City guide

Krakow

Kraków escaped the flattening of WWII largely intact, so its medieval market square, Wawel Castle and the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz are the real thing, not reconstructions. It's a compact, walkable Old Town ringed by the Planty park gardens, with a nightlife scene of candlelit cellar bars packed into former merchant basements. Podgórze across the river, once the Nazi-era ghetto and site of Schindler's Factory, adds a heavier, essential layer of history to the postcard prettiness.