Kraków on a budget: how much to plan?

Kraków has a pricing anomaly few European cities share: moving up a class costs almost nothing. The city's best-rated hotels, those above 8.8 out of 10, start around €72 to €76 a night, while the standard mid-range already begins at €54 and reaches €77. The two brackets overlap. Where elsewhere you would double the bill to gain a notch of comfort, here a few euros do it. That's the first move when booking: don't settle for mid-range by default.

The second point is the currency. Poland pays in złoty, not euros, and it has kept a cash habit in a few practical corners: the tram driver will sell you a 6 zł ticket, but only for exact change, and never gives change back. A handful of coins keeps you off the platform. A card with no foreign transaction fee also spares you the 2 to 3% lost on every conversion.

The third point is the most pleasant: most of Kraków needs no ticket. The Planty, the ring park that replaced the old walls, encircles the entire old town from St Florian's Gate down to Wawel. The Rynek Główny, the country's largest medieval square, is crossed every hour by the hejnał mariacki, the trumpet call cut off mid-note from the tower of St Mary's Basilica. The Vistula banks, the fire-breathing dragon at the foot of the castle and the Sunday morning flea markets on Plac Nowy ask nothing at the door.

For two people at mid-range comfort, plan roughly €75 to €115 a day excluding flights. Kraków remains one of the most affordable major cities in Central Europe, very close to Warsaw and slightly above Budapest, but with a high-end ceiling well below the Polish capital's.

Kraków is compact and its old town is almost entirely pedestrian, so staying central buys you nightlife rather than shorter commutes. Supply is broad: the survey turns up over 400 budget addresses and 500 mid-range properties, which keeps pressure on prices even in high season. A well-rated dorm bed runs €13 or €14 a night, a decent double around €70.