Kraków

Kraków was Poland's capital for five centuries, and it escaped the destruction that levelled Warsaw in the Second World War. The result is one of the most complete historic centres in Europe: a vast medieval market square, the Gothic spires of St Mary's Basilica, a ring of park where the walls used to be, and Wawel Castle on its hill above the Vistula. Just south, Kazimierz, for centuries a centre of Jewish life, is now the city's liveliest district for food and nightlife.

The city also sits an hour from Auschwitz-Birkenau, and most visitors fit both into one trip: the beauty and the darkest chapter of the 20th century side by side. Give it three or four days. Start with our Kraków travel guide.

Kraków John Paul II Airport is 11 km west of the centre, with a train from the terminal to the main station, Kraków Główny, in about 20 minutes. Trains also arrive from Warsaw, Wrocław and Vienna. Our getting there guide covers tickets, trams and apps.

Most visitors stay in or near the Old Town, where everything is on foot. Kazimierz has the better restaurants and bars, and Podgórze across the river is calmer and cheaper. We compare them in our where to stay guide.

The Main Market Square, St Mary's and Wawel are covered in our Old Town guide. For Kazimierz, Schindler's Factory and more, see our things to do list, and for Auschwitz, our Auschwitz guide.

Try pierogi (dumplings, filled with potato and cheese, meat or fruit), żurek (a sour rye soup, sometimes served in a bread bowl) and obwarzanek, the braided bread ring sold from blue street carts. For a cheap, filling lunch, find a bar mleczny, a canteen-style "milk bar" from the communist era. At night, queue for a zapiekanka, an open toasted baguette, at the round market hall on Plac Nowy in Kazimierz.

Kraków was the seat of Polish kings from the 11th century until the court moved to Warsaw around 1600. Its university, founded in 1364, taught Copernicus. Under German occupation the city's Jewish community was forced into a ghetto in Podgórze, then deported and murdered. After 1945, the communists built Nowa Huta, a model steel town, on its edge. John Paul II was archbishop here before he became Pope.