Experience Krakow Like a Local – An Insider’s Travel Guide

What You’ll Learn

Krakow is more than postcards and pretty squares—it’s a living, layered city full of flavor, history, and character. In this insider’s guide, you’ll learn how to move beyond the tourist track and experience Krakow the way locals do. You’ll discover:

• Where to eat like a local: from zapiekanka in Plac Nowy to kosher cuisine in Kazimierz and Communist-era milk bars
• Krakow’s best cocktail bars, cozy cafés, and underground speakeasies—including spots like TramBar, Cheder, and Alchemia
• The cultural must-sees that locals love too: Wawel Hill, the Veit Stoss Altarpiece, and Leonardo’s Lady with the Ermine
• Tips on how to explore the Kazimierz district with historical sensitivity and insight
• How to embrace Krakow’s modern edge at places like Dolnych Młynów and Forum Przestrzenie
• Hidden gems for nightlife, street food, and art—plus how to engage with Krakow’s Jewish heritage with respect and curiosity
• Local etiquette, common missteps to avoid, and ways to connect meaningfully with the city’s living culture

Whether it’s your first time in Poland or your fifth, this guide helps you discover the Krakow locals know, love, and live.

 

Things to Do in Krakow to Experience It Like a Local

Part of the ongoing series: How to Live Like a Local

Krakow—Poland’s second-largest city—doesn’t seem much like Warsaw. Whereas Poland’s capital feels modern and gritty (largely the result of the turbulence of the 20th century), Krakow feels old and elegant. The charming historic center, a mix of Medieval urban design and Renaissance sensibility, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in every way imaginable. And at first glance, it would be easy to confuse Krakow with an open air museum.

Yet, if you take the time to look a little deeper (or if you do as I did and speak with the locals), you see that the Krakow residents call home is very much a living city—complete with exciting culinary experiments, vibrant subcultures, and intriguing nightlife.

Fortunately, you too can experience Krakow this way by following what I learned: 14 insider travel tips to experience Krakow like a local.

How to Eat Like a Local in Krakow

Grab a Zapiekanka in Plac Nowy. 

Almost every local I spoke to in Krakow was adamant that I should try zapiekanka—a toasted baguette, most often topped with sautéed mushrooms, grated cheese, and, logically, ketchup. Having originated in the 1970s as a cheap way to feed hungry Poles during the austere Communist Era, it is now the quintessential Polish street food.

Eat Kosher in the former Jewish Quarter. Prior to the horrors of World War II, Krakow’s Kazimierz district housed one of Europe’s largest Jewish populations. And while only a few Jews live there today, visitors can still taste their legacy by eating at one of the area’s kosher restaurants. Kosher cuisine is prepared following a strict set of religious laws that have been passed down for hundreds of years. This, combined with the limited ingredients available to European Jews throughout much of history, created a food culture distinct from traditional Polish cuisine. Examples of popular dishes include borscht [beetroot soup, usually served with sour cream], chicken soup, kreplach [stuffed dumplings, often in broth], and bagels [yes, they’re not originally from New York!].

The oldest Jewish-style restaurant in Krakow is Ariel [Szeroka 18], which serves a variety of tasty kosher dishes in a unique setting complete with timber furniture, Jewish knickknacks, occasional klezmer music, and paintings of Rabbis. Some say it’s charming, while others argue it’s tacky. Another good option is Dawno Temu Na Kazimierzu [Szeroka 1], which translated to English means ‘Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz’. True to the name, the interior and exterior of this restaurant have been carefully designed to replicate the appearance of early twentieth-century Krakow. Oh, and the food’s not bad either.

Despite the historical lineage these and other restaurants claim, some argue that they are simple lazy attempts to capitalize on sentimentalism on the part of traveling Jews and ignorance on the part of visiting gentiles. I didn’t get that sense while eating in Kazimierz, but I’m neither an expert in Jewish cuisine nor culture.

Mix things up for Dinner. 

Thanks to its central European location and the international interests of its rulers, Krakow developed a distinct cuisine based on local and foreign tastes. Today, visitors can sample this tradition at a variety of restaurants.

Karakter [Brzozowa 17] serves a fusion of modern French and Polish cuisine in a stylish interior, that’s reminiscent of a black-and-white Mondrian painting. The meat and fish dishes here are excellent. Gruba Bula [Na przejściu 31] offers Krakow’s best burgers, using locale-sourced ingredients to recreate flavor profiles from around the world.

Visit a Milk Bar. While I Warsaw I fell in love with milk bars—the cafeteria-like spots dating from the Communist era where Poles go to get a cheap, dairy-based meal (hence the name)—so I was thrilled to find out that they also exist in Krakow.

Milkbar Tomasz [Świętego Tomasza 24], offers budget-friendly meals to locals and travelers alike, in a cozy atmosphere that is reminiscent less of its counterparts in Warsaw, and more of French bistros. The ever-crowded Bar Mleczny Gornik [Czysta 1] is another good choice. If the weather is nice, get your food to go and have a picnic in the nearby Planty Park. Just be sure to bring your own cutlery!

Vodka, vodka, vodka. Whether served after dinner or drank at a bar, one cannot leave Krakow without having sampled the vodka. You may be familiar with internationally-recognized brands like Belvedere, Chopin, or Żubrówka [AKA bison grass vodka], but most bars and restaurants create their own variations, infusing vodka with herbs, spices, and fruit.

Documents indicate that the Lady with the Ermine was in Poland by the end of the 18th century, when it was in the collection of the local Czartoryski family. The Nazis seized the painting during the occupation of Poland in 1939, and it was rediscovered in a Bavarian castle at the end of World War II. The Lady with the Ermine was subsequently returned to the Czartoryski family, who owned it until 2016, when the Polish government purchased it and number of other minor works for upwards of two billion euros.

While less famous than the Mona Lisa, it’s this [former] art historian’s opinion that the Lady with the Ermine is the superior—and sans the large crowds one finds at the Louvre, certainly more easily-enjoyed—portrait. Note the skill with which Leonardo painted the ermine’s fur, within which individual strands are visible. 

At the time of writing, the painting was temporarily located in the National Museum in Krakow [Al. 3 Maja 1]   while its permanent home—the Princes Czartoryski Museum [św. Jana 19]—is undergoing restoration. It is expected to moved back in 2019. 

Climb up Wawel Hill. 

It’s not much of a hike to the top of Wawel Hill, but that’s not the point. Instead, visitors are greeted with an impressive complex of religious and government buildings that are filled with testaments to Polish history. It very much feels a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Originally built in the 11th century (and since rebuilt twice—most recently in the 1300s), Gothic-styled Wawel Cathedral has witnessed the coronations, funerals, and burials of some of Poland’s most important historic figures. Most recently, it was from here that Karol Wojtyla—the future Pope John Paul II—served as Archbishop of Krakow. There is no charge to enter the Cathedral, but it’s worth buying the combo ticket that allows you to see the spectacular view of Krakow atop the bell tower (as well as giving you access to the royal tombs and cathedral museum). You can purchase tickets in the building across from the Cathedral for 12 zl [$3.50].

For hundreds of years, Wawel Royal Castle served as the political and cultural center of Poland. The current building a mix of baroque, renaissance, and medieval architecture—the result of numerous expansions and rebuilds. It currently houses a series of museums (each on a separate ticket; purchasable in the Visitor’s Center), with the best being the State Rooms (18 zl ($5.20). Tickets are sold in the Visitors Center.

Marvel at the massive Veit Stoss Altarpiece. 

Measuring more than 40 feet [13 m] in height, the Veit Stoss altarpiece—located in St. Mary’s Basilica [plac Mariacki 5], just off the city’s main square—is the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world and a Polish national treasure.

Sculpted by the eponymous Veit Stoss between 1477 and 1484, it depicts scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary in colorful, gold-laden panels that tower over visitors. The figures in the central scene are more than 12 feet [3 m] tall, each having been carved from a separate tree trunk. 

Although only a small number of Jews live in Kazimierz today, Jewish culture lives on in the district’s architecture, food, and music. For instance, seven synagogues (!) survived the war, most of which are open to visitors. My favorite site in Kazimierz is the Old Synagogue (Alta Shul) [Szeroka 24]. Now housing a museum of Jewish history, this beautiful Renaissance-era building (designed by the Florentine architect Matteo Gucci) clearly displays how European Jews appropriated popular architectural motifs into their own religious structures. Note the marble frame surrounding the ark, which harkens back to the decorated doors found in palaces throughout Europe at the time. Tickets can be purchased directly at the Synagogue 10 zl [$2.50], with admission being free on Mondays.

Venture into the Wieliczka Salt Mine. 

Just 30 minutes by car from Krakow is the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a massive underground complex dug over hundreds of years. Founded in the 1300s, the mine contains an underground lake, an elaborately-decorated church, salt rock sculptures, and more than 300 km (186 miles) of tunnels. Today, a portion of the mine of this UNESCO World Heritage site is open to the public via guided tours. For more information about this incredible site check out our article, Visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine: Your Complete Guide.