About 10km south of Bochnia, the Renaissance castle at Nowy Wiśnicz crowns a wooded hill and dominates the small town below. Built in the early 17th century by the powerful Lubomirski family on the site of a medieval fortress, it is one of the most impressive aristocratic castles in southern Poland — a great pile of stone with a fortified courtyard, a chapel, and panoramic views from the bastions.
The castle is open as a museum from spring to autumn, with rooms set up to evoke 17th-century aristocratic life. Combine it with a walk through the small town below and lunch at one of its inns. About 20 minutes by car from Bochnia.