Break the run west in Toruń: a Gothic UNESCO old town on the Vistula, Copernicus's birthplace, famous for gingerbread — and far quieter than Kraków.
The wide Vistula riverfront frames the city. The finest view is from the Kępa Bazarowa island viewpoint across the river, where the medieval walls, gates and church towers line up into what many call Poland's most beautiful city panorama — especially at dusk.
A wealthy Hanseatic trading city and a key Teutonic Knights' stronghold. The Second Peace of Toruń (1466) ended the Thirteen Years' War and returned Gdańsk Pomerania to Poland. The Gothic street plan and burgher houses came through the Second World War largely intact — which is exactly why UNESCO listed the medieval town.
Google-rated 4★ and up. Tap a name to open it in Google Maps.
A hotel in the old town. One night.
Good charging on the A1 corridor and town chargers available. A natural halfway break — an afternoon and evening is enough to see the compact old town on foot.