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Krakow or Budapest: Which to Visit?

Krakow and Budapest are frequently weighed against each other for a long weekend. Krakow is compact, medieval and walkable in an afternoon. Budapest is a capital of nearly two million people, split by the Danube, and built largely in the nineteenth century. The choice is really between a small city you can finish and a large one you cannot.

Krakow

Best for: Short trips, walking, and history you can reach on foot.

The whole historic centre is about a kilometre across, so a two-day trip covers it without transport.
The Historic Centre of Krakow has been on the UNESCO list since 1978, and the buildings are original rather than reconstructed.
Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mine make it a base for two of the most significant day trips in Europe.
Cheaper than Budapest for eating and drinking in the centre, and considerably cheaper than most of Western Europe.

Budapest

Best for: Longer stays, grand architecture, thermal baths and nightlife.

The thermal baths are the single thing Krakow cannot answer, and they are a genuine reason to pick Budapest on their own.
A capital city scale of architecture, from the Parliament on the Danube to Buda Castle above it.
A larger and more varied restaurant and bar scene, including the ruin bars of the seventh district.
Better rail and air connections onward to the rest of Central Europe.

The bottom line

For two or three days, Krakow gives the more complete trip, because you can actually finish it and because the day trips are unmatched. An electric cart tour is the fastest way to see the centre on a short stay. For four days or more, Budapest has the greater depth, and the baths give it a card Krakow does not hold. If the priority is walking a medieval city and confronting twentieth century history, go to Krakow. If it is grand nineteenth century capital, thermal water and nightlife, go to Budapest.

Frequently asked questions

Krakow, because it is small enough to see properly in two days without using transport. Budapest is a large capital and a weekend leaves most of it untouched.

Krakow is generally cheaper for eating and drinking in the centre. Both are inexpensive compared with Western Europe, and the gap between them is smaller than the gap between either and London or Paris.

There are direct trains and short flights between them, and the two cities are often combined on a longer Central European trip rather than chosen between.

Thermal baths, the scale of a capital city, and the Danube running through the middle of it. Those are the three things Krakow cannot match at any budget.

An intact medieval centre you can cross on foot in fifteen minutes, and proximity to Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which no other city in the region offers together.

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