Czartoryski Museum

What to expect

The Czartoryski Museum holds Poland’s most valuable collection of old art, and with it the most famous painting in the country: Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine. The collection grew out of the holdings assembled in the early 19th century by Princess Izabela Czartoryska and later moved to Krakow; since a state purchase in 2016 it has been national property, run by the National Museum in Krakow. Beyond the Leonardo you will find Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan, ancient art, decorative arts and national memorabilia collected when Poland had vanished from the map of Europe.

To be honest: apart from the Lady with an Ermine, this is a classic, dense old-masters museum - display cases, paintings, arms and porcelain. If you come only for the Leonardo, you will see it in fifteen minutes; if historic craftsmanship and the story of a princely collection interest you, you can easily spend half a day. The interiors were thoroughly modernised and are comfortable to visit, with the Leonardo hanging in its own dimmed room, which is naturally where the biggest crowd gathers.

Visiting in practice

Tickets cost 65 PLN (reduced 50 PLN) and are best bought in advance at bilety.mnk.pl for a specific entry time. On Tuesdays entry to the permanent exhibition is free, but you still need a free timed pass and the number is limited - in high season reserve ahead. Last entry is one hour before closing. Labels and the audio offer cater to international visitors, and the museum is used to non-Polish-speaking guests; plan ninety minutes to two hours for an unhurried visit.

Getting there

The museum stands on Pijarska street, right next to St Florian’s Gate and the Barbican at the northern edge of the Old Town - from the Main Market Square it is a five-minute walk along Floriańska street. The nearest tram stops are just across the Planty park on Basztowa street, near the main railway station and the Słowacki Theatre.

Nearby

On neighbouring Floriańska street you will find the Jan Matejko House, the painter’s home and studio. Five minutes further, on the Main Market Square, are the Sukiennice Gallery of 19th-century Polish painting and the Rynek Underground, an archaeological route beneath the square.