The chic Śródmieście, Epoka and the Royal Castle

In the chic neighbourhood of Śródmieście, the contrast between past and present is particularly expressed by the Nobu Hotel, a triangular-shaped glass and steel building with a vaguely art deco interior, reminiscent of a New York Flatiron Building in miniature, surrounded by trees. And again, you can go from the Crypt of the Church of the Holy Cross where the heart of the composer Chopin is said to be kept to the Vodka Museum housed in a former distillery or to Epoka a trendy restaurant with electric blue interiors where the chef enjoys reviving recipes dating back as far as the 17th century. Of course, you can't miss a visit to the city's great classics, starting with its Royal Castle on the banks of the Vistula River, where King Sigismund III of Poland lived, author of the transfer of the capital from Krakow and the connection between the Old and New Towns. Destruction during World War II was followed by the reconstruction of the castle that began in 1971. Here, as in the Market Square, a favourite meeting place together with Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, the difference between before and after the tragic events that struck Poland is hardly noticeable any more.