Charlotte

Charlotte is a French-style bakery and cafe on Plac Szczepanski, a square on the western edge of the Old Town beside the Planty gardens. The kitchen bakes its own bread and pastries, and the day starts early with croissants and coffee, often taken at the tables set out under the trees on the square.

The heart of it is a French bakery: fresh croissants and viennoiserie in the morning, loaves of bread baked on site, and coffee to go with them. It works for a light breakfast or a mid-morning stop rather than a full sit-down dinner. For the current selection, hours and prices, check the cafe's own channels.

Relaxed and Parisian in spirit, with a bakery counter inside and outdoor tables facing the open square. It is a popular morning spot, so it can be busy at breakfast and on sunny weekends.

Good for an early breakfast, a coffee break between sights, or picking up bread and pastries to take away. A natural stop for anyone starting the day on the western side of the Old Town.

Plac Szczepanski is a couple of minutes from the Main Market Square and sits right on the Planty ring. For strong coffee elsewhere in the centre, see Karma Coffee, and for a cluttered old-town cafe with apple pie, Cafe Camelot. More on the neighbourhood is in the Krakow guide.

The full name is Charlotte. Chleb i wino, meaning 'bread and wine', and that pairing sets the tone. As well as the morning coffee and croissants, it works as a wine bar, and the shelves carry home-made jams and other specialities from the bakery to take away.

The baking happens downstairs. Below the bright ground-floor room is a basement where the bakery sits, and the kitchen extends past viennoiserie to French tartines and open sandwiches for a longer sit-down. Charlotte began as a single bistro and has since grown into a small group with branches in other Polish cities, so the Plac Szczepanski room is one of several. For the current selection, hours and prices, check the venue's own channels.