{"id":17726,"date":"2026-07-20T07:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/17726\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T07:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:11:07","slug":"love-books-this-polish-city-should-be-your-next-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/17726\/","title":{"rendered":"Love books? This Polish city should be your next break"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).<\/p>\n

Though he was one of the great English-language writers of the last century, Joseph Conrad grew up on Poselska, in Krak\u00f3w\u2019s medieval Old Town. He was known to stay at the city\u2019s Grand Hotel, which became the setting of The Enchanted Territories, a 1936 novel by former waiter Henryk Worcell. Nearby at cafe Jama Michalika, bohemian circles gathered, and Poland\u2019s first literary cabaret was born.<\/p>\n

A love of books is woven into the fabric of this Unesco City of Literature. Start on Rynek G\u0142\u00f3wny, the main market square in the Old Town, where one of Europe\u2019s first bookshops opened in 1610. Today, the bookselling tradition is kept alive by Empik<\/a>, which has ornate wooden shelves and an archway painted with portraits of Krak\u00f3wian authors.<\/p>\n

For more history, nearby Rara Avis<\/a> is one of the city\u2019s best antiquarian bookshops. The English section is small, but there\u2019s a fascinating basement full of maps. Or head to Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter just south of the Old Town. Here, a former synagogue houses Ksi\u0119garnia Austeria<\/a>. Reached via a courtyard where cherry trees bloom in spring, the bookshop has a huge selection of titles covering Krak\u00f3w\u2019s past and Jewish subjects.<\/p>\n

The city was under Nazi occupation from 1939 to 1945. This chapter is chronicled at Oskar Schindler\u2019s Enamel Factory<\/a>, opposite Kazimierz on the south side of the Vistula River. At the museum\u2019s heart is the story of the German administrator immortalised by Thomas Keneally\u2019s 1982 novel, then adapted by Steven Spielberg into Schindler\u2019s List. A moving art installation features the names of the Jewish people he employed so they wouldn\u2019t be deported to concentration camps.<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s time for a break, De Revolutionibus Books<\/a> is a short walk away and doubles as a cafe pouring speciality lattes. There\u2019s soft music from a record player and seating built into bookshelf alcoves, some requiring the use of a ladder. Another excellent option is Massolit Books & Caf\u00e9<\/a>, west of the Old Town. Enjoy a slice of red velvet cake, then slip behind the cafe counter to rooms with low-slung armchairs and a brilliant collection of Polish literature translations.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

Krak\u00f3w\u2019s medieval Old Town hosted one of Europe’s first bookshops.<\/p>\n

alder7; Getty Images<\/p>\n

Walk off the treats at Planty Park, which loops around the historic centre. Plaques on benches honour authors connected with Krak\u00f3w, including 1996 Nobel Prize-winner Wis\u0142awa Szymborska, whose voice can be heard online via a QR code. Follow the trail to a statue of the Wawel Dragon from Polish folklore, which breathes fire every few minutes. It\u2019s at the base of Wawel Royal Castle<\/a> \u2014 the Renaissance structure dates from the 16th century.<\/p>\n

Equally grand is the Cloth Hall, a\u00a0large covered walkway in Rynek G\u0142\u00f3wny featuring recessed market stalls selling shawls and amber jewellery. The library hall of the Jagiellonian University Museum Collegium Maius<\/a>, founded in 1364, is also worth visiting; its late-Gothic vaulted ceiling is painted like a cloudy sky.<\/p>\n

And for lovers of fantasy fiction, there\u2019s no better experience than Tawerna Wilczy D\u00f3\u0142<\/a>, or Wolf Den Tavern. Follow the sound of medieval-style pop covers, order a goblet of mulled wine and settle into the cavernous restaurant for a candlelit dinner of skewered meat. It\u2019s the closest fans of The Lord of the Rings may come to spending the evening in The Prancing Pony.<\/p>\n

Where to stayH15\u00a0Palace<\/a> in the Old Town is a former baroque mansion complete with art from the princely Lubomirski family.
From 1,103 PLN (\u00a3225).<\/p>\n

This story was created with the support of H15 Palace and Muzeum Krakowa.<\/p>\n

Published in the July\/August 2026 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).<\/p>\n

To subscribe to\u00a0National Geographic Traveller\u00a0(UK) magazine click here<\/a> (available in select countries only).<\/p>\n