I have to come clean about something. This blog post have been in the making for the last three months. I’ve been struggling with a serious case of writer’s block lately nd I just couldn’t get myself to finish it. I finally managed to do so, but don’t be surprised when you see summery photos in November. Hopefully the majority of this alternative guide to the city of Cracow concerns indoor activities so it’s still relevant. Plus Cracow is a cool city to visit all year long. Anyway, this blog post is all about my two day trip to Cracow that took place in June. Here are my recommendations on what to do in the city. Be sure to check out the previous Cracow related post on our blog as well. It was written by Doris and it’s completely different.
Doris’ blog post from last year is way more informative as far as tourist information goes. You’ll find info about monuments and tours in and close to Cracow. In here I concentrate on what I like most in life – food. Plus a bit of shopping as I’m in the middle of redoing my apartment and was on a hunt for some interior design inspiration. But, not to be too materialistic, I recommend you some interesting art galleries and museums as well.
Beware: All of the pictures were taken on my iPhone so the quality is a bit different than usual.
Grab a bite
This time I stayed with my friend in her apartment which turned out to be located right next to a really cool spot for foodie lovers at Dolnych Młynów street. I was in heaven! It used to be a cigar factory which was converted into a meeting spot full of restaurants, bars and cafes. There’s something for vegans, something for meat lovers, something for those who only approve of pizza on their plate and for those who prefer to drink and party. There’s no need to leave this place at all 😉 In the two days I was in Cracow I visited this place three times. I’ve heard a lot of good things about pizza served at Strefa, but unfortunately they ran out when I was there, so instead I went for lunch in Międzymiastowa where the food (and pizza!) was pretty good as well. The next day I was here in the evening so first I got drunk on gin in Lastriko and then moved next doors to Meat&Go where I ate a huge sandwich filled with meat. If you don’t eat meat be sure to check out Veganic, my friend wholeheartedly recommends this place. Plus the interior is beautiful!
You can find really good and a bit more fancy food in Zenit on Miodowa street. I first noticed this restaurant because of it’s beautiful art deco interior. But I stayed because of the food. I tried their desserts (my favourite kind of meal;)) and was not dissapointed. Their panna cotta is light and not to sweet. I highly reccomend it! Be sure to take a look at the colourful posters on the wall while you’re in there. They’re all for sale, so you might accidently come across something perfect for your gallery wall.
There were two more restaurants I visited but were not really memorable. The first one is Bococa, where I ate breakfast, and the other one is Meat&Fit, where I went with my friend. We were looking for a place where we can get good burgers for vegans as well as those who do eat meat. Turns out it’s not that easy. The burgers were not bad, but weren’t particularly good either. Both spots were just meh.
There were two more places that I really wanted to visit but didn’t manage to do that this time. The first one is called Ranny Ptaszek and I wanted to go there for breakfast. I’ve seen it in a guide where some ‘instagrammable’ spots where descried. The interior looked beautiful on the photographs in a book so I wanted to check it out for myslef. The other place I almost visited was Cheder located in Kazimierz district. I’ve heard that they serve amazing Middle Eastern cuisine. Unfortunately it was closed for some event. I will definitely have to come back to visit both of those places.
Get some caffeine in your system
Tired after all the food you’ve eaten? Time for some coffee! A well known coffee spot in Cracow is Karma, which is both a cafe (on Krupnicza street) and a coffee roaster. It’s a good spot to try alternative brewing methods and a great place to do some work on the town. The next day I had to devote some hours for my usual ‘out of home office’ as well. This time I visited Cafe Lisboa, inspired by Portugal. It’s a tiny spot where you can get a coffee as well as my favourite pasteis de nata. Om nom nom!
Another cool spot to visit, especially in the summer, is Forum Przestrzenie located at the bank of Vistula river. It’s one of those places where you can stay from the morning until night. They serve breakfast, good coofee, as well as lunch and dinner and drinks. The interior is retro and cool but I especially enjoy sitting outside in the sun and drinking cold lemonade or beer.
If you’re craving something sweet check out the icecream place called . There are several different scattered across Cracow so there’s a chance you’ll stumble upon one of them even if you’re not lookig. I tried their sesame icecream which tasted more like poppy seed but seed is seed, right? They were really good nonetheless.
All those pretty things
We’ve never written anything about shopping on our blog before. I’m usually not into this passtime. However I’ve been in Cracow a few times already so I needed some new experiences at this point. I decided to visit some of the ‘hipster’, pretty places that I’ve seen on Instagram. Plus I had a list of spots that I wanted to go for some interior design inspiration. I started off at Forum Designu where you can find a bit of everything – furniture, clothes, accessories, lamps, porcelain and decor. Most of the stuff is made by Polish designers. If you prefer vintage go to Szpeje shop located in Nowa Huta district. There are some old-fashioned treasures hidden in there! If you’re looking for Polish design check out Rzeczy Same as well. It’s tiny but filled to the brim with cool things. I’ve found a really cool poster in there.
I visited two ‘instagrammable’ spots as well. Those were not interior design related. The first one is Papierniczeni, a minimal shop with stationery and notebooks so beautiful that you want to buy them but, if you’re like me, you’d be afraid to ever write in them. Another beautiful, cute show was a pink kingdom for the beauty lovers – O JEJU. In there you can buy everything a skincare enthusiast could ever dream of. And that’s it as far as the shopping in Cracow went for me. At this point I had absolutely to money left.
Something for the soul
Ok, after all the food and drinks and after spending all of your money I’ll leave you with something to actually do 😉 If it’s not your first visit to Cracow you’d probably already visited the MOCAK museum (museum of modern art). But if not be sure to check it out. Actually there’s always something new going on there so go ahead and visit it anyway. My recommendation is to go on Tuesday when it’s free. You’ve already spent all the money, remeber? Another ‘classic’ to check out is the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe). There’re some interesting exhibitions showed in there as well. During my last visit it was all about comic books and popculture. If you want something different be sure to check out Bunkier Sztuki art gallery. It’s a cool place that not everyone knows about. They have some interesting exhibitions as well as tons of concerts and events. There are also free workshops for people of all ages. I reccomend you checking out their Facebook page for all the info.
Photos courtesy of Bunkier Sztuki art gallery.
I’ve heard good things about Cricoteka center of arts. They showcase things related to the life and work of Tadeusz Kantor, polish painter and theater director. But there are some other events happening in there as well. Unfortunately I did not menage to see inside as I was nearby on Monday, when majority of museums and art galleries are closed. However the building itself is worth checking out. It makes you think the world is ‘upside down’ 😉
And that’s it for now. Let me know if you have some other reccomendations and ideas about what to do in Cracow. I’m sure I’ll be going back there sooner or later. I’ve come to really like this city. And there’s always something new to see. Or eat, if you’re more like me 😉
