A fully equipped cosy, modern apartment within 10 mins of the Old Town Centre
ideally situated for access to the Old Town, Royal Castle, National Park and airport

Close to the centre of Kraków in a peaceful setting

Sleeps up to 4 ( double bed + double sofabed)

Salvator Penthouse. fully equipped and centrally heated, is perfectly situated for visiting all that is best about Krakow; in a peaceful riverside location a 5 min tram ride away from Rynek - the medieval Old Town central square, or a 10 min picturesque walk along the river to the Royal Castle Wawel. Within 400m of three medieval churches, one of them - St Augustine part of the St Norbert's convent, at the top of this page. 15 min from the airport door to door. Satellite TV, broadband.

In Krakow's famous Old Town, you will find abundant art galleries and museums, one - home to one of Leonardo da Vinci’s best paintings; many clubs, music venues to suit all tastes, and over 300 restaurants which offer gourment, and homely, cuisine from all over the world; Viennese-style cafes, and the lively pubs and bars.

A 15 minute tram ride will take you to the Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. In 'Schindler's List' Spielberg showed the tragic fate of the Jews who once lived here. But now, Kazimierz is once more a thriving area, with authentic restaurants and live Klezmer music.

Walk along the avenue of ancient chestnuts, walk to the famous man-made Kosciuszko Mound, one of the tourist attractions, which can be seen from the bedroom window. Here, many charming country walks start.

Prices (currency conversion)

Rental periods	Per Week	Per individual night (min. 3 night)
1Sep 2006-23 Dec 2006	£240	£50
23 Dec 2006- 6 Jan 2007	£270	£55
6 Jan 2007- 7 Apr 2007	£240	£50
7 Apr 2007 - 31 Oct 2007	£270	£55
31 Oct 2007 - 15 Dec 2007	£240	£50

Notes on prices
We will consider longer lets, and the price can be negotiated individually.

Changeover day
Any changeover day is acceptable.

Accommodation

Living Room: The sunny studio room has a table which can be used for dining, a comfortable leather covered corner sofa and armchair, satellite English TV, DVD and CD player, and plenty of storage.

Terrace:
There is exclusive use of a terrace with views of the Kosciusko mound and the Blonia common.

Bedroom: The apartment is a studio flat. The double bed in the bedroom sleeps two. The sofa bed in the living room can sleep an additional 2, but please note that the sleepers will not have privacy, hence best suited to a couple with 1 - 2 children.

Bathroom: Bath with a shower, wash hand basin and a lavatory and washing machine.

Kitchen: The kitchen is a separate room. There is a fridge/freezer, electric hob with 4 rings, electric kettle, toaster, and a full selection of utensils, cutlery and saucepans.

Other:
In the hallway, there is a large built-in wardrobe with full-length mirror door, which provides plenty of storage.

Cleaning/towels/ linen/maid service: All bed clothes and towels are included. The flat is cleaned once a week.

Notes on accommodation
Entry phone. Alarm.

Amenities/Facilities provided:

hob, fridge/freezer, fridge, washing machine, iron/ironing board, terrestial and satellite TV,central heating, cot (if required).

Outside
Immediately outside the building there is open space, and a little river popular with canoeists, joggers and cyclists.

Turning right out of the flat brings you in about 400m to Salwator and the baroque St Norbert's Convent overlooking the Vistula.

On the Vistula it is possible to hire a rowing boat in the season or take a boat trip to the Abbey at Tyniec, so there is plenty to do, before heading off to town. The towpath of the Vistula provides a very pleasant walk to the city centre. For those in a hurry there are frequent trams from Salwator to the centre (about a 5 minute ride).

On Easter Monday all Kraków makes its way to to the Emaus fair at Salwator and youths splash each other with water as part of the ancient tradition of 'smigus-dyngus'. In June, it is also from here that the Lajkonik procession starts, with a man dressed as a garish Mongol horse, commemorating the 1241 victory of Polish and other European knights at Legnica (Liegnitz) over the Mongol Horde led by Batu Khan, the son of Ghenghis Khan. More on 'Krakow's Myths, History and Legends'.

Directly behind the flat is Saint Bronislawa's Hill with the ancient Salwator Church and the timber chapel of St Margaret. From there, it is a short walk into the Wolski Woods - an elevated area of woods and heath, astonishingly close to the city centre. See http://www.mtsstudio.krak.pl/pages/panokrak2.html for an interactive view of St Bronislawa's Hill (needs Quicktime plug-in).

From the back of the flat you can see the Kosciuszko Mound - an artificial hill raised to the memory of Kosciuszko. The mound was later incorporated by the Austrians into one of the ring of forts that they constructed around the city.

The Kosciuszko mound seen from the flat.

Opposite the flat, on the other side of the small river, is the Blonia common where Pope John Paul II held his open masses. Blonia extends right up to the city centre. From here there are also frequent buses to the city centre (5 min) and airport (20 min).

Blonia at dawn from the flat and below in an aerial view showing how it extends right up to the city centre.

Skiing
Kraków is some 100km from the Tatra Mountains, and a day trip should not be missed during a week's stay. Zakopane, 2 hours away by coach, is a bustling ski resort of historic interest. Zakopane can also be reached by an interesting train journey which takes slightly longer than the coach.

Special interest holidays
Kraków is a stunning city architecturally, its famous Rynek the largest medieval city centre market square in Europe, reminiscent of Florence; home to one of Europe's oldest Universities, and a myriad of Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and baroque churches. Kraków has a vibrant social and cultural life, with many music venues from opera and classical, through jazz and modern to whatever recent trends have emerged worldwide. There are over 300 excellent restaurants within the Old Town Centre, offering many styles of cuisine from all over the world. Kraków is famous for its Viennese-style cafes, with delicious selections of home-made cakes, which we challenge you to resist. And then, there are the many bars and pubs. There are abundant art galleries and museums, and one of Leonardo da Vinci's best paintings can be found here, the beautiful 'Lady with the Ermine'. The spectacular Salt Mine in Wieliczka, and the Auschwitz Concentration Camps can be visited as day trips.

Travel
The Kraków Balice airport is now served by very many cheap airlines such as Monarch, Easyjet, Central Wings, Ryanair, SkyEurope as well as LOT and BA and many others. The travel time from London is 2 hours. The door-to-door travel time from the airport to the apartment is 15 minutes by taxi, or 25 minutes by bus, and yet the area is entirely quiet, since the planes do not fly over it, due to its proximity to the hills of the National Park.

There is also a rail link from the airport to the city centre which takes about 15 minutes. However, when coming from the airport directly to the flat the 192 bus is more direct.

To find the cheapest flight visit Skyscanner.

Kraków is also well connected by train to most major European cities. For further details see the Deutsche Bahn site.

Distances
The Old Town Centre is about a mile away. The Royal Castle (Wawel) three quarters of a mile, the man-made Kosciuszko Mound ½ a mile, and the Blonia open space, where John Paul II gave his famous masses is directly outside, and overlooked by the terrace.

Getting about
For tram and bus information see the Krakow City Transport site.The nearest stops to the flat are Salwator, served by trams 1,2 (temporarily replaced by 72) and 36 and Przegon (on Blonia) served by buses 134, 152, 192 and 602 (night bus version of 192).

Click on 'Linie' and then the service number to see route and timetable information.

Click on 'Przystanki' (='stops') and find Przegon or Salwator to see services to those stops.

The 192 and 602 run between the city centre and the airport ('Port Lotniczy') albeit by slightly different routes.

Further details
The helpful law student who speaks English and who greets visitors can further help with directions or queries. The nearest little supermarket is about 200m away. There are 24 hour supermarkets available.

Booking notes
50% non-returnable deposit secures the booking, with the balance payable in cash on arrival. On arrival, we also ask for a returnable £20 lost keys deposit, which is returned at the time of checking out.

 

CONTACT DETAILS:
For booking and further information click here to contact Anda Tolkan or by e-mail at:

or by telephone:
From the UK at local call rate: 0845 868 32 94
From Spain 951 238671
From outside Spain: +34 951 238671