Image: owczarek.com.pl
With so many people travelling west from Eastern Europe, it may be counterintuitive to fly to Poland on holiday. However, once you ditch your preconceptions, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the city of Krakow. Here are 4 sites you should visit:
1. Auschwitz
The largest concentration camp from the Holocaust is located a short train ride from Krakow, and each day a train takes visitors to the site. The tour takes people through the gas chambers, punishment rooms, and living quarters that the inmates of the camp occupied, as well as giving detailed information on what it was like for the prisoners. Even though the tour has been described as "harrowing," it is also believed to be important to learn about history in order to learn from society's mistakes.
2. Wawel Castle and Cathedral
Throughout Poland's rich, varied history, this landmark has stood the test of time, and has influences from Russia, Austria and Prussia. The architecture and the landmarks (such as the Wawelski dragon bones at one of the cathedral's entrances) weave together to give any tourist a more complete picture of the tapestry of different influences which went into shaping Poland as a country and Krakow as a city.
3. Wierzynek Restaurant
Krakow is undoubtedly the gastronomical centre of Poland, with its many restaurants, pubs, bars and even a famous sausage stand (the Hala Targowa). Outshining all these, however, is the famous Wierzynek Restaurant, named for its first proprietor who cooked incredible meals for luminaries and dignitaries all over the world. The menu is 4 - star, the service is black tie, and the price tag is just £15 a head for a 3 course meal.
4. Wieliczka Salt Mine
Slide down into history at the Salt Mine. The Wieliczka Mine is the only Salt mine in the world that's functioned continuously since the Middle Ages. And it's breathtaking - with 9 levels replete with statues, lakes, chandeliers and spacious chambers. Wieliczka held a place on the original UNESCO list of history and culture, and when you visit it you'll see exactly why.