We went to Krakow a good few years now & visited Auschwitz. It was a place I'll always remember.

My husband's​ parents are Polish & have told us of their own experiences. To see photographs of prisoners with your family name was particularly hard. I am glad we visited though.

The food stalls in the market on the square were nice Fiona, although lots of sausage! Hubby's mam still makes Polish dishes, potatoes cakes, stuffed cabbage leaves etc.

If you can try to go in the winter as lovely atmosphere. But cold!

Yes it must be hard if you had relatives who were killed there.
Thanks Glynis for the food information. If it's anything like Prague then I will be avoiding some of the specialities! I loved the taste of the dumplings but ended up leaving half the food on the plate as it was just too filling. ☺

They weren't relatives that we know of Fiona just the fact of seeing someone with your surname I found hard.

Yes, the foods nothing special, but filling 😉

I have been to Auschwitz and despite how harrowing it is, I would recommend it. What made it all the more poignant when we went was that one of the tour group we were with was in a wheelchair and the rest of the group assisted with lifting the wheelchair up and down the stairs to allow access to the whole tour; that man would have been one of the first into the gas chambers.

In the city itself, Wawel Castle is worth visiting as is the Jewish Quarter (we had a wonderful meal there in Ariel Restaurant, complete with Jewish musicians).

Thanks Elaine.
Its also good to get restaurant recommendations.
We only have a short time really so its good to have an idea of what to do and where the best restaurants are , before we go.

If you are thinking of going to Ariel, we were recommended to book.

Cracow is a wonderful place, probably one of the most beautiful in Poland. You will certainly not regret coming here. Surely you have to see the famous Sukiennice in the Market Square, Wawel Castle and the Barbican. You also have to try Cracow's obwiganki and oscypek.
Did you think about renting an apartment at this time? Hotel Betmanowska is a good choice, but if you want more options. There are apartments in Warsaw (Poland) and in Cracow, of course.

Thanks Sara
We have already been now. Loved the Betmanowska!

I don't know many hotels in Krakow, but I can tell you what you can't miss:
- the Old City and the biggest in Poland Main Square
- Schindler's Factory- I recommend watching Schindler's List movie before. It's really interesting interactive museum with exhibits what increase audience engagement. You can feel that you enter 2 WW Krakow and you learn the history of people who escaped from hell. Must see!
- Wawel Castle and dragon - two symbols of Krakow. 10 minutes walking from city center.
- Auschwitz Concentration Camps and Wieliczka Salt Mine- two trips definitely worth taking while being in Krakow. I had only Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday.
In Friday i walked around the Old City, ate there, walked along Wistula River ( passed by dragon and the castle) and had a drink in the evening. on Saturday we booked one day trip to Auschwitz and Wieliczka. It was totally worth it, we took number one transfer company http://krakowdirect.com/
and we recommend them to everyone.
And in Sunday we had a breakfast in Kazimierz district and then we entered the Schindler's Factory. It was a busy weekend but we have seen many places.
It's an old medieval city and it's one of my favorites in Europe.

You have been to many places!
We did love Schindlers Factory. We spent a long time there. Really interesting. Auschwitz- we went on a day where the rain was coming down in torrents. We were given water capes to wear and I still ended up soaked and cold. Somewhat fitting to visit it on a miserable day.