The Czartoryski Museum, Krakow

Izabela Czartoryska started this collection in 1796 as a deliberate gathering of Polish memory and European art, and it moved to Krakow in the nineteenth century. After years of closure the building reopened at the end of 2019, rearranged and much better lit. The best known picture is Leonardo's portrait of a young woman holding an ermine, painted in Milan around 1490 and hung alone in a darkened room; the other headline work is a Rembrandt landscape with the Good Samaritan. Around them are arms and armour, Meissen and Italian majolica, Turkish tents and objects, and antiquities, arranged as a private collection rather than a survey.

What you actually see

• Lady with an Ermine - Leonardo's portrait, hung alone in a dim room with timed viewing.
• The Rembrandt landscape - a stormy scene with the Good Samaritan, in the same gallery range.
• The arms and applied art - armour, tents, ceramics and clocks from the family collection.
• The antiquities - Egyptian, Greek and Roman objects in the lower rooms.

When to go

Book a timed slot online, particularly on the free day and on summer weekends, when the Leonardo room takes a queue. Mid-week mornings are calmest. The museum closes one day a week and the Leonardo occasionally travels or is off view, which is worth checking before you plan a visit around it.

Honest expectations

Most people come for one painting, and it is small, dimly lit and viewed in a slow shuffle with staff moving people along. The rest of the collection is uneven and the labelling assumes some background. Krakow old town prices apply to everything around it. On busy days the timed entry still leaves you waiting inside.

Nearby

The Florian Gate, the Barbican and the main market square are within a few minutes' walk.