Art & culture
One of only a handful of portraits by Leonardo da Vinci in the world, and usually without a crowd in front of it.
Photo: Leonardo da Vinci (public domain) / Wikimedia Commons
The Czartoryski Museum is the oldest museum in Poland, founded by a princess who collected the country’s treasures when Poland disappeared from the map. Its star is Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine.
Unlike the Mona Lisa, you can stand in front of her quietly. I add it to an Old Town day at the time it’s calmest.
About an hour and a half for the painting and the rest of the collection, which also has a Rembrandt landscape and ancient treasures.
A farming village where the women paint flowers on everything: houses, wells, barns and even the dog kennel.
A sloping wooden market town that inspired painters, next to a UNESCO pilgrimage park in the hills.
A 15th-century larch church, built without a single nail and painted inside like a jewellery box.
