What should I avoid in Krakow?

The restaurants lining Rynek Główny, Krakow's main square laid out in 1257, look appealing behind their white tablecloths. A plate of pierogi ruskie at any of the terrace places facing the Sukiennice cloth hall runs 55-80 PLN. Walk 12 minutes south to Kazimierz and you'll pay 22-30 PLN for better versions at Starka on ul. Józefa 14, where the dough is thinner and the potato filling has proper seasoning. The same holds for żurek, the sour rye soup. On the Rynek it's lukewarm and floury at 45 PLN. At Milkbar Tomasza on ul. Tomasza 24, it arrives properly sour and steaming for 18 PLN. That said, the Old Town still has legitimate finds off the tourist axis. Ul. Św. Anny and the streets around Plac Szczepański tend to serve locals and Jagiellonian University faculty, and prices drop 30-40% from the Rynek.

Krakow is, by most measures, a safe city. The risks that exist are financial, and they follow a rehearsed script on ul. Szewska and ul. Floriańska after 10pm. Men in suits listen for English near the Brama Floriańska, then offer free entry and one drink at a nearby club. The bill arrives at 2,000-5,000 PLN, and bouncers walk you to the nearest ATM. The Kraków police have logged hundreds of these complaints. Walk toward the Planty park and don't look back. Money exchange near the Rynek follows a similar pattern. Kantor booths on ul. Floriańska post competitive buy rates in large font, but the sell rate, what you actually pay, appears in small print and runs 15-20% worse than the roughly 3.72 PLN per dollar interbank rate. Use the Kantor at ul. Sławkowska 1, which posts honest rates on both sides of the board. For withdrawals from Euronet's bright yellow ATMs, always press 'decline conversion' to avoid an 8-12% skim.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine, 14 km southeast of the city center, is genuinely worth the trip. The Chapel of St. Kinga sits 101 meters underground, and its salt-carved chandeliers throw warm light across walls licked smooth by 700 years of humidity. Book directly through the mine's own site at 120 PLN for the foreign-language tourist route. Third-party operators charge 180-250 PLN for the same experience, and the 'VIP' packages some push at 400+ PLN add a mediocre lunch you don't need. Train 304 from Kraków Główny reaches Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia in 25 minutes for 5 PLN. Back on the Rynek, the Sukiennice upper gallery is worth a walk for its carved wooden boxes and hand-painted Easter eggs. The ground-floor amber stalls mark up 40-60% over the same pieces at Galeria Krakowska, a 5-minute walk north. Skip the horse-drawn carriages on Rynek Główny. A 20-minute loop costs 200-400 PLN for a route you'll walk in 8 minutes, and the horses stand on scorching cobblestones through 30°C summer afternoons.

Krakow sits in the Vistula river valley, ringed by hills that trap cold air from November through February. PM2.5 readings regularly hit 80-120 µg/m³ during temperature inversions, against a WHO guideline of 15 µg/m³. A bitter, coal-tinged haze hangs at street level on the worst mornings, and after a 2-hour walk your throat feels raw. Check the GIOŚ air quality app each winter morning and head indoors when readings climb past 50 µg/m³. The Rynek Underground museum beneath the main square, the National Museum on al. 3 Maja 1, and MOCAK on ul. Lipowa 4 in the former Schindler factory complex all have filtered air and enough depth for a full afternoon. July and August bring temperatures of 32-35°C, and the Old Town's narrow streets hold the heat. St. Mary's Basilica, completed around 1400, has no air conditioning. The noon hejnał trumpet call from its taller tower is better heard from the shaded Planty benches near the Barbican.