Krakow

Accommodations

Airbnb "Cozy, Quiet Apartment in Old Town" : This is a phenomenal airbnb, with a location walking distance to the Old Town square and the host, Jadwiga, is super nice! The apartment is on the fifth floor without an elevator, but that wasn't an issue, and gave me some good exercise. If I had the opportunity to live in Krakow, I would want to snatch this up. Check out my full review under the listing.
Airbnb "Angel in Cracow - Barbakan": I only stayed here one night, as I had extended my trip and my other airbnb was booked up. The location of the apartment was great, the host had some snacks and drinks to welcome me, which was super nice. Interior is small, but for me, was more than needed and the place was pretty well decorated. See my full review in the listing.

Sites/Tours

Auschwitz: This is two sites, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau), which are located a few miles away from each other and about an hour away from Krakow. Although entrance is free, tickets are still required. Book ahead of time and determine if you want to go with a guide or solo, which is only allowed first thing in the morning or towards the end of the day. Obviously, these can be emotional sites. Recognize where you are, please don't take selfies or walk around talking on your cellphone. I saw the latter on my visit and almost slapped a cell phone out of someones hands.
Oskar Schindler's Factory: Outside the Old Town at Ul. Lipowa 4, this building turned museum is definitely worth a visit. Avoid ticket lines at the factory building by purchasing them from the Visitor Center at Rynek Główny 1 in the Cloth Hall in Old Town Square. So as not to confuse, the Visitor Center is on exterior of the hall, don't walk inside looking for it where all the merchant stalls are. If you want to see this with a tour guide, I'd recommend doing this with the Free Walking Tour folks (obviously not free in this instance).
Jewish Quarter Free Walking Tour: Free Walking Tour folks can also show you Jewish Krakow, Kazimierz. I worried about the size of this tour, but small group tours from other companies were booked up already. There were about thirty people on this tour but it didn't feel so bad, the tour guide was easy to hear. You cover a decent amount of ground on this tour and get a lot of good information about Kazimierz and the ghetto area.
Main market square ("Rynek Glówny): This large square dates back to the 13th century and is part of Krakow's Old Town UNESCO Heritage listing. Horse carriage rides around the city are picked up here but I opted not to do a ride as I couldn't find information on the treatment of the horses. A great place to have a nightcap to your evening, listening to local musicians with the backdrop of the beautiful glowing square buildings from nighttime lights.
Wawel Hill: This complex high above sea level, overlooking the Vistula River, is steeped in political and religious history, going further back than the 9th century. A few of the staple buildings are the Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral. The grounds here are filled with color against the varying buildings displaying centuries of different architecture.
Vodka Tasting: In France you have wine tasting and in Poland, you have vodka tasting! In the Old Town, not far from the main square you can pop into Staropolskie Trunki at ul. Florianska 20 and try a vodka flight of different flavors. I recommend the Early Gray Tea flavor, mmm ... it's smooth! Word to the wise, do this after a meal for best results.

Food

Wesele Restaurant: Found in the main Old Town Square, this restaurant surprisingly does not have a "touristy" feel to it. Wesele specializes in Polish cuisine and doesn't disappoint. I had the goulash and potato pancakes while settled into one of their outdoor tables listening local street bands. One of the great things about Europe is that they don't stress turning tables, so once I snagged my table, I was able to just enjoy it for the whole evening without feeling pressured to leave.
Kumpir & Burger: This was down the street from my airbnb at the corner of Karmelicka and Kremerowska. I didn't like this place because of it's convenience, I liked it because I thought their baked potatoes were mind-blowing (yes, that good). I did try their burgers and thought they were fine, but the baked potato was a whole other thing. I love a good baked potato, and potato bars are one of my favorite things, so I may get a little more excited about these things than the next person. On my potato I had chicken, corn, pickles, sour cream and bacon. Pickles may sound odd, but it worked! The potato was so big I had to split it into two meals.
Kurka Wodna!: Close to Wawel castle and located on one of the oldest streets in the city, this restaurant has a nice outdoor area in the back. I decided to try the pierogies here and they were nice but nothing I'd dream about later. If coming here again, I'd do the pierogies as a mini starter and fill up on a different entree.
Cupcake Corner Bakery & Cafe: If you've been traveling a while, this is a nice reminder of home. It's a completely local bakery, with a few shops around the city but they use American recipes for cupcakes and bagels. Definitely spend one night elsewhere having a local "sweet" dessert of pierogies (there are dessert variations) or paczkis. After you've done that, then you can come here and sneak in an American sweet tooth. This bakery also does freshly made ice cream every day with flavors such a red velvet.

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Warsaw

Accommodations

Airport Hotel Okecie: I was here only one night as a transitional place after flying in. Great airport shuttle that you can access 24/7, the staff is super nice and accommodations were modern, updated, and well soundproofed from flight noise. I was also quite taken with their bath products, they smelled really good!
Airbnb "Sunny studio in the Old Town": Loved this studio apartment! It had a great location on the south end of the Old Town area, close to the Chopin Museum and plenty of restaurants and cafes. The interior is also nicely decorated and super clean. Great for one or two people. See my full review under the listing.
Airbnb "Apartment-Loft- great.view.Warsaw": This apartment is on the other side of the river from Old Town, in the Praga Polnoc area. The tram is pretty much on the doorstep of the apartment building and the metro only five minutes away so no issues getting around. You could also walk to Old Town if you had the energy, would take about 30 minutes. This place is really a penthouse apartment. Top floor, floor to ceiling windows everywhere, this is a big place. Check out my full review under the listing.
Mamaison Hotel Le Regina: A higher end hotel, I stayed here a couple nights before shifting into an airbnb. The location is fantastic, close to Old Town Square but quiet. Accommodations are nice, food is good but customer service can feel stuffy. Check out my TripAdvisor review.

Sites/Tours

The Warsaw Rising Museum: Museum detailing the history of the 1944 Polish resistance fighting for independence against Germany. Although a lot of information presented in a bit of a hectic layout, definitely worth a visit. Don't miss out on the pieces outside (from the back of the building).
Vistula River Promenade: The city has done a really nice job with this promenade and although a few pieces were still under construction when I was there, they looked very close to completion. Spend an afternoon strolling the promenade from the Old Town area towards the stadium. Plenty of areas to sit and rest or read or, rent a bike and make up more ground!

Food

A. Blikle: This is a dessert and coffee shop that has a few locations in the city. I had heard their paczkis were some of the best so I stopped in to try one. I thought it was good but not the best. That said, if you are looking to stop somewhere for a coffee/tea and pastry, it's decent.
Keyhole: I thought this was the most amazing little Italian restaurant. Without the mini outdoor patio they probably have less than 8 tables inside. I went with a dish that the server recommended, a basil chicken pappardelle dish that was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had. The noodles were fresh and cooked to perfection. The Vistula River Promenade is a short distance away so you can always walk off your dinner there. I tried to go back to the restaurant on my last day but they were full up, I’ll just have to daydream about it.
La Sirena: Recommendation from on a friend of a friend who lives in Warsaw, this is actually a good Mexican restaurant. I chowed down on a rockin' pulled pork, pineapple and onion burrito with a side of pickled carrots. I had never had pickled carrots and generally don’t like carrots but these were delicious. Easily accessible from the Old Town by hopping on a tram.
Croque Madame: This little cafe was recommended to me by my airbnb host. It's located on Nowy Swiat, where there are quite a few restaurant options. I literally spent a few days coming here as it was such a great place to cozy up in and be able to sip on tea, eat lunch and...work. I was doing a lot of writing for my site and just needed a good place to bunker down in, and this was perfect. I did try the actual croque madame sandwich, and it was quite tasty.

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