What's happening in Krakow this week?

Krakow's week is anchored by its squares and markets. The Hejnał trumpet call sounds from St. Mary's Basilica (founded 1400) every hour on the hour. The melody cuts off mid-phrase to mark a 13th-century trumpeter shot by a Mongol arrow while raising the alarm. You hear it best before 9am, when the Rynek Główny (laid out in 1257, Europe's largest medieval square at roughly 40,000 square meters) is still cool and the pigeons outnumber tourists. By 10am the square fills. Stary Kleparz, the covered food market 5 minutes north of the Barbican on Rynek Kleparski, opens Monday through Saturday from 6am. Go before 8am for the best selection of oscypek, the smoked sheep's cheese sold for 8-12 PLN per piece (about $2-3 USD at the current rate of 3.72 PLN per dollar). The stalls smell like caraway and warm rye bread. Sunday mornings the market is closed and the city belongs to churchgoers.

Monday is Krakow's quiet day. The National Museum's main building on al. 3 Maja (founded 1879) closes, and several Wawel Castle galleries follow suit. The Czartoryski Museum on ul. Św. Jana, home to Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine (founded 1796), stays open. Use Monday for Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter south of Wawel Hill, where the cafés on Plac Nowy serve zapiekanka from the circular hala targowa. That's a half-baguette loaded with sautéed mushrooms, melted cheese, and ketchup for 12-18 PLN. Tuesday through Thursday the city feels most residential. The milk bars near Jagiellonian University (founded 1364) on ul. Bracka still serve 15 PLN lunch sets, and the beer gardens fill by 1pm. You can walk from Wawel Cathedral (founded 1020) to Kazimierz in 15 minutes without bumping into a tour group. Friday and Saturday the stag parties arrive from London and Dublin. The noise concentrates on ul. Szewska and ul. Floriańska after 10pm.

Late June in Krakow is warm and long. Sunset currently falls around 9:15pm, and the golden light on Wawel Castle's limestone walls above the Vistula makes the 20-minute walk along the Bulwary Wiślane the best free activity in the city. Temperatures this week sit around 23°C, but humidity is running at 72%, so afternoons tend to feel sticky. Expect a brief shower most days between 3pm and 5pm. The smart move is museums during the afternoon rain window. Schindler's Factory in Podgórze costs 32 PLN and fills 2-3 hours. Then hit the riverbank or the Planty Park ring-walk (a 4 km loop that follows the line of the old city walls) when it clears. Evenings cool to about 16°C. The terrace bars along ul. Józefa in Kazimierz fill with the smell of grilled kielbasa while cold Żywiec runs 12-15 PLN per half-liter, about $3-4.

Saturday morning the Unitarg flea market sets up on Plac Nowy in Kazimierz from 7am to 2pm. Vintage Polish ceramics, communist-era propaganda posters, and old camera equipment spread across folding tables while the coffee window at Eszeweria does a brisk trade. Sunday is Krakow's family day. Families fill the Planty Park benches by 10am, and free organ music at St. Mary's Basilica draws standing-room crowds after the 11:15am mass. If you want Wieliczka Salt Mine (13 km southeast, founded 1300, 120 PLN for the tourist route), book the 8am or 8:30am English tour online at least 3 days ahead. The afternoon slots sell out by Wednesday. That 72% humidity you feel above ground becomes 100% underground at the mine's constant 14°C. Bring a layer.