Why Cracow?

There is an endless number of guides and websites with a lot of tips and advices what to see in Cracow. The problem with this city is rather that each time you should decide what you WON’T see this time. For sure Cracow is not that kind of place which you can just visit in a day or two and say: „Ok, checked, I’ve seen it all”. There are so many monuments, museums, churches, theatres, wonderful restaurants and great pubs, all the places that you „must see”, that it is impossible to combine everything in one visit. Therefore it seems quite natural, that tourists keep coming back here again and again. In 2017 Cracow attracted 12.9 million visitors and in 2018 it was rated one of TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Most Excellent Cities in the World. Cracow was praised for its touristic and cultural offer as well as for great infrastructure.

Currently Cracow has 733 accommodation options, including 152 hotels, what gives total amount of 40.000 beds. It means that or city can offer you a similar number of lodging options as the capital of Netherlands, Amsterdam.

The touristic fame of Cracow has had many years. It is worth to remember, that the Historic Centre of Cracow along with Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines were inscribed in the very first UNESCO World Heritage Sites List, established in 1978. Nowadays the list includes over 1,000 properties in more than 165 countries.

Nowadays, this former capital of Poland is still considered by many to be a cultural center of the country. Cracow has some of the best museums, oldest universities and several famous theaters (Słowackiego, Stary, Bagatela).
It is also a home to Cracow Opera, which, although founded in 1954 got its own premises only in 2008 when the new opera house was opened.
The city has also one of the most valuable museum collections in Poland and is one of just six places in the world that can boast a painting by Leonardo da Vinci (in case of Cracow it is “Lady with an Ermine”).

Cracow is, without a doubt, a great student city. Over 160 000 young people (which makes up about 20% of the city’s population) study in one of the 22 colleges. If you visit the city anytime between September and July you will notice them for sure in the evenings – in clubs, pubs and restaurants.
And because thousands of qualified specialists graduate from Cracow universities every year, it is not surprising at all that a lot of international corporations have established their branches here (to mention just a few: ABB, Capgemini, Comarch, Electrolux, Shell, Phillip Morris International.)

The city, despite having many to offer from its past, is also looking into the future and trying to develop. It could be seen e.g. in the district of Zabłocie, where just next to Schindler’s Factory (which is The Historical Museum of the City Of Cracow, well known since Steven Spielberg’s Oscar movie from 1994) the Museum of Contemporary Art was built.

If you choose to visit Cracow you can be sure that it is a good decision – you will not be bored any minute!