Central Europe
Grand old squares, wartime ghosts, and Europe's warmest bargain.
Poland is big, proud and far better value than its neighbours to the west — a country of magnificent medieval squares, sobering 20th-century history, and a food-and-vodka welcome that runs deep. Kraków, the old royal capital, came through the war unbombed and keeps one of the largest and loveliest market squares in Europe; around it lie salt mines, mountains and the unmissable, unbearable weight of Auschwitz. Warm, cheap and easy, with a café and bar culture that punches well above its price.
What things cost: Poland is one of the best-value city breaks in Europe — a proper restaurant dinner, a craft beer, a taxi across town all cost a fraction of Western prices. Kraków's main square carries a small tourist premium; a street or two away it vanishes. When a zone below says 'low', that means low for Poland — which is very low indeed.
Sometimes the event picks the city for you.
The Main Square turns into a wooden Christmas village of mulled wine, grilled sausage and oscypek cheese, often under snow — and in early December comes the szopki contest, Kraków's unique, glittering fantasy nativity crèches, a UNESCO tradition.
Kraków · Rynek Główny
For one night in May, hundreds of museums, galleries and institutions across Warsaw throw open their doors free of charge until the early hours, with special exhibitions, performances and events. A hugely popular, festive night when the whole city turns out to explore — join the crowds hopping between venues, though expect queues at the most famous spots. A brilliant, only-once-a-year experience.
Warsaw · Across the city
Every Sunday through the summer, free open-air piano recitals are held by the Chopin monument in Łazienki park — world-class pianists playing the composer's music beneath the trees, to crowds sprawled on the grass. Free, romantic and quintessentially Warsaw; arrive early for a good spot, bring a picnic, and let the music of Poland's greatest son fill a lazy summer afternoon.
Warsaw · Łazienki Park
The old pagan St John's Eve, reborn as a giant free riverside party below Wawel — wreaths floated on the Vistula, big-name concerts and fireworks over the castle. The warmest, most joyful night of Kraków's year; go early for a spot on the bank.
Kraków · Vistula riverbank below Wawel
Ten days that fill Kazimierz with klezmer, Yiddish song, workshops and food, climaxing in a huge free open-air concert on Szeroka Street — one of the biggest celebrations of Jewish culture in the world, in the quarter where it belongs.
Kraków · Kazimierz
The Small Market Square fills with stalls dishing up every kind of pierogi imaginable — from classic cheese-and-potato to wild inventions — with a competition for the city's best. Cheap, cheerful and delicious; join the queue and graze.
Kraków · Small Market Square (Mały Rynek)
