Take me there: Kazimierz, Krakow
Why go?
If you’ve seen Schindler’s List you’ll be familiar with the story of Kazimierz, home to Kraków’s Jewish community for 500 years before it was destroyed by the Nazis. No visit to Kraków is complete without a tour of its synagogues and Jewish cemeteries – but there’s more to this neighbourhood than memories. A new generation is colonising the cafés, shops and abandoned warehouses, transforming Kazimierz into one of the city’s most exciting areas.
What to do
The best introduction to Kazimierz is the two-hour guided walk offered by Cracow Free Tours, which visits medieval Szeroka Street, where the first Jewish merchants settled, the Remuh Synagogue, the Old Jewish Cemetery and Oskar Schindler’s enamel factory (cracowfreewalkingtour.com). Jewish culture, past and present, is celebrated at the excellent Galicia Jewish Museum (galiciajewishmuseum.org). The Sunday flea market at Plac Nowy is a local institution – after dark, the square is the hub for the area’s nightlife scene with locals queuing for zapiekanki (the Polish answer to pizza) at the many street stalls.
Where to eat
For proof that there’s more to Polish cuisine than cabbage and dumplings, book a table at Studio Qulinarne, where traditional ingredients (wild boar, venison, mushrooms, berries) are given a contemporary spin in the industrial-chic surroundings of a former bus depot (studioqulinarne.pl).
Where to stay
Tucked away in a quiet street, but close to the action, Hotel David makes a good-value base with smart rooms and friendly staff (from £50, hotel-david.101hotel.co).
Insider tip
Grazyna Zawada, editor of Kraków website local-life.com, recommends Miejsce Bar (ul. Estery 1): “It’s a small place with home-made food and vodkas, and 1970s furniture. Good for both day and night: you can start with a morning coffee and end up dancing on the tables in the early hours.”
Give me a break
Home Cornish seaside break: Beachspoke has added a gorgeous new hideaway to its collection of decadent Cornish boltholes. Harbour Moon is a fisherman’s cottage in Mousehole which has been given a radical makeover with stripped-back stone walls and a luxurious bedroom with a glass panel in the floor so you can watch the tide roll in from all angles. From £890 per week. Save 15% on stays before 21 December (beachspoke.com).
Away Harvest olives in Tuscany: help out with the olive harvest and get a Tuscan villa holiday half-price. Online villa-booking specialist To Tuscany is offering guests at its two properties in the hamlet of Montebuoni in Chianti a 50% discount if they spend four hours a day working in the olive groves, for five days. This brings the price of a week’s stay at La Vigna, a two-bedroom apartment, to £305, departing 15 November (to-tuscany.com).
