Looking for something to do this Easter weekend? we bring you a summary of Kraków’s traditional Easter events, the Easter Fair, Emaus and Rekąwka festivals and more. Easter events summary (full details below) 21st March – 1st April  – Easter Fair 23rd March Easter Fair – Opening Ceremony 25th March – 1st April – Misteria Paschalia Festival 30th March – Traditional blessing of food 1st April – Emaus Fair 1st April – Śmigus dyngus 2nd April  – Rękawka Fair Easter Fair (Jarmark Wielkanocny) icon-day 21st March – 1st April, icon-time 10am-8pm (some traders may stay open until midnight) i ..read more

Local elections will be held on 7th April, when residents will have the opportunity to vote for the President of Krakow, as well as local councillors for the next term.  EU & UK citizens who are over 18 years of age, permanently resident in Kraków, and who are registered on the voters list, can vote in the upcoming elections. Who should you vote for? What are the candidates plans for the city, which is our home, specifically what are their views and policies for foreigners, migrants and expats living in the city? A debate with presidential candidates has been organised, providing a ..read more

A roundup of some of the news stories, which caught our eye over the past week or so. DRAGONS PARADE WITHOUT THE RIVER PARADE THIS SUMMER The city has announced that the very popular water parade of dragons will not be part of the 2024 Great Dragons Parade. For the first time in 23 years, the spectacle of the dragons parade accompanied by music, lights, lasers and fireworks,  will not take place on the Wisła.  The Dragon street parade through the city and the Dragon Family Picnic will take place on 8th-9th June.  There is some discussion of a dragon show being combined with ..read more

Tomorrow, Thursday 8th February, Poland celebrates ”Fat Thursday’, (Tłusty Czwartek).  The tradition is to eat at least one doughnut, known as Pączki, some say you have to eat at least three! Fat Thursday marks the end of Carnival, and beginning of Lent here in Poland.   On Fat Thursday you have to queue at the most popular places, with customers aat teh most popular pączki purveyors waiting up to 2 hours!!  Many bakers operate a more convenient pre-order option. It is reckoned that a mountain of 100 million Pączki, are consumed across Poland on Fat Thursday. What are P ..read more

Work begins next week (Monday 5th February) to renovate the balustrades of Kładka Ojca Bernatka footbridge, which connects Kazimierz and Podgórze.  The renovation will include removing the hundreds of ‘lovers padlocks’ to instal new vertical metal balustrades. The fate of the padlocks, which have become an integral part of  the bridge, has been discussed for what seems likes years, since the city announced that the padlocks would be removed for safety reasons. Soon a decision will also be made about what will happen to lovers’ locks.. In 2022 residents submitted more than 600 ..read more

On Sunday, (14.01.24) for the 10th year, fans of Cracovia Ice Hockey club, threw hundreds of teddy bears and soft toys onto the ice for charity. During the games against Oświęcim, the fans waited until the 23rd minute when Cracovia scored to throw the toys onto the ice. 1,870 toys were collected and will be given to Kraków Children’s Hospital and children’s homes in the city. Cracovia players wore special shirts which will be auctioned for charity. The charity event during the game,  is an annual event, which drew the biggest crowd of the season so far. Fans attending with a teddy bear ..read more

Layla lounge bar has established itself as a warm and welcoming community hub for foreigners living in Kraków. A cosy cellar cafe bar with great Lebanese inspired mezze food, cocktails, fine beers on tap and regular community events and meetups. Throw in some board games, a library of foreign language books, multilingual staff, and it really is a home from home which lives up to it’s name – Layla in Arabic (ليلى) and Hebrew (לילה) means a nice evening. Lidia and Fawzè would like to warmly invite members of our community to join them for festive fun at their Christmas events.  They wa ..read more

Whilst the Christmas market is the main event, Kraków has much more to offer over the festive period. Here’s a few of the highlights. PODGÓRZE CHRISTMAS FAIR OF UNIQUE THINGSPodgórze Christmas fair, or to give it’s full title – Christmas Fair of Unique Things! (Świąteczne Targi Rzeczy Wyjątkowych w Podgórze), is the cute little brother of the main Christmas Market on the square. The fair takes place in Rynek Podgórski with the stunning backdrop of St.Josephs church. Stalls offer a selection of more arts and craft type hand made Christmassy things, including stained glass, clay angels, natural ..read more

Kraków Christmas Market (Targi Bożonarodzeniowe) starts on Friday 24th November and runs until 1st January 2024. The Christmas market consists of 97 trading and catering stalls, with merchants from all over Poland and across Central Europe, taking part. The Kraków Christmas market was recently ranked as the best Christmas market in Europe, though we feel this is somewhat generous. The market area will be decorated by over 600 live spruce trees, Christmas lights and garlands. A wooden nativity scene carved by folk artist Józef Lasik  will also be on display. New this year, will be an hour ..read more

Today, 19th November, the 18th edition of the Open Day of Kraków Museums (Dzień Otwarty Muzeów Krakówskich) will take place.   Open Day is an opportunity to visit 55 museum branches and galleries operating in the city, which not only provide permanent and temporary exhibitions, but also prepare special attractions: workshops, multimedia presentations, shows and guided tours. “The Open Day of Kraków Museums has been enjoyed by Kraków residents and tourists for years.  This is another opportunity, after the Night of Museums, during which, in an unusual way, museums and galleries ..read more