I was never much of a fan of flea markets before moving to Berlin. Then I visited the flea market in Mauer Park one summer and fell in love. Whether it was fashionable girls strutting their stuff in order to get featured in a street-style photograph, an old man selling overpriced antiques, or an upcoming artist selling their new clothing designs, I was taken in by the whole thing. The weekly karaoke routine makes Sunday trips there even more fun.
It started a brand new habit for me. So whenever I travel, I go out of my way to explore markets of all types. Whether it’s the food markets in Trang featuring tasty Thai cuisine, the Petrivka Book Market In Kyiv with more than 100,000 titles in stock, or a quirky flea market in Barcelona filled with odd items like toilets and bras, they’re a fun way to get to know a destination.
So of course, I visited Plac Nowy Jewish Market when I was in Krakow, Poland for the weekend.
An Authentic Local Market in Krakow, The Plac Nowy Jewish Market
It turned out to be way more fun than I first imagined. Just like the market in Barcelona, you could buy bras, underwear, and even cleaning products but best of all you could take your pick from loads of warm and fuzzy coats and boots. Trust me, they need them as it gets pretty cold during the Polish winter.
A couple of insider tips about the market at Plac Nowy – First, it’s said to be the only place in the city where you can purchase horse meat. It’s also said to have the best street food stall in all of Krakow at Bar Endzior. Apparently, the queue gets quite long here sometimes as people load up on Zapiekanka before a long night out. You’ll find the stall in the rotunda (a former slaughterhouse) located in the center of the market.
While not as picture-perfect as Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) in the city’s main square, the derelict buildings that surround the site and the aged green stalls that fill the market charmed and delighted me all the more. It has character, wasn’t filled with many tourists (aside from myself of course), and is quite the historical institution in Krakow.
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What do you think of the Plac Nowy Jewish Market in Krakow? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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If its a flea market does that mean its used clothing? Or do they sell used or new clothing? I can’t think of why one would want to buy used bras
@Shannon – Yes, it’s a flea market but most markets sell both new and old clothing.
so how do you know what’s new/used?
Oooh… zapiekanka… <33
@Shannon – I guess that’s part of the adventure trying to figure that out. 🙂
@Mauro – I’ve yet to try it but I want to! Just learned about the place during my research afterwards. I want to go back just to taste it. 🙂
and I suppose you did not get the chance to go to Wieliczka either (yep, I was the one wriiting you about it on twitter)
@Mauro – The salt mines right? I did go there!
wonderful! Can’t wait to read about them! If you did like them, of course!
@Mauro – I liked my visit to the salt mines … The only thing I didn’t like was some of the cheesy music they played at some of the spots in the tour. 🙂
Looks like one can find some pretty fashionable things at this market – love it!
@Andrea – Amazing, right? I want a pair of those fuzzy boots!
Excuse me, did you say horsemeat?!?
@Adam – Yep! The only place in town that sells it apparently. Have you tried it? I did last year in Milano.
Well, it’s not exceedingly common in every butchery in Italy, but it is easy to find in most cities.
@Mauro – I had a lovely pasta with horse meat at a canal side resto in Milano!
How quirky, but interesting. There’s a flea market near my house every Saturday but I’ve never gone, maybe it’s worth a look.
This place seems to have a lot of character! I love these kinds of markets.
@Laurel – It was such a fun time! I loved this market and you should definitely check out the one in Munich. 🙂
@Samuel – Me too.
So I guess PETA hasn’t infiltrated Krakow yet 🙂
@Stephanie – Not yet! 😉
I love flea markets, even though I rarely buy anything. It’s so much fun to see what junk people have in different countries! First time I noticed a flea market with cleaning products to sell, though!
@EurotripTips – I love flea markets too! I thought the underwear and bras were kinda weird. 🙂