krakaw or warsaw?

I would like to spend 7 nights in either Krakaw or Warsaw. I would like to visit the concentration camp, but want to really be able to walk to the major sights, people watch and relax. Which city would be best. I am an older single female traveling alone, so am also concerned about safety.

Thank you for any advise you can give me!

Hi - and welcome to Thorn Tree.

If your budget allows, in a week you can easily do both. What are your actual safety concerns?

As our resident meeter and greeter ;-) says split your time between both. I would go for 3 days in Warsaw and 4 in Krakow and around.

Not a problem doing both and both worthy of at least three days each

You can easily do both in the time, and it's very safe. I went by myself three years ago, and as a young female traveling alone I felt very safe.

would I take a train? I am not much of a seasoned traveler by myself and am somewhat nervous about finding my way around train stations. I live in a very small town in northern California where train travel is non-existant.

Train travel between Kraków and Warsaw is easy: you go to the station, buy your ticket for the next train (they depart almost hourly, see Polish Railways for timetable&prices), go to the platform (platform number will be displayed on departure boards), hop on the train, find your seat (you'll find the carriage and seat numbers on your ticket), and in less than 3 hours arrive at your destination.

Also, I'd recommend reserving a seat on the train, if you can. I caught one particularly popular train from Warsaw to Krakow without reserving a seat, and it was not only standing-room-only for the entire trip, but pretty much sardines and I was jammed into a corner in the doorway for most of it.

Admittedly, it might have been one of the cheaper trains, hence the crowding.

I would like to visit the concentration camp...so am also concerned about safety.

Relax...the good news is that it has been decommissioned for approx 50 years and is just a tourist exhibit, now...and, as the guys above say, you can easily split your time between the 2 cities but probably best to allow more time for Krakow...

I haven't been to Warsaw, so maybe not fair to answer, but I think Krakow is wonderful. You can easily spend a week there, and include a couple shorter trips. Getting to know the Old City, Kazimierz, Wawel, the salt mine, and just walking around can easily fill several days. Add in a trip to Zakopane, Tarnow, or another nearby village or town and your week is filled.

You do have time to do both cities if that's what you want. I prefer finding a "homebase" and getting to know it better. You also have the option to rent an apartment for a full week, which I always like.

Krakow. What an amazing place that is (I spent 5 nights there, but could have stayed longer),with side trips to Auschwitz, Wielicka, maybe even the the nearby Ostrow National park featuring an eagles nest castle, other monasteries, even to go as far north as Czestochowa.

It's just a great city to walk around. Very safe and calm, and totally beautiful and very mysterious looking.

Wht time of year?

4 days Krtakow and 3 in Warsaw with train between is just right.If you had more time then there are other places well worth visiting too.

definitely Krakow. Warsaw can be even visited in one day from Krakow if you take a guided tour and from Krakow you can easily visit Auschwitz, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Zakopane, Ojcow National Park, Czestochowa and some other religious sites, even take an excursion to Slovakia

Warsaw can be even visited in one day from Krakow...

...and Kraków can be visited as day trip from Warsaw if you insist. The quality of such sightseeing will be appropriate...

Actually Warsaw is even worse suited for one-day sightseeing than Kraków, which is much more compact. 2 days in Warsaw is a minimum, 3-4 days are enough to properly appreciate the city. Going for to Warsaw for one day makes no sense at all.

Agree with ig0r. I spent four days in Warsaw and that was about enough. Could have stayed longer.