Lublin

Lublin is done in two days: one runs from the Kraków Gate up to the castle and Plac Litewski, the other goes out to Majdanek on the edge of town. Lublin Airport (LUZ) has its own flights, and the train into town takes 16–25 min.

The train from LUZ airport runs straight to Lublin Główny station, 16–25 min for €1.21. The station itself opened in 1877, on the line that first linked Lublin to Warsaw and Kyiv, and was built well away from the old centre on purpose — it's about two kilometres from the Old Town, by bus or on foot uphill.

The Kraków Gate is what remains of the town walls raised in the mid-14th century, after the Tatar raid of 1341. The baroque helmet on top dates from the 1782 rebuilding, and the gate now holds the city history museum. Past it starts the Old Town, and the rest is on foot, over cobbles to the main square — the walk is free, 2–3 h walk. Under the square itself, in merchants' cellars from the 16th century, when Lublin was one of Poland's bigger trading towns and Hungarian wine and Indian spices passed through them, runs the Underground Route: 40 min on three levels, down to 12 metres, entry €8.44.

Above the Old Town, on its own hill, stands the castle. The outside is 19th-century, but inside survives the Holy Trinity Chapel from the 14th century, whose Byzantine-Ruthenian murals were finished on 10 August 1418 for King Władysław Jagiełło. A combined ticket is €9.13; the permanent exhibitions close on Mondays, while the chapel and the tower open daily.

From the castle the way leads back through the Old Town and on to Plac Litewski, the main square outside the walls. An obelisk from 1826 stands in the middle, marking the 1569 Union that joined Poland and Lithuania into one state. Right beside it starts the Saxon Garden, the city's oldest park — laid out in 1837 over about 12.8 hectares, in the English landscape style. It stays open round the clock with no ticket, a natural pause before heading back to the centre.

Away from that loop, by bus or tram to the edge of the city, stands the State Museum at Majdanek. The camp operated from October 1941 to July 1944, when the Red Army found it only partly destroyed — the first Nazi camp to be liberated, and still the best preserved of them all. The museum was founded as early as November 1944, the oldest of all such memorial museums. Entry is free, and a visit takes about 3 h.

What keeps the city going between sights are its universities: nine institutions in Lublin teach nearly 60,000 people, in a city of about 327,000. It shows in the prices too — a hostel bed is €9.13–11.41, a set lunch €6.40. Two days, one for the Old Town and the castle, one for Majdanek and the underground route, is enough time without rushing.