Best areas for students in Krakow

Stare Miasto (historic centre)

The historic city centre is one of the best student neighbourhoods in Krakow. It's true that it's the most expensive and touristy area of the city to live in, but it’s also the one that has a more lively environment.

Living in Stare Miasto is convenient for students from different institutions. For example, many of the buildings of the Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński) are in this neighbourhood. In addition, both the AGH University of Science and Technology and the Krakow University of Technology are just a few minutes walk away.

The beautiful historic centre of Krakow boasts plenty of restaurants (with local and international cuisine), bars, and nightlife. In fact, it’s the neighbourhood that has the largest number of nightclubs and cocktail bars where students go out at night.

As for cultural visits, among the most interesting sites are:

• The Market Square (Rynek Główny)
• The Basilica of Saint Mary (Bazylika Mariacka) with its trumpet call every hour
• Wawel Castle (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu) with its dragon that spits fire (Smok Wawelski)
• The Barbican (Barbakan)
• Churches like Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Kościół Rzymskokatolicki pw. Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła) or St. Francis of Assisi (Bazylika Franciszkanów św. Franciszka z Asyżu)
• The Collegium Maius of the Jagiellonian University, with its courtyard and cloister

A curious detail to highlight is that Stare Miasto is surrounded by a park, called Planty, which is located on the land where the wall that surrounded the city was located many years ago. For this reason, the entire neighbourhood is bordered by this beautiful park, closing at the Wawel Castle.

Stare Miasto is mainly pedestrian, because you can get from one end to the other in just 20 minutes. Trams and buses only cross the neighbourhood on the adjacent streets Dominikanska and Franciszkanska, as they usually have stops on the surrounding streets, outside of Planty Park.

Kazimierz

The old Jewish quarter is one of the neighbourhoods with the best atmosphere for young people. In fact, it’s known for its alternative atmosphere and for being one of the best areas with bars.

In Kazimierz some bars with unique and different themes stand out, like one that has Singer sewing machines or one that’s in an old synagogue. The restaurant offer is also very varied, with local and international options. It's also worth noting that the city centre is about a twenty-minute walk (or less) from this neighbourhood, allowing you to enjoy everything the area has to offer.

Being the old Jewish quarter, in Kazimierz there are a lot of cultural and historical visits. Take the opportunity to discover sites like:

• Its different synagogues: the Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga), Remuh Synagogue (Synagoga Remu), and the great Tempel Synagogue (Synagoga Tempel)
• The Basilica of Corpus Christi (Bazylika Bożego Ciała) and the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel (Bazylika św. Michała Archanioła)
• Father Bernatek Bridge (Kładka Ojca Bernatka), a pedestrian bridge with sculptures by Jerzy Kędziora
• Museums, such as the Museum of Engineering and Technology (Muzeum Inżynierii i Techniki)

As a green space, the path that runs along the Vistula River stands out, providing space for exercise, strolling, or sitting under the sun for a picnic. Also, one of the students' favourite activities is renting a kayak, with which you can admire the city and Wawel Castle from the water.

Kazimierz is connected to the rest of the city through bus and tram lines, although you can also arrive on foot quickly to other neighbourhoods, such as Stare Miasto or Podgórze.

Stare Podgórze

Podgorze is another one of the best student neighbourhoods in Krakow. It’s known for having a more hipster environment, combining history with modernity. It’s located across the Vistula River from the city centre, and can be reached in a short time.

The reality is that there’s no university in this neighbourhood, but it has good connections to different campuses.

Among the historical sites, the ones that stand out in Stare Podgórze are:

• Ghetto Heroes Square (Plac Bohaterów Getta)
• The Eagle Pharmacy (Apteka pod Orłem)
• The Gothic Church of St. Joseph (Sanktuarium Świętego Józefa w Krakowie)
• Fragments of the ghetto wall, on streets like Lwowska 25 and Limanowskiego 62
• The nearby Oskar Schindler Factory

In Stare Podgórze is Kopiec Kraka, one of the city's mounds from which there are very beautiful views and where students gather to watch the sunset and have picnics. You can also take walks along the Vistula River and explore the park called Park im.Wojciecha Bednarskiego w Podgórzu.

This neighbourhood is very well connected to the rest of the city mainly through trams, and it also has some buses. Also, here’s the Krakow Podgórze train station.

Krowodrza

This is the furthest neighbourhood from the centre of the ones mentioned in this article, but you can still get from one area to the other in about twenty minutes on foot. It's a neighbourhood full of students thanks to its affordable accommodations and good atmosphere.

Krowodrza is one of the best neighbourhoods for students in the University of Science and Technology AGH, since its main buildings and residences are located in this area.

In this neighbourhood, there’s a great variety of affordable bars for students, and also economical restaurants options to eat out.

Compared to the areas named above, Krowodrza doesn't really stand out for its historic visits. However, some cultural sites stand out, like the National Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie) or the Pomorska Street Museum (Ulica Pomorska / Muzeum Krakowa).

In their free time, the students who live in this neighbourhood take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy parks like the Henryk Jordan Park and the Park Krakowski im. Marka Grechuty, where you can have picnics, walk, and enjoy nature.

Like the other neighbourhoods, Krowodrza is very well connected to the rest of Krakow with bus and tram lines.

FAQs about neighbourhoods in Krakow