Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains, 2 hours from Kraków, is highlander Polish country: smoked oscypek sheep cheese, kwaśnica cabbage soup, slow-roasted Carpathian lamb.
Tip: Buy oscypek from Krupówki street vendors; the kwaśnica soup is the lunch order at Karczma Po Zbóju.
Oświęcim, the town adjacent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, is a 90-minute bus from Kraków. After the memorial tour, Karczma Galicyjska serves Galician Polish-Jewish-inflected lunches.
Tip: Memorial-site visits are free but require timed-entry booking ahead. Lunch in town after, not at the site.
Tarnów, 80 minutes east of Kraków by train, is a Galician-Polish Renaissance town with a preserved Jewish quarter, town-hall museum and bistros around Rynek Tarnów.
Tip: Lunch at Bristol on Rynek for Galician-Polish; the Jewish Museum tour pairs well at 11:00.
Ojców National Park north of Kraków, 45 minutes by car, is the limestone valley with castle ruins and a string of fish-farm restaurants serving smoked and grilled trout.
Tip: Lunch at Smażalnia Pstrąga Ojców: grilled trout with potatoes; bring cash, no card terminal.
Wieliczka, 20 minutes from Kraków by train, holds the UNESCO-listed 13th-century salt mine. Bistro lunches around Rynek Wieliczka serve Małopolska pierogi after the 2.5-hour tour.
Tip: Buy salt-mine tickets online. Lunch at Karczma Halit on the Rynek; pierogi z gęsiną is the regional pick.