We are planning 4 nights in Krakow towards the end of August beginning of September 2020. This will be our first trip to Poland. Is one month better than the other weather wise? Any activity suggestions? Take a train ride to a small town outside of Krakow? I will be scanning this site between now and then for ideas.
Any comments or suggestions are always welcome
The salt mine nearby is well worth a tour. You can reach it by bus. I was very impressed with the salt carvings.
Also, a trip to the Auschwitz camp is a very moving experience.
Auschwitz is outside of Krakow. Our hotel arranged a van and group tour for us.
There are walking tours for different areas of Krakow.
I hadn't heard of St. Francis' Basilica before we traveled there, but it has a beautiful Art Nouveau interior that makes it very unique and is worth a stop in if you are interested in that style. We also really liked the botanic gardens if you are going at a time when flowers are in bloom. We were there at the beginning of October and the fall colors were just starting.
Check out the In Your Pocket Krakow Guide - if you Google it, you can download the PDF. It will be helpful for planning purposes. Aside from Krakow proper, Auschwitz and the Salt Mine, you can also tour the UNESCO wooden churches that are in the vicinity but a car is required (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1053). You can also do a day trip to Częstochowa, a major (obviously Catholic) pilgrimage site and home of the Jasna Góra Monastery and Black Madonna.
I would make the trip in September rather than August, which could be quite hot.
Weather wise, the best time to visit southern Poland would be late Spring - early Summer, however early September should be fine too.
If you are not too keen on touring concentration camps, know that Krakow has a number of other interesting and exciting day trips too. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:
Wieliczka Salt Mine - really amazing subterranean architecture made of salt in this ancient mine, not too good place if you are claustrophobic.
Zakopane - resort spa town makes a great base to explore and hike the impressive and stunning Tatra mountain range.
Wadowice - the small town where Pope John Paul II was from, nice baroque old center, make sure to try the creame pastries the town is known for.
Tarnow - a gem of a town, off the tourist radar, with much Polish medieval and renaissance architecture eye candy.
Pszczyna Palace - another off the beaten path site, a grand baroque palace estate of the former German Duchy of Pless, the "Versailles of Silesia".
Suggest trying to schedule your visit for mid to late September if possible. August is still quite hot, and the heat lingers into early September, or until the first cold front of Autumn blows thru when the weather becomes delightful - basically Indian summer type days with low humidity and moderate temps. A much more pleasant time to be in the city at any rate.
A very pretty off-the-beaten path attraction is Ojcowski National Park just north of town - has some nice short hikes thru the forest and the ruins of a couple of old castles. Most of the day trips to Czestochowa include it as a stop on the way back to Krakow.
Kitschy but some educational value and great fun... The Crazy Guides Deluxe Communism Tour. Ride around Krakow in a Trabant. Visit a Soviet prototype community (complete with a visit to an apartment that is stuck in the 1970's). Eat in a milk bar (simple, wonderfully-tasty food). I loved it.
https://www.crazyguides.com/krakow-tours/communism-deluxe-tour
