The city of Krakow, located in a valley in the south of Poland upon the Vistula river and nearby Tatra Mountains, changes its colours according to the seasons of the year. The appearance of Krakow varies, with its many parks and gardens it is beautifully green in the Spring, sunlit in the Summer, full of yellow and red in Autumn and, finally, reminiscent of "dreaming of the white Christmas" in the Winter.
This metaphor, however true and accurate, adds to the nature of Krakow as a place of variety in terms of culture and education. It has for centuries been proud of its role as a centre of university research at top level, e.g. Nicolas Copernicus studied at the Academy of Krakow, which plays a leading role both in modern Polish and world culture. This is the city of Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II), Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska, Nobel Prize winners, Krzysztof Penderecki and Tadeusz Kantor, recognized artists all over the world, and many more.
This diversity and mixture of tradition with modernity have aroused interests among millions of visitors coming to Krakow each year. In fact, during the last decade Krakow became one of the most appreciated tourist destinations in the world. Many people, who are only interested in coming just for a few days, settle down in Krakow for good, falling in love with the city and adding to the centuries-lasting tradition of being a multicultural centre of different ideas and peacefully co-existing ways of life. So, it is truly an international city.
The meaning of colours also refers to overseas students who are interested not only in staying for a short period of time within many international mobility programmes (Erasmus, CEEPUS, etc.), but in acquiring professional skills and diplomas recognised all over the world as well. And this is another dimension of the metaphor of Krakow as the city of colours and, surely, not the last one.


A city like this makes you want to be, spend weekends here, meet friends, drink coffee; taste the city. In the silence of Vistula river, in the evening hubbub of streets, where the Japanese mingle with the English, and the Spanish with Germans, where night changes into day . . . Krakow never sleeps.


The wave of students that flows into Krakow each year in autumn, swarming in the streets, in 24 institutes of higher education, leaves no doubt that Krakow is an academic city. The academic society of Krakow includes over 200,000 students. The great choice of faculties and high level of education are unquestionable merits of the city, thanks to which people are the real source of Krakow’s energy.