Kraków's Rynek Główny is 200 metres square, which makes it the largest medieval town square in Europe. It was laid out in 1257 and it has never been rebuilt, because Kraków is one of the very few Polish cities that came through the Second World War with its buildings substantially intact.
That is the reason the old town is what it is, and it is also inseparable from the other reason people come here.
The two quarters
The Stare Miasto, the old town, sits inside the Planty, a ring of park where the walls were. The Rynek, the Cloth Hall, St Mary's Basilica and the university are in it, and Wawel Castle sits on a rise at its southern edge above the Vistula.
Kazimierz, ten minutes' walk south, was the Jewish quarter from the fourteenth century. Around 68,000 Jews lived in Kraków before 1939. The Nazi occupation moved them to the Podgórze ghetto across the river and then to the camps, and almost none returned.
Kazimierz today holds seven surviving synagogues, the old cemeteries, and a quarter that has become the city's centre for bars, restaurants and small hotels. Both things are true at once and the district holds them without much difficulty.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
The memorial and museum at Oświęcim is about 70 kilometres west, an hour and a half each way, and a visit takes a full day.
It is a memorial at the site of a mass murder, not a sightseeing stop. Entry is free and requires a booked timed ticket, which should be reserved well in advance; guided tours in most languages are available and are the better way to do it. Visitors are asked to dress and behave appropriately, and the museum publishes guidance that is worth reading before going.
Most people find they need the rest of the day afterwards. Plan accordingly rather than scheduling dinner reservations.
The twelve below are grouped by quarter.
The old town
Inside the Planty, around the Rynek.
Hotel Copernicus occupies two fourteenth-century buildings on Kanonicza street below Wawel, with Renaissance painted ceilings, a pool in the Gothic cellar and a rooftop looking at the castle. It is the finest hotel in Poland.
Hotel Copernicus
Kanonicza, below Wawel · 5★ · $$$$
Renaissance painted ceilings and a pool in the Gothic cellar
Check availabilityHotel Stary sits a street from the Rynek in a restored townhouse with a rooftop terrace, a pool in the vaults and a strong restaurant.
The Bonerowski Palace Boutique Hotel occupies a fourteenth-century palace on the corner of the Rynek itself, with rooms overlooking the square and the Cloth Hall.
The Bonerowski Palace Boutique Hotel
Rynek Główny corner · 5★ · $$$
Rooms directly over the market square
Check availabilityHotel Pod Różą sits on Floriańska street in a building that has taken guests since the sixteenth century, with a restaurant in the cellar and the market square at the end of the road.
Hotel Pod Różą
Floriańska street · 4★ · $$$
Taking guests since the sixteenth century
Check availabilitySheraton Grand Krakow occupies a position on the Planty with a spa, a pool and the most complete facilities in the old town.
Sheraton Grand Krakow
Planty, by the Vistula · 5★ · $$$
Spa, pool and the fullest facilities in the old town
Check availabilityHotel Unicus Krakow Old Town - Destigo Hotels sits in a restored townhouse near the Rynek with a small room count and a courtyard.
Hotel Unicus Krakow Old Town - Destigo Hotels
Near the Rynek · 4★ · $$
A small restored townhouse with a courtyard
Check availabilityHotel Indigo Krakow - Old Town by IHG occupies a building a short walk from the square with contemporary rooms and rates below the historic properties.
Hotel Indigo Krakow - Old Town by IHG
Old town edge · 4★ · $$
Contemporary rooms below the historic-property rates
Check availabilityRadisson Blu Hotel Krakow sits on the edge of the old town with reliable rooms, a spa and a good position for both quarters.
Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow
Straszewskiego, Planty · 4★ · $$
Reliable rooms positioned for both quarters
Check availabilityKazimierz
Ten minutes south. Synagogues, cemeteries, bars and restaurants.
Kazimierz Residence occupies a restored building on Szeroka street, the historic heart of the quarter, with a rooftop terrace over the square.
Kazimierz Residence
Szeroka, Kazimierz · 4★ · $$$
A rooftop over the historic heart of the quarter
Check availabilityPURO Kraków Kazimierz sits in a contemporary building on the edge of Kazimierz with a design-led interior, a good bar and the best value of the newer hotels.
PURO Kraków Kazimierz
Kazimierz · 4★ · $$
Design-led with the best value among the newer hotels
Check availabilityQueen Boutique Hotel occupies a converted property between the two quarters with a courtyard and a short walk to either.
Queen Boutique Hotel
Between the quarters · 4★ · $$
Courtyard property a short walk from either
Check availabilityPodgórze
Across the river, the former ghetto district.
Metropolo by Golden Tulip sits near the Vistula with contemporary rooms, a good restaurant and the shortest walk to the Schindler factory museum.
Metropolo by Golden Tulip
Podgórze · 4★ · $$
Shortest walk to the Schindler factory museum
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The apartment rentals across the old town and Kazimierz are excluded, and Kraków has a very large supply of them at low prices. They are apartments rather than hotels.
What to do
Walk the Rynek early. At seven in the morning the largest medieval square in Europe is empty and the trumpet call from St Mary's tower, played hourly and cut off mid-phrase, sounds across it to nobody.
Go into Wawel Castle and cathedral, which is the coronation site of Polish kings, and down to the dragon's den beneath it.
Do Kazimierz properly: the Remuh synagogue and cemetery, the Old Synagogue, Plac Nowy, and the Galicia Jewish Museum, which is the best introduction to the quarter's history.
Visit the Schindler factory museum in Podgórze, which is about occupied Kraków rather than the film.
The Wieliczka salt mine is 30 minutes south, a UNESCO site with chapels carved out of rock salt 100 metres underground.
Eat and drink well. Kraków's food has improved sharply and the milk bars, the state-era canteens, still serve pierogi for very little.
Practical notes
Kraków's airport is 30 minutes from the centre with heavy European traffic and a train link. Warsaw is two and a half hours by fast train.
May, June and September are ideal. Summer is busy. December has one of the better Christmas markets in Europe. Winter is cold and quiet.
Book Auschwitz-Birkenau timed entry well ahead, particularly in summer, and allow the whole day.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Krakow Hotels
Questions people actually ask
How do you visit Auschwitz-Birkenau?
Book a free timed ticket in advance, take a guided tour, allow a full day, and read the museum's visitor guidance before going.
Old town or Kazimierz?
Old town for the square and the castle, Kazimierz for the history, the restaurants and lower rates. Ten minutes apart.
Why is Kraków intact?
It escaped the systematic destruction that flattened Warsaw, and the old town survived largely as it was.
How many nights?
Four. Two for the city, one for Auschwitz-Birkenau and one for Wieliczka or Kazimierz.