Hi Boox Popular Magazine 2024
Krakow has a buzzing nightlife scene and will satisfy everyone as it has all styles, trends, and genres no matter your age group, taste, or preferences. The two hotspot areas in Krakow are the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz full of bars, pubs, live music venues, beer gardens, dance clubs, and restaurants all offering different kinds of settings, drinks & international food choices.
Let’s begin with the Old Town which has the main square, Rynek or Draper’s Square as the major landmark, the square itself is surrounded by many bars and restaurants with external seating to view the hive of activity on the square and have higher prices than all the streets leading off it that are also crammed full of venues. So whether you are on a romantic visit or a Stag & Hen Party or just a weekend break here are some of the best and eclectic locations If you are looking for plush and elegant surroundings while sipping on a cocktail then 1 – Baroque – elegant interior, international clientele, famous for its cocktails. Not cheap but well worth visiting. The venue is situated close to the main square.
The 2 – Mercy Brown Bar is a speakeasy bar in the Old Town area which means this bar does not display its name in the sense that there are no signs for it. You find this 1920s Parisian themed bar above a restaurant just off Planty the pedestrian ring road. The bartenders love showing off their skills and good luck in finding this ‘hidden’ bar, it’s worth it. 3 – Garden Re this popular secluded, tree-filled garden retreat is next to Maly Rynek or the smaller square of the Rynek in the center.
Although most bars are of a tourist nature directly on the square if you walk down the numerous corridor entrance archways interspersed on its perimeter you will find some interesting bars such as 4 – Buddha Bar which is a tucked-away place in the old & weary style its garden has long sofas for your comfort. The 5- Tram Bar is a typical ruin or dive bar, well-used furniture as they are actually wooden pre-war tramcar seats with the old tram luggage racks hanging on the walls.A great place to grab a cool beer in the evening 6 – Dolnych Mlynow a huge open-air complex that used to be a tobacco factory in the old days, full of different pubs with indoor & outdoor seating.
The various pubs offer mainstream & local brewery beers along with living music, open-air cinema & theatre shows. It is situated just outside of ‘Planty’ the circular walkway around the city center and very popular with people living in Krakow as well as tourists. A couple of nightlife establishments wort visiting there are e.g.: Hala Glowna, Last Rico, Scena 54, and the Mash Room which serves your cocktail mix in pitchers and jugs. They often bring in celebrity barmen & women to mix your drinks, the venue loves unusual art especially psychedelic forms.
Moving to the nearby Kazimierz area we have the Plac Nowy, another square as a starting point. Kazimierz has its own charm and the area highlights the Jewish way of life with its synagogues, museums, restaurants, and historical monuments.
Like the Old Town an evening spent there in the streets, squares and alleyways visiting the area’s best and most unusual public houses or pubs, on this square, there are several venues happy to accommodate groups and 7 – Alchemia Pub is one of them. This bar and music club is a local legend. It has 2 floors with live music and DJ downstairs with the ground floor offering food and comfy table sitting areas, as the name suggests it displays old photographs and curious mystical objects in the suffused candle-lit bars. Numerous Polish famous bands and solo artists performed there. Close by is 8 – Opium Club & Pub is a chilled bar with a lovely beer garden courtyard and a terrace on the 1st floor. It specializes in classical cocktails using exotic ingredients enhancing this Middle Eastern theme.
The beer garden looks out over the area and has a dancefloor which is well frequented late into the night. 9- Propaganda – try this little bar in Miodowa street if you’re up for some Polish punk and ska music. It’s a small but atmospheric, non-conformist, and proletariat themed place to grab a crazy anarchy beer comrades. 10 – Eszeweria with its gravel stone beer garden and sofas & divans in all the nooks and crannies indoors gives this pub on Josefa St. a very charming olde worlde vibe.
The majority of these above-mentioned venues are included in organized Krakow Pub Crawl tours available through dedicated Krakow stag do companies such as those found on partykrakow.co.uk, include free drinks, Karaoke, dance club entry and experienced Guides to make your evening one to remember.
Also, the Krakow pubs and clubs have flexible closing times as long as there are people frequenting the venue they stay open, so pace and prepare yourselves for an extra-long night and possibly an early sunrise breakfast on the way back to your accommodation. Cheers!
