CRACOW OR KRAKOW?

Krakow, Cracow - call it what you will - a big welcome to our travel guide to Poland's cultural capital! Although Cracow may not be Poland's largest city or capital (though it was for several hundred years), we certainly think it's the most vibrant and exciting, not to mention culturally stimulating, of Poland's cities. To get you started, Cracow Life brings you a general guide section of information, as well as a comprehensive low-down of the very best places to check out. In fact, once you catch a glimpse of everything the city has to offer, you just might not want to leave!

But if you're here for a limited amount of time, we'd like to help you make the best of every minute, and to really get a feel for what makes this city such a unique part of Poland, yet quintessentially Central European. Just as so many of the city's treasures lie hidden, whether beneath its streets in cellar bars or further afield in its natural wonders, its character can't be described at first glance. From its historically rich and well-preserved heritage to its proximity to such a tragic place as the former concentration camp Auschwitz, Cracow is a city of many facets. But today it includes a booming and boisterous student population and a nightlife that's hard to beat. Hey, what other World Heritage site can boast the highest density of bars and pubs in the world? You get the idea!

Perhaps you've noticed that we're keen to use both forms of the city's name in our guide - but what's the correct form? If you want to get technical about it, the official Polish name for the city is Krakw (with the dash over the "o" making it more of a "u" sound), but "Cracow" has been used in the English language for centuries. During Elizabethan times, when Poland was one of the largest countries in Europe, Cracow was written about often in English, and thousands of British businessmen travelled here. On the other hand, "Krakow," once rarely used, has recently come to dominate the Englishized name of the city thanks to modern travel - your luggage tag says "KRK," right? So today, technically both forms are correct - just don't use "Crakow" or "Kracow" - that's just too much confusion for one city to handle!