Basic Krakow Info for Visitors

Eating the Krakow Way
Polish daily diet of choice has been traditionally rich in proteins and even richer in starch. On the Krakow tables the former usually materializes in red meat, eggs, cheese, and sausages, whereas the latter as bread, potatoes, and various noodles, pies and dumplings. There are three main meals in Poland: the morning sniadanie (breakfast), the afternoon obiad (dinner), and the evening kolacja (supper). In between they may be supplemented with a lighter drugie sniadanie (second breakfast) and a podwieczorek (tea). 
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Shopping in Krakow
Retailers have crammed every available space of Krakow’s central Old Town historic district with shops of all sorts. They compete with the city's brand-new shinning shopping malls. 
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Tips for the Business Visitor Coming to Krakow
Visitors from member-states of the European Union and NATO do not need visas to enter Poland. Otherwise, when a country wants Polish citizens to acquire a visa the general rule is that Poland requires citizens of that country to secure one for admission to Poland as well. [See also tips on employment, transport, communication, currency, paying, weights & measures, business hours, holidays, dates and numbers, and local customs]. 
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Taxes in Poland
As a rule expatriates and natives pay the same taxes in Poland. Of course, there are exceptions and they benefit the former. E.g. the country has tax treaties with 60-plus nations, including the USA,  which ensure no income is taxed twice and lower taxes apply. Value added tax (VAT) is included in the price of almost every product and service you purchase. Excise duty is a ‘sin tax’ of sorts, included alongside VAT in the price of such products as cigarettes, liquors, motor fuels, etc. Companies incorporated or headquartered in Poland are subject to corporate income tax. Personal income tax is paid both by Poland’s citizens and by permanent residents. 
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Gift Ideas
Krakow souvenirs trade concentrates at the focal Grand Square (‘Rynek Glowny’). Traditional Krakow souvenirs have included for decades: dolls clad in the Krakow region’s characteristic folk costume, the costume itself or just its single items (e.g. heavy strings of red coral beads, male four-corner red cap with a peacock tail plume), peacock tail feathers, gingerbread hearts with multicolor icing, and miniature replicas of the famous wooden Wawel Heads. 
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Money used in Krakow

Polish currency, zloty, is divided into 100 grosz. 
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Krakow Restaurants 
Krakow has always been Poland’s gourmet Mecca. And the recent decade brought about a genuine restaurant explosion all over the city owing to the hectic efforts of aspiring restaurateurs–native ones as well as immigrants. The Old Town historic district seems virtually stuffed with establishments catering to all kinds of diners.  
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Krakow Lodging Guide
Krakow hotels, hostels, holiday apartments for rent, and other lodging places together, can accommodate over 26,000 guests at a time. They fall into every category and price bracket: from cosmopolitan five-star hotels to homely guest rooms. 
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Travel to Krakow
Over seven million visitors show up in Krakow every year, though only a third or so stay overnight in the city. Many arrive and/or leave by air, but most take advantage of the fact that Krakow lies at a major European road and rail junction. 
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Krakow Transport
There is no subway in Krakow, nonetheless that nearly million city has a fairly dense public transport system which consists of streetcars and buses a municipal company operates and a number of private-owned minibus fleets. Taxicabs are plentiful and relatively cheap in Krakow–within the city boundaries the fare should not exceed 20 euro. And you can dial roughly twenty different taxi telephone centers, each with its own fleet. 
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Safety in Krakow 
Poland is generally safer than most European countries, east or west. And Krakow is safer than other major cities in Poland.  Unfortunately, petty crime seems pretty common. Although foreign visitors most often fall victim to pickpockets, it is the less prevalent car theft that appears the worst plague in Poland, Krakow being no exception. 
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Communication in Krakow
Public phones are fairly available throughout Krakow in street booths, post offices, and other venues. There is no operator, just dial either a Krakow number (they all start with 012) for local calls or zero plus zone code plus local number anywhere in Poland for distance calls or zero plus the country code plus the number abroad for international calls. If you brought a cell phone from abroad it should work in Krakow as in the rest of Europe outside your own country. 
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Sightseeing
There is a lot to see in Krakow: centuries-old impressive landmarks, lovely vistas, world-class works of art, and stunning curios. 
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Krakow Nightlife 
There is no shortage of nightspots to drink, dine out, and stay merry late into the night in Krakow. 
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