How about exploring the city by day, with its nooks and crannies closer to nature, but waking up in the countryside and drinking coffee on a terrace surrounded by meadows? One day you stay in the middle of silence and spend the evening listening to the pleasant accompaniment of crickets, the second day you go to lie down by the river, and the third day you discover the less obvious sides of the royal city? If you like this vision, you will like our cottage - a little bit hidden among the grass, by a side road, but still within the borders of Krakow.
We live in the house neighbouring the cottage, and we have known the advantages of the rural side of the city for a long time. We go for walks with our dog to the ruins of the Bodzów fortress, where from a hill we can see the distant and beautiful Wawel castle, in the summer we catch the sun on the Vistula, and in the evenings we sit on the terrace with a cup of hot tea and enjoy the peace. The streets are quieter, as they are not often travelled. In the grass and on the meadows, the dogs feel like they are on their best holiday - they can run around freely. It is a 20-minute walk to the Vistula River, where you can cycle or walk as far as you like, with guaranteed picturesque views: to the right of the Wawel Castle, to the left of the Przegorzaly Castle and the Bielany Monastery.
For years we have had a weakness for old wooden houses, and we have dreamt of saving one of them and moving it to our idyllic surroundings. When the opportunity arose to make this dream come true, we did not hesitate. The cottage stood a property away and waited. It waited until we were ready to fully commit to the project of giving it a new role. That moment finally came, and after months of work, we invited our first guests to the cottage. Now we invite you to a rural retreat on the outskirts of one of the most beautiful Polish cities.
PS Our neighbours are beginning to renovate their roof, and the works are planned until the second half of July. The builders only work during the week until early afternoon. We have lower prices for the duration of the renovation.
In a wooden house built of thick logs, moved into our privacy from a village near Krakow. The hut has been adapted to serve as a resting place at any time of the year - it is insulated, and inside we have created a cozy, open space. Bright rooms create an interesting combination with external, dark wood, typical of the old architecture.
On the ground floor there is a living area with a double sofa bed. Next door there is a kitchen and a bathroom with shower. There are 3 places to sleep on the mezzanine: a sofa for two and another for one. A ladder leads to the mezzanine (if you plan to stay with children - take into account that it may be too steep for them: it is better for them to sleep on the ground floor). The cottage is surrounded by meadows and the river can be reached in a 20-minute walk. If you have a dog, take it with you - there is a lot of space around to ensure your pet's happiness, and a lot of interesting places for walks in the area.
The cottage is located on the south-western outskirts of the city, where the buildings look more like an extensive village than a bustling city. First of all, it is quiet here and you can really forget that 30 minutes by bike / 20 minutes by bus / 15 minutes by car is enough to stand by the Wawel Castle. However, there are neighbors around, sometimes they mow the grass, sometimes they have a barbecue, and sometimes they invite them to go for a walk with their dog.
The cottage has a fully equipped kitchen. There are basic appliances (fridge, two-burner stove, kettle, microwave oven). The nearest shops are located 500m from the cottage. In the vicinity we recommend Bar Praska, Karczma Rzym and sausages by the Vistula embankment at the Kolna stop. You can eat good ice cream at the Tarasy Tynieckie restaurant. For lunch or afternoon coffee, you can drive to the U Ziyada restaurant, located in the Castle of Przegorzały. You will be accompanied by a wonderful view of the Vistula valley.
And if you decide to visit the city:
The list of good restaurants and pubs is long, we can recommend a few for a good start: Zazie (French cuisine), Cyklop (Italian), Moaburger (burgers), Kuchnia u Dorota and Marchewka z Groszkiem (Polish). For evenings (in the city), there is nothing better than the atmospheric gardens of Kazimierz, such as Eszeweria and Kolanka. The best ice cream in Krakow for years is invariably on Starowiślna Street. In Kazimierz you will also find many street food places, for example the point on ul. Wawrzyniec, where there are some great food trucks.
The location of our chalet combines the advantages of rural and urban life. So we present you our ways to relax, combining idyllic, rural holidays with discovering the beautiful outskirts of the royal city. We do not write about Krakow's beaten paths, because a book could be written about it (and more than one has been written). We will show you what is interesting, a bit less obvious you can do and see in "our" part of Krakow.
The area around the cottage itself is simply an open space perfect for relaxing under the cloud. You can lie in a hammock, read a book, have a barbecue or play badminton, but we encourage you to bring your own bicycles or rollers - a bicycle route runs along the Vistula to Tyniec (and to the center of Krakow). It is the perfect way to spend the day, to train in the morning or to spice up a lazy afternoon. Besides, in the area:
- Benedictine Abbey (4km)
- Tyniecki Forest (1km)
- ruins of the Bodzów fortress, perfect for a walk with a dog (or without)
- canoe and rafting track (2 km): you can watch professional competitions or rent a kayak yourself or treat yourself to an adventure, i.e. rafting
And on the other side of the Vistula:
- Castle in Przegorzały, beautifully set on a steep slope (you can enter by car, there is also a bus)
- Las Wolski and the Krakow zoo
- Kościuszko Mound with a panorama of Krakow
- reservoir in Kryspinów (7km)
You can also get to at least a few interesting places by car in 40 minutes:
- Ojców National Park
- Mnikowska Valley
- Castle in Tenczynek
- Lanckorony
What’s there for children?
Children are welcome with us, but when planning a stay with a child, remember that there is a mezzanine in the house and only a ladder leads to it. There are also no barriers upstairs (ropes play their role), so it is safest for children to sleep on the ground floor. The little ones have at their disposal a yard and a nice new playground 200 m from, and we will gladly teach them to play boules.
