Old Town

Lonely Planet review

The layout of the Old Town was drawn up in the mid-13th century after devastation caused by the Tatar invasions and has survived more or less in its original form. The construction of the fortifications began in the 13th century, and it took almost two centuries to envelope the town with a powerful, 3km-long chain of double defensive walls complete with 47 towers and eight main entrance gates as well as a wide moat.

When this defence system became obsolete at the beginning of the 19th century it was demolished, except for a small section to the north. The moat was filled up and a ring-shaped park called Planty was laid out on the site, surrounding the footprint-shaped Old Town with parkland.

The Old Town has a surfeit of historical monuments, including a dozen museums and some 20 of the city's 120 churches - not to mention scores of other important sights.

The Old Town, which has been included on Unesco's World Heritage List since 1978, is pretty much car-free and the tram crosses it only once (along ul Dominikańska and ul Franciszkańska 150m south of Rynek Główny) so you can stroll largely undisturbed by traffic noise and pollution.