took a train to Vienna, then overnight train to Krakow, which worked very well for us.

Thanks, Geetika. I’m more inclined to fly rather than take the train but good to know it worked out for you. But I’ll definitely consider it closer to the time.

progol, I have been to Kraków a couple of times, as my wife is Polish, and was born in that area. In addition to the many great recommendations, above, I'd like to mention two things that we enjoyed more than either of us expected to:

- A tour of Nowa Huta, a postwar socialist-planned industrial city on the eastern side of Kraków. It was quite fascinating, if that kind of thing interests one. On the advice of annhig, who used to post here, we chose the "Crazy Kraków Tour" (https://www.crazyguides.com), which was highly entertaining. Our guide was personable, and himself a resident of Nowa Huta. (Bonus points for driving us around in a Trabant!) One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to the Arka Pana Church, a modernistic design, built entirely by volunteer labour. There was certainly no support from the Communist government, which did not want a Catholic church in the socialist utopian city of Nowa Huta.

- On a whim, on a very cold October evening, we took a carriage ride around Kraków. Wrapped in heavy blankets, with the sound of hooves, wheels on cobblestone, jingly harness, and of course, the scent of horses ... it was quite magical. We finished our evening sipping grzane wino (mulled wine) in the rynek. Touristy, for sure, but we we truly enjoyed it.

One other suggestion: we visited the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec, a tranquil place situated on the banks of the Wistula River. It's about 15 kilometres west of Kraków; we went by bus, but taxi would be another option.