Krakow

Renaissance arcades, enchanting onion domes, Baroque spires, storybook streets, and Leonardo da Vinci's sublime painting Cecilia Gallerani -- little wonder the stunning beauty of this 1,000-year-old city and its sights attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Kraków (Cracow), seat of Poland's oldest university and the former capital of Poland, is one of the few Polish cities that escaped devastation by Hitler's armies during World War II. UNESCO listed Kraków as a World Heritage site in 1978 for its historic buildings and sites.

Today Kraków's fine towers, facades, and churches, reflecting seven centuries of Polish architecture, continue to make it the shop window of Poland. Until as recently as the 19th century there was a moat encircling the Old Town; now the parkland, called Planty, encircles the city. The center of Kraków is the Main Market Square, a medieval textile bazaar where Polish kings came the day after their coronations to meet the city's burghers and receive homage and tribute in the name of all the towns of Poland.