Krakow
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Overview
Krakow is dominated by its royal seat, Wawel Castle. Enjoy cafe culture on the huge square, Rynek Glowny, shop at the market stalls of the Sukiennice before descending into a quirky bar in Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter. Visit the Czartoryski Museum featuring Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, then dine in an elegant Old Town cellar.
Background
Once you've located the Wisla River running south of Krakow's royal Wawel Castle, exploring the Old Town is easy. Most sights are north of the river where the encircling greenbelt of the Planty gardens and fortified walls that are the Barbakan indicate when you're leaving the Old Town. You can't miss the huge central square of Rynek Glowny and the towering St Mary's Basilica. Make sure you visit the moving museums and smoky cafes of Kazimierz, the historic Jewish quarter and the World War II Jewish ghetto across the river in Podgorze.
First-time visit
Book in advance to explore the castle and cathedral of the Wawel, home to the crown jewels, 18 chapels and more. See the extent of the emptying of the Jewish quarter post-war at the Galicia Museum in Kazimierz. Venture to the Old Town's Czartoryski Museum for its impressive classical collections and Poland's only Leonardo da Vinci painting. Hear the hourly lone bugle high atop St Mary's Basilica on one of Europe's largest squares, Rynek Glowny, also home to the Sukiennice Market. Then search the cellars off the Old Town's cobbled streets for your traditional Polish meal with vodka.
Return visit
Use your return visit to inspect the breathtaking interior of St Mary's Basilica. Cross the River Wisla to the Jewish ghetto in the Podgorze district where the hardships of wartime life are evocatively depicted in the Pharmacy Under the Eagle Museum. Take the tram out to another suburb of Krakow, Stalin's new town, Nowa Huta, which is gentrifying its concrete jungle profile and now hosts museums and galleries. Or search out the old haunts of Lenin and Karol Wojtyla, a.k.a. Pope John Paul II, both one-time residents of Krakow.
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