In Kazimierz - around Plac Nowy, Krakow

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There seemed to be plenty of locals and it seemed like every 3rd person
was on a laptop! Mixture of geeks, students and tourists taping away
on their keyboards. Seemed like this place was an 'any time' of day place
and pretty laid back.

French and Brazilian music make the place even more French.
Lots of books and magazines in different languages are available to read
on the many bookshelves. I noticed that so many cafes and bars have
bookshelves for guests and as fashion design.
Well with Krakow with a population of 1 million and 200,000 of them students,
then not so stupid an idea!
Open 7am to Midnight weekdays and on weekends 8am opening
and same closing time.

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This was our 2nd stop in Kazimierz on our bar visits,
and when your host is a Cracovian, they must know the crack...ha ha
Crack as in Irish meaning fun, not as in the USA meaning crack cocaine.
Well this bar was just across the square from Alchemia and this was probably
one of the better lit cafe/bars in Kazimierz, and in the back was a
room with a skylight, so definitely keeping away the Krakowian
vampires during daylight. Wall to wall Classic and typical Parisian
souvenir shop French posters and photos of the iconic Serge Gainsbourg of
the famous smooching hit of the 70's 'J'taime'.

Dress Code:
Oversized National Health Service prescription glasses,
laptop or smart phone with Wifi internet access.
An interesting book under your arm.
No 3 piece suits

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There is in the summer sometimes open air concerts in the
middle of Kazimierz!!! Great music for free!! So get to Alchemia
and grab an outside table seat early on the night.
There are Jazz festivals the Alchemia cellar plays host to
some of the best performances in town and is a participant in
annual jazz and klezmer festivals, (Quintessential Krakow).
I live in the Jewish old ghetto
district of Budapest and they have a similar scene
in the late summer months
with klezmer bands. :-)
All reservations are requested to be collected half an
hour before the show. All the reservations not collected till
that time will be cancelled. they are due to low number of seats in the music hall.

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One of my new Polish friends arranged a meeting here,
and it's a great place to feel the Kazimierz atmosphere,
this bohemian area which reminds me of Copenhagen or
Amsterdam scene about 30 years ago.
Just without the dope and funky clothes.
One of the most evocative bars in Cracow.
The name Alchemia captures the ambience inside, dimly candlelit
tables with people hudled around inside like vampires keeping out of
the daylight in the smoke filled rooms. With a few tables outside on
the pavement you can soak up the comings and goings in the square,
with some places selling the famed cheese filled toasted dissected baguettes
and locals and tourists jostling on busy evenings to enter the various
watering holes on the Plac Nowy.

Continued In Next Tip

Dress Code: come as you are

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Alchemia isn't the sort of bar to visit by yourself if you want to meet people but if in company already then this definitely is one of Krakow's nightlife highlights. The prime table here is the one with the "Reserved" sign on it which is adjacent to the bar. When our little company first visited the place it was absolutely heaving with every table taken apart from this one which had a couple of guys on it but plenty of empty seats.

We politely inquired if we could join them and were made more than welcome to do so. HA! Then the barmaid arrived to inform us that the table was reserved for the owner and that we would have to move, As we pointed out - where to?

"Sorry", she shrugged, "My English is not very good." and then just left us to it! The owner never did show up to claim his "Reserved" table and so a pleasant few beers were enjoyed!

A couple of nights later I revisited with a Polish friend, Maciek, at some small hour of the morning. HA! This time we were told that the bar was about to close and were initially refused entry. I'm not quite sure exactly what Maciek said but anyway quite a few more pleasant beers were enjoyed - that was the night I have no idea how, or when, I got back to my hotel!

This really is a busy and atmospheric place, favoured by the local "arty" crowd and also has a cellar with regular live music.

Yep defitenitely worth a visit and remember that rules are only words!

Dress Code: Definitely casual and Bohemian is good too!

The Plac Nowy area is surrounded by plenty of bars and pubs where you can hang out at night on weekends. It's one of the most popular places to party at night nowadays, especially for students (not teenagers) and people in their 30's - early 40's. It looks like the jewish quartier has become very "classy" and popular for most middle & upper class people.

We walked by several places and they were all crowded. After crossing the square (we were coming from the riverbank area) we found this place Nova which was almost empty when we got there. Eventually it started filling up, but it didn't feel like because we were on the "terrace". They have a lounge inside but they also have tables with big umbrellas placed on an inner yard. We were outside as our table was big (we were at least 10 people) and the weather was nice to be outdoors. We were almost the only ones sitting outside so it didn't feel like it was crowded at all.

They have a limited choice of drinks (both alcoholic and non-) and food/snacks but I was pleased with what we ate & drank, and the prices were fair. I recommend the ciabatta sandwiches: they are good and BIG!! I shared one with my friend because they were quite big. She shared another one with her husband and told me that both were very tasty.

Dress Code: Just anything is fine, people here dress mostly nicely but if you're wearing jeans you can still come in.

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This fabulous candle lit bar is a wonderful place to escape from the world or so it would seem. The bar is cloaked in darkness and a puff of smoke with the aid of heavy set velvet curtains and candlelight is illluminated round the room with the aid of dusty mirrors. We shared a round table with a group of locals & we were invited to share in their celebrations that evening. Our new found local friends consisted of a famous Polish comedian, a journalist & a sculptor who gave us insight into what it is like working as a local in Krakow & why so many locals are moving to UK now that they are in the EU.

The name of the bar denotes to the fact that the room is adorned with singer sewing machines and not live music as some may thing. We were there until the small hours of the morning blissfully unaware that it was snowing outside. Wine is served in 100ml measures & vodka is the popular choice of beverage.

Whenever I go to Krakow I always hang out in Kazimierz as it´s where all the students, intellectuals and arty people go, and there aren´t so many drunk British bachelors (in fact I never saw any outside of the old town square). There´s usually local (good) art on the wall and they sometimes have live performances. I´ve met some cool people in here and even been invited to a house party. Not bad. Order a krupnick.

Cocon club is the biggest gay club in Poland. It is also one of the most popular and well equiped. It offers two dance floors and three bars, serving a wide variety of drinks, coctails and beers... It has an air-cinditioning in the main dance floor.

Cocon is for sure a place where you may find not only local people but also many tourists who are visiting Krakow. It is open since the evening but if you wish to dance do not come before 11 pm as DJ comes to the club at 11 pm and starts the party. Not many people dance before 11 pm. It is quite easy to find a place to sit as there is plenty of tables both, inside and in a garden.

The place is in a good location. You may simply walk from the main market square. It takes about 15 minutes. It is located near the Vistula river and marked with rainbow flag above the main door. Not that imposings from outiside but nice interior.

Alhemia is where the artists of Kraków meet, here you can find all sorts of people, students artists, tourist, etc.
There are frequent concerts and art exhibitions inside the café. The atmosphere is really special, dim and cosy, the bar is made out of an old table, and the floors carryies the signs of being used for several decades.

Dress Code: In this place I believe everything goes