Merchants Row

The main square in Kraków Old Town is built around Kraków Cloth Hall, a building constructed in the 1500s and housing a bazaar in the lower gallery and the Sukiennice Museum in the upper floor. It is a magnificent building and a shining example of Renaissance architecture. More photos of the exterior will be posted here in the future.

The gallery in the lower level is filled with independent local merchants mostly selling quintessential Polish tourist items – jewelry, wood crafts, Matryoshka dolls, and so on. While it's not very hip to enjoy obvious tourist traps, I have to say I really loved the gallery. Besides being the perfect place to buy gifts for folks back home, it was fun to browse all the different merchandise, watch people, and chat with merchants. Especially in that lovely building.