Kraków Old Town

Kraków shows medieval town planning at full size. When the city received Magdeburg rights in 1257, its layout was set around a vast market square of roughly 200 meters a side, and you still walk the streets that lead off it today. The square, with the long Cloth Hall in the middle, the twin towers of St. Mary's Basilica on one corner and the lone tower of the old town hall, is the obvious start, but the plan is the real sight: walk out along the straight streets to the surviving Florian Gate and stretch of wall, then down to Wawel hill. The old town was one of the first places on UNESCO's list in 1978. Weekends get busy with groups; weekday mornings are calm.