1 destination · 10 things to do

Poland

Kraków is the old royal capital of Poland and one of the few great central European cities to come through the Second World War with its historic heart intact: a medieval Old Town ringed by the leafy Planty, a market square so large it feels like a stage, a Gothic basilica whose trumpeter still plays the hourly bugle call, and the castle and cathedral on Wawel Hill above the Vistula where Polish kings were crowned and buried. It is also a place of deep memory. Kazimierz, the old Jewish town, is alive again with synagogues, cafes and festivals, Schindler's Factory tells the story of the city under Nazi occupation, and an hour and a half to the west lies the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, which most visitors to Kraków feel they must see. This guide books it properly — timed tickets for Wawel, the guided descent into the Wieliczka Salt Mine with its chapel carved from salt, a respectful guided visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the medieval market under the square, Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine and a day in the Tatra Mountains at Zakopane — and then matches you to the right hotel, from a palace-like five-star off the square to a design hotel by Kazimierz and a sensible budget base by the station.