Czartoryski Museum

The Princes Czartoryski Museum holds one of the most important art collections in Poland, and its single most famous work is Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine. The museum stands on ulica Pijarska, just inside the old walls near the Florian Gate, a few minutes north of the Main Square. The collection was started in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska and is counted among the oldest museums in the country. It now operates as a branch of the National Museum in Krakow and reopened in December 2019 after a long restoration.

This is the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in a Polish collection, and one of very few of his portraits anywhere. Seeing it takes minutes, but the surrounding galleries reward a longer visit, with old master paintings, arms and armour, and antiquities gathered by the Czartoryski family over two centuries. The building itself was rebuilt during the renovation to link several townhouses, so the setting is calm and modern rather than crowded.

The headline works are the two old master paintings:

• Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, painted in the 1490s, a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani. It was acquired for the collection around 1800 and is the star of the museum.
• Landscape with the Good Samaritan by Rembrandt, dated 1638, one of only a handful of undisputed Rembrandts left in Polish hands.

Beyond the paintings, the halls cover European decorative arts, historic weapons and armour, and Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities. One famous loss haunts the collection: Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man was taken during the Second World War and has never been recovered, so an empty frame stands as a reminder of it in the museum's story.

Princess Izabela Czartoryska formed the first collection at Pulawy in 1796, one of the earliest museum projects on Polish soil. Her son, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, brought back the Leonardo and the Rembrandt from travels in Italy. The collection moved abroad and back through the upheavals of the 19th century before settling in Krakow, where the museum opened to the public in 1878. In 2016 the Polish state bought the collection from the family foundation, and it now sits within the National Museum in Krakow.

Allow between one and two hours. If you only want to see the Leonardo you can do it quickly, but the antiquities and the arms collection are worth the extra time. Combined with the nearby Barbakan and Florian Gate, it makes an easy morning at the northern edge of the Old Town.

Weekday mornings are the calmest. The room holding Lady with an Ermine draws a steady flow of visitors, so arriving early gives you more space in front of it. Check the museum's official channels for current opening days, prices and any free-entry day, as these change and some branches of the National Museum close on a set weekday.

The museum is at ulica Pijarska 15, a five-minute walk north of the Main Market Square along the line of the old walls. From Krakow Glowny station it is a short walk south. The centre is pedestrianised, so the nearest trams stop around the Planty ring. For orientation across the city, see the Krakow guide.

The renovated building added lifts between floors, so the main galleries are reachable without stairs. Confirm the current access route and any assistance you need with the museum before your visit, as arrangements can vary between temporary and permanent displays.

You are at the top of the Old Town, close to several sights:

• The Barbakan and Florian Gate, a couple of minutes away.
• The Main Market Square and, beneath it, Rynek Underground, five minutes south.
• Ulica Florianska, the medieval street linking the gate to the square.

Yes. Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine is the centrepiece of the Czartoryski Museum and the only Leonardo painting in a Polish collection. It does travel occasionally, so confirm it is on display before a dedicated visit.

The collection dates from 1796 and is one of the oldest in the country. The Krakow museum opened to the public in 1878. It is now run as a branch of the National Museum in Krakow.

Rembrandt's Landscape with the Good Samaritan of 1638, the arms and armour rooms, and the antiquities gathered by the family. The empty frame recalling the Raphael portrait lost in the war is part of the collection's story.