Like most of us, I am firmly in my pre-hibernation phase, craving stodgy foods, thick, woollen coats and an electric blanket that is always turned on.
So when I was invited to fly to Krakow, the home of potato-filled dumplings, soups served in bread and cobblestone streets that look romantic - not grim - in the rain, I jumped at the offer.
Sunway, a family-owned Irish company, invited me to take part in their fully guided tour of the city, the last of the season before resuming them again in March 2026. Our 36-strong group included a range of travellers, from sassy retirees in their 50s and 60s to a quippy mam-and-daughter duo and a handful of solo travellers.
Having not travelled as part of a large group since one or two childhood trips to Spain, I was unsure of what to expect, but a recent showing of A Real Pain had set me up for what I hoped would be long conversations, exchanges of inter-generational wisdom and maybe a few tears along the way.
Of course, a trip that would include a visit to the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau and deep dives into the lives of Jewish people in 1930s Poland could not be called a feel-good getaway, but I found plenty of light to balance out the dark in this stunning, storied city.
We landed on a foggy November morning, the red, green and gold foliage burning against the grey skies. Cold, but not a wet cold like we're used to, it was crisp and refreshing, the perfect weather for exploring a city while bundled up in your favourite winter coat.
What to do
And explore we did, setting off almost immediately on our first activity: a walking tour of the Jewish quarter in Kazimierz.
Kazimierz, a small quarter hugged by the Vistula River, was initially founded as an independent city in the 14th century by King Casimir the Great and settled by Jews for centuries.
Today you'll find bustling restaurants and stylish cafes, but before World War II, the area was populated with Jewish-owned businesses, from banks and bars to pharmacies and craft shops, largely owned by the 70,000 or so Jewish inhabitants.
Our guide, Monika, met us at Podgórze, the small triangular space that was once the heart of the Jewish ghetto in Krakow where Jewish people lived for two years of strict rationing and segregation.
Today, the square is filled with an installation of metal chairs, representing those who were told to wait for transport to a new home and forced to pack up their lives, only to be taken to a concentration camp 20 minutes away.
The walking tour includes a visit to the Old Synagogue, now operating as a museum, as well as a quick run-through of some prominent Jewish figures of the time, from makeup entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein to resistance fighter Jan Karski.
It was an eerie introduction to the city's stark and devastating history, and I marvelled at our guide's ability to relay such horrors with equal parts empathy and resolve.
The eeriness would continue tenfold the following morning, as our tour bus escorted us to the Memorial and Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a roughly 90-minute drive from Krakow.
What can be said about this harrowing place that hasn't already been said? Despite learning about it in history class and seeing depictions of the squalid conditions in films, I realised that I really didn't know the realities of such a place until I was walking among the red brick barracks and paper-thin wooden cabins that housed 1.1 million people, from Poles and Roma people to Ukrainian, Belarusian, and French prisoners.
For example, of that 1.1 million, only 400,000 people were registered as prisoners in the camp records, 200,000 of whom were Jews. Incredibly, it was the survivors of the camp who returned to Auschwitz in 1947 and opened it to the public, intent on educating people on the horrors that took place there.
Devastating as it is, it is an unmissable part of the trip, a way of reckoning with the cruelty of the past and a reminder to shout loudly and with empathy about the cruelties of today, no matter who is perpetrating them.
With the evening free to enjoy the city, my boyfriend and I explored the stunning market square filled to bursting with shoppers and colourful stalls.
We happened upon a concert by the Krakow Chamber Orchestra of St Maurice, which performs in St Peter and Paul's Church - a 17th-century church with 12 imposing statues of the apostles positioned outside - every day of the week, cycling through a selection of classical pieces, with tickets costing €20 each.
Our last full day of activities began bright and early with a trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, 30-minutes drive from Krakow. This trip is an optional add-on in the package, but it looked like almost everyone opted for it, having heard stories of its underground sculptures, chapels and more.
Over 700 years old, the mines are a serpentine network of over 300km of corridors, of which only 1% are open to the public, and even still, we got through a lot in our two hours there. We began by descending a wooden staircase of 400 steps, and by the end of the tour, we'd reached a dizzying 135 metres underground.
The main draw, of course, is the breathtaking underground church to St Kinga, a masterpiece of construction chiselled entirely out of the thick rock salt walls, with reliefs on the wall of the Last Supper and chandeliers dripping with glistening rock 'crystals'.
And if you're wondering, yes, licking the walls is encouraged by the guides.
Finally, we met up with our guide Monika once again for a last walking tour of the city itself, which would have been better at the start of the tour, but was nonetheless enjoyable.
After a tour through Jagiellonian University, a campus of majestic red brick buildings that refused to admit chemist Marie Curie, of all people, and the sprawling Wawel Castle that peers down onto the city, we ended our walk at the two towers at St Mary's Basilica.
Here, the hourly bugle call, performed by a real live musician positioned in an apartment at the top of the taller of the two towers, signalled the end of our trip to the rich city, and has since acted as a siren call, drawing us back again.
Where to eat
It was hard to find a bad meal in Krakow, in my limited experience, but here are some standout spots we enjoyed:
Charlotte
A fabulously named (ahem) French cafe and wine bar housed in a spacious and understatedly elegant building. We ended up going here once a day for the three days we visited, sampling an excellent croque madame on some of the best bread I've ever tasted - baked fresh daily in the open kitchen in the basement - and 'Charles' Breakfast', a feast of croissants, mixed breads and homemade spreads and jams, served with an egg of your choosing and a hot drink. Two of these Marie Antoinette-style platters came to €17, with an extra hot drink. Steal of the century.
W Starej Kuchni Restaurant
Another spot for when you're looking for traditional Polish cuisine, the setting here is far more rustic, as is the food. Juicy sausages, crisp pork cutlets and plates of hearty potatoes await you here.
Europejska Cafe/Restaurant
Located on the main square, this Art Deco-inspired dining room was the perfect atmospheric spot for our first taste of traditional Polish food. We opted for pierogies, Polish sour rye soup served in bread, a lusciously thick goulash and a creamy chicken dish served with beetroot gnocchi.
Ariel
If you're looking to try traditional Jewish food, you can't go wrong with Ariel, a stalwart restaurant in Kazimierz. We were seated in the Fireplace Room, a green dining room filled with paintings, and ate matzo ball soup, a stunning Berdytchov soup made with tomato, beef and cinnamon and the 'Delicacy' dish, with steak, spinach and a spicy sauce.
Dobra Pączkarnia
We'd passed this hole-in-the-wall donut shop twice before succumbing to its call, and boy, we were not let down. Freshly made throughout the day, these triangular treats are the platonic ideal of donuts: light, golden, not too sweet and filled with everything from an exceptional tangy cherry jam to whipped pistachio cream.
Details
I was invited to visit Krakow as part of Sunway's Krakow and Auschwitz Exploration Tour, which will run again on 15 March 2026 for €669. Flights, accommodation, walking tours, tickets to Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mine were covered for purpose of review.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
