Cracow (Krakow) is the biggest drawing card in Poland. At the height of summer, the country’s third largest city throngs with tourists, and pavement cafes seem to occupy every cobble of the main square. Even out of season, the city pulsates with street performers, horse-drawn carriages and dance clubs heaving till dawn.

It is immediately clear why so many people flock to this magical city. Situated on the banks of the Wisla (Vistula) River and within easy reach of the Tatra Mountains, Cracow has one of the best preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Its scores of notable churches, monasteries and abbeys make it a jewellery box of gothic and Renaissance; a walk through the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1978, is like a step back in time. And Cracow’s cultural heritage is mirrored in its intellectual achievements; Jagiellonian University is the second oldest in central Europe.

Away from high culture, Cracow offers a myriad of more modern diversions, including hundreds of restaurants, bars and music clubs tucked away in its narrow alleyways and cellars.

History
Cracow took a severe beating from the Tatars, who burned it to the ground in 1241. But within less than two decades, the new town’s centre had been set on a grid pattern, with the Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square) in the middle, and Cracow’s centrepiece, Wawel Castle, to the south. Economic prosperity and a cultural boom led to a golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries; when the Third Partition of 1795 effectively erased Poland from the map, the city became a major centre for Polish culture and the spiritual capital of a country that no longer existed. Cracow’s closest call came during World War II, when it was looted but didn’t experience major combat or bombings. As a result, Cracow is now the most intact, large city in Poland. 

When to go
Cracow is a year-round destination but if you want to beat the crowds (and still enjoy reasonably good weather), visit in late spring/early summer (mid-May to June), at the end of summer or start of autumn (late September to October).

Warsaw is a modern metropolis charged with history, with an impressive cultural scene, thriving nightlife and a string of intriguing attractions.

The tourist epicentre of Warsaw is the ‘Royal Route’, which runs north-south from the New and Old Towns, past the fashionable shops of Nowy Świat, the palaces that survived the war and the royal gardens of Łazienki Park, before reaching Wilanów Palace to the south of the city centre.

The strikingly successful rebuilding of Warsaw’s Old Town after WWII was rewarded in 1980, when it became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The city also boasts many green spaces, with leafy parks where rowing boats cruise past outdoor cafés, during the summer, and free classical concerts attract crowds in a scene far removed from the dull Communist-era images of Warsaw.

Warsaw’s nightlife scene today is one of the best in Eastern Europe, with a multitude of bars and clubs scattered across the city, and the dining options have improved no end, with international cuisine regularly featured alongside Polish standards.