While you may have never heard of Krakow before, it is by far one of the places you must go if you’re in Poland. There is beautiful architecture from the medieval period, amazing food, inexpensive booze and a major plus? Since it’s off the radar of many tourists, it’s never quite so jam packed like other destinations across Europe.

Wawel Castle: Located in central Krakow and home to a ton of other sites of cultural and historical value from different periods.

Schindler’s Factory: Home to the formal metal item factory owned by Oskar Schindler - a man who saved many Jews from the fate of the Holocaust. Now it also houses other attractions

Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory: is a former metal item factory in Kraków. It now hosts two museums: the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków, on the former workshops, and a branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków,

The Salt Mines: first used in the Middle Ages as one of Krakow’s main industries producing table salt, it is no longer in use and it a recognized UNESCO site for tourists. Underground you will find huge chambers, statues, chandeliers and more all carved out of salt by miners and modern artists alike. (Cost: 89 PLN with discounts available)

St. Mary’s Basilica: Home parish of Pope John Pail II, this is a landmark of Poland that really speaks to how important faith still is in the country. Additionally, it’s beautiful and holds a lot of culture and history worthy checking out.

Nowa Huta: Originally established as a separate town filled with propaganda from the forgotten communist-era. Filled with apartment blocks that give you a very realistic idea of what things could have looked like, it serves now as a historical and cultural example of what used to be in Eastern Europe.

Jagiellonian University - Collegium Maius: Having been a scientific center for research for centuries - even Copernicus was a student here - checking out the university is incredibly interesting and a way to step foot in many of the places incredibly influential scientists have over the centuries. Enjoy a coffee or tea on your exploration to see how students now still roam the campus.

Wawel Dragon: At the foot of the Wawel Hill is a statue of the legendary dragon that breathes fire from its mouth every 15 seconds. This is super fun for children especially but is a quick a fun thing for anyone.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: as the sites of some of the worst Nazi war crimes & genocide during WWII this is not something for all visitors. I recommend this for anyone above the age of 12 - or those mature enough to understand, comprehend and be respectful of where they visit. If you do choose to bear witness to the location of these many atrocities I could not recommend visiting enough. Over the course of my travels I have visited over six sites and believe the impact and first hand visualization of what people must have experienced there is an essential human experience to ensure something like this never happen again. Your visit here will take place in two parts: the main camp of Auschwitz I and the larger camp of Birkenau (Auschwitz II). NOTE: While you are of course welcome to take photos of your experience, PLEASE be respectful of the area you are visiting, the history and its darkness. I have had to correct people taking smiling selfies, laughing and playing children & teens more than I would have ever thought necessary. Additionally, be sure to keep your photos more for you and less for social media. Unfortunately many holocaust deniers continue to utilize tourists photos to “bolster’ their arguments and movement denying that the genocide happened at all.

I could tell you about all the amazing dishes that come from the Poles - sausages, potato pancakes and more. But instead I want to focus on my personal favorite bite you can get here and many other places in Eastern Europe: pierogis.

Pierogi are either boiled or fried Polish dumplings with a pasta-like dough outside and either a savory or sweet inside. If savory they are usually served with caramelized onions and sour cream and sometimes bacon! The most common type you’ll come across here is the Pierogi Ruskie which has potato, onion and cheese. What’s inside these amazing dumplings do typically include potato, some kind of cheese or meat but can hold just about anything. The sweet variety typically have fruit flavoring like plum, cherry or cinnamon apple.

In all transparency when I was in Krakow I literally had pierogis at every.single.meal. I grew up eating and making these with family so to have them in the motherland (even though it’s turned out I’m not very Polish) was essential. I had them at street vendors, small cafes, fancy dine-in places and more. Here are some of my favorites!

Kuchnia Polska Gaska: A beautiful and cozy restaurant with super friendly service is known actually for their goose meat BUT serves up some of my favorite pierogis I’ve ever had. Close to some seriously cute neighborhoods worth walking around.

Starka Restaurant: This is another cozy restaurant in the Jewish Quarter I loved. The pierogis are yummy but do only come at four per portion which is a little less compared to other places. A real pro here is that they have quite a few homemade flavored vodkas to try - something super fun if you drink and very in tune with the Polish experience.

While I can’t remember exactly every other location I tried, quite a few other yummy recommendations for Pierogis AND the Pierogi festival can be found here!

Check out Milk Bars - an inexpensive and delicious meal can be found at just about any Milk Bar (Bar Mleczny) with pierogis, meat and local beer for under 30 PLN. These are typically cafeteria style so it’s nothing fancy but it is a yummy way to enjoy local bites and save money!

If you’re staying longer than a couple of days, get the KrakowCard - For 140 PLN this three-day Pass provides you free public transit and access to over 40 sites and attractions. If your goal is to see a lot - including the Salt Mines & Schindler’s Factory - this is a great way to save money and be smart about planning!

Drink the Vodka - a local speciality of Krakow (and many Eastern European cities) is their locally made vodka. Krakow is no different and has different distilleries and bars solely dedicated to vodka all over the city. Night life here is huge and very fun - I highly recommend a bar crawl if you can! That being said, in comparison to much of Europe, drinking here can be done on the cheap. If you still want to save money, plan on pre-gaming with your favorite from a grocery store.

Take a FREE walking tour - seriously though! One of my best tours to date has been a free walking tour I took of Krakow. With an incredibly knowledgeable and fun guide learning about and seeing the city was even better than if I had tried to do it all myself. It’s also a great way to meet other travelers! Check out the company I went with here!

Looking to get a tattoo? Here is my recommendation - Alright so this tip seems super random BUT while I was in Krakow I basically super overdrew money out and was left with about $150 extra. During my time abroad I knew I wanted to get a tattoo and decided this unfortunate/fortunate money situation meant I’d get it right here! I ended up going with 9th Circle and had an amazing experience. The artist I had did an excellent job, talked with me through my first rib piece and was incredibly kind.

Need a Taxi? Call them on the phone! - If you call your taxi on the phone instead of hailing them in person you can save up to a rumored 30% which if you’re using them often can be a great deal of money!

Going out here is a marathon NOT a sprint! - Locals start early AND finish late when it comes to the party scene. Be sure to follow along if you want to get a seat at a nightspot in town (before ten). If you plan on doing as the locals do, you’ll probably find yourself out and about at least until 4am so consume accordingly. Fun Fact: Krakow has more bars & drinking establishments per square meter than any other place in the world!