The Football Association have declared their ground-breaking decision to house the England team in a city centre location a resounding success.
Krakow was a Three Lions-free zone for the first time in three weeks on Tuesday following England's exit from Euro 2012.
There was genuine sadness at the departure, both officially from the Mayor's Office, and on the street, where ordinary members of the public were delighted at the opportunity to show off their splendid city.
The official farewell at the airport on Monday was seen as proof of how well Roy Hodgson's men were received during their stay.
After coming in for fierce criticism due to their remoteness in South Africa, where they stayed at a secluded training base in Rustenburg, senior figures within the FA were determined such accusations should not be levelled at them again, no matter how the team performed two years' hence.
Former boss Fabio Capello, who rubber-stamped the Stary Hotel as England's home for this championship, always believed the suitability of accommodation would be judged by how the team performed.
The evidence of the past three weeks is not strictly true.
Holland and Italy also made Krakow their base. Neither country made quite the impact England managed.
From attending a reception party on their first night, to those hugely emotional and symbolic visits to Auschwitz and Oskar Schindler's factory, England tried to be as inclusive as practical.
An open training session at the local Hutnik ground was well attended and players, encouraged by Roy Hodgson to explore their locality, were happy to sign autographs when they popped out for a coffee.
On more than one occasion, Hodgson and FA chairman David Bernstein embarked on impromptu visits to tourist sights without the security staff who have become such a feature of England in tournament mode, both men willing to stop and chat when asked.
Hodgson's general demeanour has helped. And Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, who made the decision to pick Krakow, can be well pleased with his efforts.
"It was clear that after the criticism we received in South Africa, the way we approached this tournament would be different," said Bevington.
"For the players to have the freedom to walk around and have a pizza or a coffee was fantastic.
"They were fabulous ambassadors for their country and were so obviously willing to engage with the fans. That made for a better experience.
"Obviously we would have wished to go further in the tournament but there is a wider element to this and we are delighted with the outcome."
As all four semi-finalists were amongst the teams to base themselves in Poland, the excessive travelling England had to undertake to reach Donetsk and Kiev for their matches cannot be used as too much of an excuse.
In any event, those distances could easily be doubled in Brazil, considering it is approximately 2,000 miles from Porto Alegre in the south to Fortaleza in the north, two-and-a-half times that of Krakow to Donetsk.
With vast changes in climactic conditions as well, it is little wonder Bevington and Hodgson will be embarking on a fact-finding mission next month, nor that England are planning friendlies against Brazil and Uruguay next summer.
"Obviously it is such a huge place that some logistical planning has to be done now," said Bevington, "it would be rather strange not to.
"We haven't played a match there since 1984, so we have no real experience to work off, so it is important to see these things for ourselves."
England may not quality of course.
Only one side is certain to advance from a qualifying group that contains Montenegro, Moldova and San Marino, in addition to Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland and Ukraine.
Even if they do make it through, the odds on Hodgson's team becoming the first from Europe to win a World Cup in South America would be pretty high.
However, if this rather strange experience - in that criticism of the FA has been virtually non-existent - is anything to go by, the planning at least will be first rate.
