The Polish city of Krakow is a wonderful holiday destination and it features many landmarks, historical sites and cultural monuments, which make it among the top places to be visited in the country. Most probably you will book a serviced apartment in Krakow and use it as a base wherefrom to start your trip in Krakow and in the areas around it. In case you plan a longer holiday or if this is not your first time here, then this is a great option to get to know the area.

This photo of Lake Morskie Oko

There are various places to be seen near Krakow, suitable for one day trips. These include the site of the notorious death camp Auschwitz of the Nazi regime. This place is just one hour drive from Krakow. The sad story is that almost one million people including women and children have disappeared here in the short period between June 1941 and January 1945.

Another place for a one day trip near Krakow are the town of Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains. Zakopane is the biggest mountain resort on the continent north of the Alps. Every year it welcomes more than three million visitors, as it has central location. The place features many hotels and a great choice of restaurants, pubs and cafes, as well as night clubs. The town is famous for its wooden architecture and is a center of the winter sports like skiing but is also popular among those who love rock climbing, cycling, hiking and paragliding. The Tatra Mountains are similar to the Alps in their character and they are the highest range of the Carpathian Mountains. The place is set two hours’ drive from the town of Krakow. The places that should be seen here include the Morskie Oko Lake, the lake Czarny Staw, peakthe Kasprowy with its cable car and the Koscieliska valley. Of course, there are many others as well.

Some 24 km outside the city of Krakow is located the Ojcow National Park, which is the smallest of the twenty national parks in Poland. Here are set lovely recreation places and even a castle nearby. The landscape is very picturesque with many limestone rocks, caves and a river valley. Quite interesting to be visited are also the eagle-nest castles, is an area of medieval strongholds that are beautiful located on a limestone rocks. Today the once glorious castles have turned into beautiful ruins over the long centuries.

Of course, we should also mention the holiest place in the country – the Jasna Gora Sanctuary Czestochowa, which is also among the most important pilgrims destinations in the world. The site is visited by millions of pilgrims each year, but also by celebrities, who all come here and pray in front of the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Also ideal for a one day trip from Krakow is the Calvary Sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which is pronounced a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The complex is more than four centuries old and it features 42 churches and chapels that come in different sizes and shapes.

A post by K.Baginski who writes about Warsaw apartments and apartment in London.