CITY BREAK KRAKOW


“During Euro 2012, the eyes of the UK and Europe will be on this region, highlighting Poland as a city break destination to people who might not have considered it before.”


LAWRENCE PEACHEY, DERTOUR City heart


FACTFILE When to Go


The summer months are the best time to visit Krakow, when the average daytime temperature is around 22C, although the occasional heat wave brings highs of 30C. Late spring to early summer days are pleasantly warm, with temperatures of 20C, and it is relatively mild in the autumn. Winter usually sees plenty of snow, accompanied by freezing temperatures, from mid- December until mid-March.


General Info Time: GMT + 1 Currency: Polish Zloty. £1= 5.00 Zloty (February 2012) Visa: not required by UK citizens Getting There: flying time from the UK is around two hours Contact: Polish National Tourist Office Tel: 0300 303 1813; email: infodesk@poland.travel; www.poland.travel


Where to Book It


Expedia Holidays 0330 123 1235 www.expedia.co.uk


Two nights’ B&B at the four-star Amadeus Hotel, in Krakow’s Old Town, costs £284pp, based on two sharing a double room. This includes return flights with easyJet from London Gatwick, departing early May. The deal includes a 10% discount on standard rates and guests receive 1,000 Nectar points.


Who Flies There easyJet: www.easyjet.com Ryanair: www.ryanair.com Jet2.com: www.jet2.com


Krakow’s heart, the starting point for dipping into a turbulent past of opposition to foreign invasion, rebirth and cultural splendour, is Main Market Square (pictured above). The largest medieval urban centre in Europe, it is the site of the 12th century Cloth Hall, the Town Hall, and St Mary’s Church. Every day, every hour, a bugle call is sounded from its highest tower to commemorate Tatar raids on the city in the 13th century. The sound could also be a reminder


that a brief break from culture is on the cards: the square has numerous cafes, restaurants and bars, and acts as the focal point of city life.


In 1978, the year that the archbishop of


Krakow became Pope John Paul II, the Old Town was made a World Heritage Site.


History lessons From Market Square it is but a stroll to The Royal Route, which leads through the Gothic Barbican and Florianska Gate to Grodzka Street, with its Neo-Classical architecture and St. Peter and Paul Church, and ends at Wawel Hill, site of Wawel Cathedral and the Royal Castle. Both have played a part in Polish history, the Cathe- dral witnessing royal coronations, the castle the residence of the country’s kings. The city has numerous museums that


detail its past. One of the most important is Alte Schule Synagogue, in Kazimierz, home to the largest Jewish population in Krakow until 1939, when the Nazis began their persecution of Polish Jews. Other notable museums include those


at Wawel Cathedral, displaying treasures amassed over the centuries, and at the Royal Castle, whose treasury and armoury are popular with children.


Out of town Depending on their priorities and time, visitors spending a city break in Krakow should consider one or two attractions not too far out of town.


Top of the must-sees is nearby Wieliczka Salt Mines. Carved into the walls of the underground tunnels are chapels, a museum and salt sculptures, one of the highlights St. Kinga’s Chapel, where five salt-crystal chandeliers illuminate a 17th century salt altar.


And single visitors might wish to linger


awhile at the statue of a gnome in Warsaw Chamber: kiss it, they say, and you will be married within a year.


Meanwhile, a trip to the Auschwitz and Birkenau German concentration camps, 55km west of Krakow, is an adult-only excursion, a chilling and moving reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. Back in town, the city’s promotion


during Euro Cup year looks set to stimulate tourism, the chance for UK and Irish agents to be on the winning side – even if the England and Ireland teams arrive back home before the postcards!


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