Best bargain in Europe!
Written: Dec 23 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful city, extremely cheap, home base for Auschwitz and salt mines
Cons: few people speak English (except in the tourist areas)
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| AlexG's Full Review: Kraków |
When you collide the money and the city's worth, I believe that Krakow is the best bargain in Europe. Krakow is beautiful and amazingly cheap. It's getting more and more discovered by tourists, but when I was in Krakow in the August of '99, most of the tourists I found were Poles, not western travelers. And unlike Prague, Krakow handled August crowds rather well.
The Main Market Square in the middle of Old City is the largest square in Europe. In the summer, numerous cafes have tables outside, and it's a pleasure to sit there and enjoy the company of your friends on a nice summer evening. And when you realize that you are paying so little (by western standards) for your wine or beer, you like it even more. Krakow's square is somewhat similar to Prague's, but I like it more (though I do like Prague a lot) because of outside dining in the summer. Also, the size does matter.
I also want to recommend a very cool jazz club in Krakow. It is located on one of the sides of the Square. It's called "Harris". I was there on a weekday and it was packed with locals and tourists. The live band was awesome, the place is very comfortable, the staff all spoke English, and paying an equivalent of 70 cents for a glass of wine, how can you go wrong. You'll have fun there. I highly recommend.
Krakow is actually very small. Well, the Old Town (the place of interest) is very small. How small? Easily walkable in a couple of hours. I mean, every street! If Krakow is just a stop in your European itinerary, I'd say 3 days would be enough to get a good feel of the place. Two days would be pushing it. Keep in mind that when in Krakow you have two worthy trips to take--Auschwitz and salt mines. Auschwitz should take about 2/3 of the day and salt mines 1/2 day.
It makes sense to visit Krakow now before western tourists discover it and before the prices go up.
Alex.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 237 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
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