How to Spend 48 Hours in Kraków | Poland

Last Updated on March 20, 2021

Last October, before Coronavirus made travel come to a screeching halt, JC and I finally made it over to our neighbor country, Poland. For our first trip to Poland, we flew into Kraków. We were pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the city is, and also how cheap it is –we spent 5 EUR one lunch for the two of us!!!! Read below for everything we did during our weekend and how you too can spend 48 hours in Kraków.

How to Spend 48 Hours in Kraków: Day 1

9 am – Have Breakfast at Café Camelot

We landed in Kraków bright and early Saturday morning. After checking into our Airbnb we proceeded to walk to Kraków Old Town and go to Café Camelot for breakfast. The interior of Café Camelot is decorated in a very unique, quirky style with pink walls, crystal chandeliers and an old world charm. I ordered an omelet while JC had a raspberry tart. The food is decent; however, the real draw here is the location and the atmosphere. It is worth it to just come and sit for a cappuccino and enjoy the café.

11 am – Explore Kraków Old Town

After eating breakfast at Café Camelot, we proceeded to explore Kraków Old Town. In the center of Old Town there is a large plaza which dates back to the 1200s. It is actually the largest medieval town square in all of Europe. There are several beautiful baroque churches, restaurants with outdoor dining, street artists, as well as an underground market hall selling souvenirs.

1 pm – Have a Cheap (and delicious) Pierogi Lunch

We proceeded to walk out of Kraków Old Town to have lunch at Przystanek Pierogarnia, which is a 13 minute walk from the Old Town center. There we feasted on delicious pierogi, or polish dumplings. I had spinach and cottage cheese pierogi and JC had pork. With the conversion from Polish Zlotny to Euro (1 Polish Zlotny = 0.22 EUR), a huge plate of pierogi is about 3 EUR. A delicious bargain!

3 pm – Visit the Wawel Royal Castle

A 14 minute walk from Przystanek Pierogarnia is the Wawel Royal Castle, built between the 13th and 14th Century, and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world. Admission to the grounds of the castle and to view the Wawel Cathedral from outside is free. If you would like to see the interior of the castle and any of the exhibitions, you must buy a ticket. More information can be found on their site here.

7 pm – Head to Wodka Bar for Pre-Dinner Drinks

Vodka is the most popular liquor in Poland and arguably the best place to try the distilled liquor is at Wodka Bar in Old Town. The space is small, so you may have to wait for a seat. Here, you can order a flight, or tasting, of different vodkas, from milkier varieties like chocolate and hazelnut (my favorite), to fruity flavors like blueberry and plum. A must visit while in Kraków!

9 pm – Have a Traditional Polish Dinner at Morskie Oko

After drinking our fill at Wodka Bar, we proceeded to Morskie Oko for a traditional Polish dinner. The decór of this restaurant is incredible! The waiters are dressed in traditional Polish dress, there is live music, wooden benches for seating and you even eat by candlelight. We ordered a dish of mixed pierogi that was so huge, we had to take half of it home with us. I was eating leftover pierogi for days after we returned to Berlin! And all of those pierogi plus drinks and an appetizer cost us less than 20 EUR in total for the two of us!

How to Spend 48 Hours in Kraków: Day 2

9 am – Have a Polish Bagel for Breakfast

The obwarzanek krakowski or Polish bagel is a popular street food that you can grab for breakfast for only 2 Polish Zloty or 0.50 EUR. They look a little different than bagels you may have seen in the US, as they are braided like a pretzel into a hollow ring-like shape. They would probably taste better with some cream cheese, but nevertheless, they are a convenient and cheap meal on the go. If bagels are not enough for breakfast and you’d like to sit down for a real hearty meal, you can head to Milkbar Tomasza in Old Town. Unfortunately, we were not able to eat here as it was packed and they don’t take reservations, but we heard really good things about their breakfast.

10 am – Explore the Kraków Jewish Quarter

Nowadays, the Kraków Jewish Quarter known as Kazimierz is a very gentrified area of Kraków, complete with plenty of bars, restaurants and boutiques. Before WWII, 64,000 jews lived in Kraków. After the war, less than 10% of the population survived, most with the help of Oskar Schindler and his nearby factory. You can take a guided tour of the Jewish Quarter and learn about the history of the Jews in Kraków. Most of the tours visit the culturally significant architectural sites as well as the former Jewish ghetto in Podgórze. Take a look here for tour options of Kazimierz with GetYourGuide. The Kraków Jewish Quarter is also very beautiful to simply walk around and enjoy the nice weather. There are a multitude of options to choose from for lunch, such as Israeli restaurant Hamsa Hummus & Happiness, although we did not get a chance to eat here.

3 pm – Tour Oskar Schindler’s Factory

After exploring the Jewish Quarter, we proceeded to Oskar Schindler’s Factory for a guided tour. We booked our tour ahead of time with GetYourGuide. The duration of the tour is about 2 hours. You can visit without booking a tour, but tickets sell out quickly. I would recommend buying in advance on their site here if you don’t book with GetYourGuide. The museum is less about the factory specifically and more about WWII times in Kraków for the Kraków jews. However, you do visit Schindler’s real life office and see where they filmed the ‘staircase scene’ from the movie. A worthwhile and sobering visit recounting the horrific actions taken against the Polish jews during WWII.

Our last night in Kraków, we were so tired of eating pierogi that we ate some burgers (veggie) and sweet potato fries! I think that three meals of pierogi in a row is the most a person can reasonably handle.

That concludes our itinerary of how to spend 48 hours in Kraków. Do you have your own favorite spots in Kraków? Let us know about them in the comments below!

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