Company picnics by Krakow's water and among the Jura rocks
Company picnics in Krakow have an asset rare for a city this size: genuine waterside grounds within the city limits and Jura rock formations just beyond it. They give an open-air event a theme that simply cannot be reproduced anywhere else. The Bagry lake in Podgorze is one of the largest reservoirs within Krakow, with a guarded bathing area, a beach, sandy pitches, jetties and a watersports hire; there is a wakepark here offering lessons and event hosting, along with sailing clubs and water-skiing. Park Zakrzowek with its sandy beach, long jetties and beach-volleyball courts, and Przylasek Rusiecki in Nowa Huta, a cluster of reservoirs in an old arm of the Vistula with a beach and space for an event marquee, round out the waterside grounds for a picnic or family day.
Company picnics in Krakow are commissioned by a very specific set of industries. The city is the national leader in employment in modern business services, with large BPO, SSC and GBS centres and a strong IT cluster including Comarch, Cisco, IBM and Motorola Solutions. The second profile is the large manufacturing employers with a tradition of works events, such as Philip Morris, Valeo in Skawina, ArcelorMittal in Nowa Huta and MAN in Niepolomice, whose plants often lie within the metropolitan area, so the family day is organised close to them. With such a large pool of corporate workforces, integration and family days become a genuine employer-branding tool here, not just a summer add-on.
Waterside and city meadows: open space for a stage and activity zones
The most open space for a stage and animation zones comes from the city meadows and parks managed by the Municipal Greenery Board. The Krakow Blonia is one of the largest city-centre meadows in Europe, for years a venue for fetes, open-air arts events and sporting contests, hired through the Greenery Board. A quieter, family event sits well in Park Lotnikow Polskich, a regular host of open-air gatherings, and in the Jordan Park opposite the Blonia, with its avenues, pond and boat hire. For an unusual, educational picnic we turn to the Stanislaw Lem Garden of Experiences, and for a private, intimate green space for workshops and team-building, to Park Wola in Wola Justowska.
The logistics of an open-air picnic follow a simple rule: the rawer the ground, the more has to be brought in. To city meadows, parks and waterside grounds we transport the full back-of-house, namely the stage, canopies and marquees in case of rain, generators, sanitary facilities and mobile catering with a grill and a food zone. It is worth remembering that municipal and public grounds are not turnkey commercial venues, and organising an event usually requires the consent of the manager, most often the Greenery Board or the municipality. Where ready infrastructure and large capacity matter, we choose suburban centres such as Kryspinow lake to the west of the city or the Chocholowy Dwor hotel in Jerzmanowice.
Kryspinow, the Jura and activities: where a family day scales up
Kryspinow lake to the west of the city offers clean water, sandy beaches, a guarded bathing area, a wakepark, beach bars and a wide range of activities from sailing, kayaks and SUP to zorbing, quads and off-road vehicles. The Chocholowy Dwor hotel in Jerzmanowice is a developed site with a grill cabin and terrace, a Trapper Village, a rope playground and a paintball area, with room to set up a stage, marquees and sound. The second, truly Krakow pole is the Krakow-Czestochowa Jura, which you will not find near any other large city in Poland.
Brandysowka in the Bedkowska Valley is an open-air spot with covered shelters and tables, a roofed firepit and a stage for speeches and dancing, set in the natural scenery of meadows, forest, river, rocks and a waterfall. The Bedkowska Valley itself, one of the longest of the Krakow Valleys, offers trails of varying difficulty, easy to match to age and fitness, while the Ojcow National Park to the north adds rock formations, the Lokietek and Ciemna caves, the Hercules Club and castles, though out of respect for the park's protection events are held on its fringes. We add animations and a programme to every picnic, building it around watersports by the water and around the lie of the land in the Jura, with bouncy castles, animators and a family zone as standard for the youngest guests.
Frequently asked
It depends on the scale and character. For a relaxed event by the water within the city limits, Bagry and Zakrzowek with their beaches and watersports work best, and for open space for a stage and animations in the centre, the Blonia. For a large family day for the whole workforce, the suburban centres with their own infrastructure scale up, such as Kryspinow lake or Chocholowy Dwor, and for an atmospheric picnic with a campfire, Brandysowka in the Jura's Bedkowska Valley. We help match the place to the number of guests and the programme.
The supply of green sites for a family day in Krakow is limited, and the peak of the season in June concentrates events, so we advise planning the booking several months ahead. You also have to allow for the fact that municipal and public grounds, such as the Blonia or the Greenery Board parks, are not turnkey venues and require the manager's consent. We handle these arrangements and keep to the deadlines so the event takes place at the chosen site.
By the water, watersports have the strongest effect: wakeboarding and water-skiing at Bagry, kayaks, SUP and sailing at Kryspinow, and for competition right next to the city we turn to the kayak course and rafting at the Kolna centre. In the Jura we base the programme on the lie of the land: team games in rocky scenery, a campfire at the roofed firepit and hikes with photo points, with the Krakow Rope Park adding an active touch for families. For children, bouncy castles, animators and a family zone are standard.
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