Krakow Poland, Help!

stay in the city center; close to the train station and everything you want to visit.
If I recall the old Jewish district is slightly rundown and you can easily get to it from the square. Can't give you any information about the hotels, only the areas. Have visited Krakow 4 times since 2006 and always stayed in the area of the square; it is one of the gems of the EU, not just of Poland.

I echo Jerry's opinion. Stay in the city center. It's one of the main attractions of Krakow and should be enjoyed. </p> We rented an apartment in Krakow. Depending on how long you plan on visiting, look into an apartment. Enjoy Krakow but don't bother visiting Nova Huta. It's a disappointment. Depressing look at USSR failured city management

what website did you use for your apartment and did it have air conditioning? due to allergies with my daughter we want to have air every where we go, just in case the weather is unbearable for her. Thanks for the help!

Hi Lori, The Hotel Ascot is air conditioned and is in easy walking distance from the train station. It wasn't there when I was (there's been a boom in hotels in the last 5 years), but I looked at inyourpocket.com which is an excellent source for info on hotels and restaurants, etc. The Ascot isn't in the city center, but it's maybe five minutes walk from it. (I spent quite a lot of time in Krakow and did a lot of wandering around while there. I'm sure there have been changes since then, but the basics are the same.) The street itself, Radziwillowska, is a bit nondescript if I remember correctly, but in runs into Kopernica which will take you into the city center (old town) and Kopernica is very nice with many pretty churches. As for The Rubenstein, it wasn't there five years ago either, but according to googlemaps, it's on Szeroka which is the main tourist area of Kazimierz- the old Jewish district. One of the other posters said that this area was run down, and yes he's correct about the area in general, but this particular street is very historic, interesting, and quite nice and safe. Steven Spielberg stayed in a hotel just a few doors down from the Rubenstein while filming Schindler's List. The area in general, while a bit run down, is also energetic with lots of new restaurants and clubs. However, this area is a bit far to walk to from the train station, especially at night when you're tired and don't know for sure where you are going. Transportation is easily accessible from both locations, but I agree with other posters that it's best to be as close to the old town as possible just because it's beautiful and amazing and you'll want to spend as much time there as possible rather than getting to and from.

I was in Krakow in September and stayed at Hotel Polonia, right outside the Old Town. True, its only a moment's walk from the train station, but the next time I go to Krakow I'll be staying in the former Jewish neighborhood. As with most large cities there is public transportation to most neighborhoods. The Old Town is really touristy and I didn't like that so many of the restaurants there catered to Western tourists. The Jewish area (Kazimierz) had much more character and authentic local restaurants and coffee shops. It may be a bit "run down" but being slightly old and not reconstructed what do you expect? A tip: if you think you may need to do laundry while you are in Krakow try to stay in a hotel that provides that service. Learned the hard way that there are only 2 laundromats in Krakow and they are difficult to get to ;) . I liked Krakow very much. If you have the time try to see the Schindler museum. Very interesting and well done, more about Jewish life in Krakow during the war than about Schindler, as I has assumed.

I would stay in the city center. The Jewish section is nice (a little run down but it does have a real Eastern European feel to it because much hasn't changed) but it's very quiet and doesn't have the same "feel" as the city center does. If you're planning on seeing any of the sites outside of Krakow such as the Salt Mines (a must see) or Auschwitz (all people should go here) you should hire a driver. We took a tour for the Salt Mines which was fine but when we went to Auschwitz we hired a driver, www.transfers-krakow.com . I am so glad that we did! Zibi took care of everything. He picked us up and dropped us off in front of our hotel, dropped us off right in front of the entrance of the camp, hooked us up with an English speaking tour and then drove us over to Camp #2 (which you see after Auschwitz) to re-hook up with the English tour. After you go to these two camps, you'll be so emotionally drained that the thought of fighting with public transportation or other people, is too exhausting. He is rated #1 on tripadvisor and I have to say, he was the BEST! I loved Krakow and can't wait to go back. I found two VERY good restaurants that were a little higher end but the food was worth every penny spent. If you want that information, please email me at [email protected] and I'll be more than happen to email it to you. Oh yea, what the other poster said about laundry is VERY true. We had to walk almost 20 blocks with heavy dirty clothes to wash ours. So plan well,

I stayed at the Orbis Frankuski, just 2 blocks north of the main square and a short walk to the train station. See my post on Krakow Accommodations posted today.