Krakow is also named the Florence of the North thanks to its architecture, especially with the colorful houses. Walking along the streets and the places confirms it. Our next steps in the former capital of Poland were marked by wonderful discoveries.

After we visited Wawel’s site as we mentioned in our last article, we went to the Jewish Quarter Kazimierz (about 15 minutes walking) which has a lot of synagogues. The quarter’s streets are very enjoyable for walking, with typical and adorable colorful houses. We chose to visit two synagogues, which were both built in a different style but were magnificent: we started with Isaac Synagogue which charmed us with its simplicity and the remains of Hebrew writing on the walls.

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The Remuh Synagogue was much smaller and the inside was more illuminated with red and yellow lights. Its cemetery can be visited and is one of the three Jewish cemeteries located next to a synagogue in Europe (in the Jewish religion, placing the dead next to a holy place is considered inappropriate). The two other ones are in Prague and Budapest.

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After taking a smoothie in a quarter’s food truck, we went to the factory of Oscar Schindler, a German business owner who became a Righteous Among the Nations after using his factory to employ Jewish workers to save them from a cruel destiny in the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. The factory has been transformed into a museum and presents Schindler’s actions as well as the Krakow’s German occupation during the war. An experience that should not be missed… and that we unfortunately missed because we arrived on site at 2 p.m. and the last tickets for the exhibition were already sold. We recommend you to arrive early if you want to visit it, the prices go between 26 zlotys (6 euros) and 22 zlotys (5 euros) for a reduced ticket.

Finally, at the end of the day, we went to the main square: Rynek. This place looks like the big square in Warsaw with the same style of houses and an obelisk in the center.

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We visited St Mary’s Basilica (be careful: the tickets are sold in an office located next to one side of the building and not inside the basilica). This monument was absolutely sublime: the inside is papered with a royal-blue color and gildings on the walls, which deserves the biggest attention. A trumpet rings out at each hour from the tallest tower, which was once used to keep a close watch on the city. It used to announce the closure and the opening of the city and was also a warning if the city was attacked. A legend also says that the music stops very suddenly because a trumpeter was killed by an arrow while he was playing.

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After this gripping visit, we saw the Barbican of Krakow which is actually different from the Warsaw’s one. In Krakow, it just surrounds a commercial area in front of a park where we then walked. We were very satisfied of our day and it will remain one of the best parts of our trip. We finally came back to the train station to return to Warsaw.

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Official website:

St Mary’s Basilica: http://mariacki.com/en/