Warsaw to Krakow: Private day trip

Poland's former royal capital delivers the largest medieval market square in Europe, Wawel Castle above the Vistula and the Jewish heritage of Kazimierz — the most historically layered and visually rewarding city in the country.

What to see

• The Rynek Główny — the largest medieval market square in Europe, anchored by the Renaissance Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), the twin-towered St Mary's Basilica whose hourly trumpet call (hejnał) has marked time since the 13th century, and the Town Hall Tower
• Wawel Castle and Cathedral — the seat of Polish kings for five centuries on a limestone hill above the Vistula; the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments and the Cathedral treasury hold the accumulated symbols of Polish nationhood
• Kazimierz — the former Jewish quarter established in 1335, its synagogues, cemeteries and klezmer restaurants preserving the memory of a community of 65,000 that was almost entirely destroyed in the Second World War

What to eat

• Żurek (sour rye soup with hard-boiled egg and white sausage served in a bread bowl) and pierogi ruskie at one of the milk bars (bary mleczne) around the old town

Take note

• Wawel Castle requires advance booking for the State Rooms and Royal Apartments — tickets sell out on busy days and cannot be purchased at the gate for the most popular sections; Kazimierz is a 15-minute walk from the Rynek and rewards at least 90 minutes of unhurried exploration