Normally when I book a trip I put a lot time and research into choosing the best hotel, as I can be a little bit picky. But when I recently visited Krakow, it was a totally different story. I ended up finding a great deal for the hotel we stayed at, and it had everything on my checklist, so didn't even feel the need to look elsewhere! After the trip was all booked, I did have a little browse just to see what else was out there, and honestly there are so many fantastic hotels in Krakow! As I mentioned in my Krakow Guide, it is a very affordable city, so you can find so many 4 & 5 Star hotels at great prices compared to other countries!
Not only will you find yourself an affordable hotel, but the restaurants, cafes and bars are also very affordable to eat at. This of course an depend on which area you are visiting or staying at. We spent the majority of time around Krakow Old Town with our hotel was situated in The Jewish Quarter, and we found most things super affordable. So here's a quick rundown of my Krakow recommendations for hotels, areas, and food:
Areas & Districts
For tourists visiting Krakow, there are three areas that people usually find the best to stay in. Again, this all depends on what you want from Krakow - for hidden gems try researching some of the smaller neighbourhoods and areas. If you're looking to make your way through Krakow's Must See list, then one of these three areas will suit you best:
The Old Town (Stare Miasto)
I've spoken about this area a lot in my Ultimate Travel Guide to Krakow, and for a good reason! Here you'll find a lot of museums, historic landmarks, cafes and restaurants, making it a popular place to stay. Here you'll find The Main Square which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you think this are is for you there are some great options to stay at such as aparthotels like the Aparthotel Stare Miasto, and luxe boutique hotels like the Wawel Queen.
As for cafe's, restaurants and bars, you really are spoilt for choice! In the Main Square you'll find a lot of independent cafe's as well as your regular chains such as Starbucks if you want a quick coffee. I'd recommended heading into the independent cafe's thought as they're a lot cheaper with coffee costing around £1, and they usually have a great selection of polish pastries for you to try!
The Main Square is also completely surrounded with restaurants so you can have a wander around a find pretty much any cuisine you fancy! A lot of these restaurants have outdoor areas if you want to dine outside with a view of the square. If you know me, then you know I'm a sucker for a good pizza, and we actually found this gorgeous little Pizza place called (NAME HERE) down a little back street which kinda didn't look like much from the outside, but had such a cosy and quieter atmosphere with the nicest décor!
The Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz)
So this is actually where I stayed, and it turned out to be a good choice! The Jewish Quarter was the centre of Jewish Life in Krakow before it was destroyed in World War ll so you can imagine the history this district holds. After the war it fell into disrepair, but has since been rebounded and become a popular visit amongst visitors. You can get a feel for true Jewish culture and life here whilst learning a lot of history. The streets boast a large number of restaurants offering traditional polish cuisine, as well as a number of quirky shops and streets. The district isn't as picturesque as The Old Town, but has it's own unique vibe with a more laid back atmosphere. There's still plenty of landmarks to explore here so if you're a history buff I'd highly recommended visiting the area. It's actually not to far of a walk to The Old Town area either so make for a great base.
As I previously mentioned, I stayed in The Jewish Quarter in The Hotel M29, which is named simply after the building's location. The hotel is a great mix of traditional and modern with a luxury feel to it! The hotel is relatively small and intimate with only 28 rooms available, but all the rooms were generously spaced with the hotel lobby, bar and restaurant also being decently sized.
We booked one of the four available Superior Rooms as I was not passing up on the opportunity to have a huge free standing bath! Our room also had a living space equipped with a sofa, TV, desk and mini fridge which made for a large amount of room! Staying in city hotels before, I was expecting something a bit more small and cramped. For example, staying in cities such as Rome and Barcelona recently, the hotels haven't offered the amount of room that Krakow has. My favourite part of the room was actually the skylight windows! Not only did it feel like a cosy NYC loft, but it actually let a lot of natural light into the room.
The location was also great with a shot bar next door, grocery stores opposite, and some of the cute cafe's I've ever seen including a bookshop themed coffee shop. There's also a little street food market about five minutes away which we went to on a couple of occasions. A popular choice here is the Zapiekanka which is a traditional Polish snack which is sort of like a pizza baguette with any toppings and sauce you'd like!
Podgorze
The final area I want to tell you about is Podgorze. This area is probably the quieter of the three as it's located along the riverside across from Kazimierz so if you want to experience Krakow at a slower, more relaxing place this would be a great area for you. It still has a lot of historical landmarks and was once known as the Jewish Ghetto. There are various holocaust memorials dotted around the district, and is actually the site of the famous Oskar Schindler Factory which you can visit. The are of Podgorze is actually pretty large and is made up of it's own smaller districts, but if you want to explore the other areas mentioned in this post, then staying somewhere near the river is going to work out best for you to explore all of Krakow.
Have you visited Krakow before? Which area would you like to stay in?