The bars of Kraków

Kraków is full of interesting bars and places to visit. From themed bars to simple places with a good atmosphere. Every time we discover one of them, it feels like nobody had ever set foot in there and we are the only one who knew how great it is. I realised that I have never told anyone about these places, not that they're hidden gems or anything like that, but, that would be a shame to come to Kraków and miss them.

Source

Klub Kulturalny

It's a pub on the same street as the McDonalds, very close to the Teatr Bagatela. Like almost all of the other bars and clubs in Kraków, it's underground. It's a bit difficult to describe, the decor is all over the place, it has a few rooms to sit in and the music is different in each of them. It has a lot of sofas but it's not the best place for a group of more than 10 people, because it's difficult to find a place for everyone to sit down. On Thursdays and Saturdays - I think - they have karaoke with English, Polish and Spanish songs! The beer there costs 6‎ zł, but if you have one of the cards they're almost always giving out on the door, you can get a shot of soplica (a Polish flavoured vodka). It's one of the places we go to most often because it's nice to sit down and have a drink there, and it's in a really good place when you get in the mood to party. It's a great bar to chill out in for a bit and talk to your friends or for a change of predrinks.

Carpe Diem

Located in Slawkowska - which is also in the centre of the city - this is a bar like Kulturalny but without the karaoke and it's a bit more relaxed there, too. The rooms are bigger, there's more space to sit down and it's a lot less busy. I like it a lot there, there's less going on, but it's the perfect place to go for a drink if you don't want to be surrounded by people and cigarette smoke. It's pretty well priced - a beer is 5 or 6 zł - and you get discounts with your student card.

Source

Jazz Rock Cafe

Another place in Slawkowska - all roads lead to Afera (the main club) anyway. I've only been here once, but I left with a really good impression. Maybe it's because I went there after some friends left us on a night out and we, my friends Laura, Noelia and I, got rejected from Afera. Both of these things could have ruined our night, but we decided to go into this bar, which seemed, from its name alone, to be pretty lame. The decor was great and the music wasn't bad at all. One of the downsides, for me, is that people are allowed to smoke anywhere, so it was a bit annoying that it was filled with cigarette smoke. I don't know why I like it so much even though it's totally not the kind of place I normally like. The main thing is that we had a great time having girly chats. The clientele is very unusual, so it's a great place to go to meet different people.

Teatro Cubano

This is one of my favourite places. I still can't decide whether it's a bar or a club, I think it depends if they're putting on a themed night or not, they quite often have Brazilian, Colobian and Cuban nights there and, obviously, people go to those nights keen to party. It's quite small, but all of us always manage to fit inside. It's pretty close to Kulturaly on Jagiellonska street. It's decorated to look like the streets of Cub a- and sometimes the temperature inside gets rather tropical. It has three different sorts of vibe and two bars, so you can go for a cigarette, be on the dance floor or go to the more relaxed bar area, where they serve the same drinks as well as some food. A beer costs 5 zł there, so it's a bit cheaper than the bars I wrote about earlier. The music is great! It's all latin music and there's a lot of variety. The only thing is I wish they had a slightly bigger dance floor.

Source

There are the places that we go to on a regular basis. They aren't very bohemian or hipster-y; I'm sure that the majority of people on Erasmus here know about them already but I'm writing this anyway to do my bit for the next generation.

I also need to say a bit about the bars in Kazimierz, which is supposedly the best place to go to go out to bars. Personally, I tried going there once and I wasn't very taken with the places there. The places there are much bigger and more laid-back and comfortable than those in the centre of town. They all seem very much the same to me. If I go back and my opinion changes, I'll let you know.