The leafy western edge of the city, where Krakow runs out into the bend of the Vistula and up against the wooded slopes of the Wolski Forest. Zwierzyniec — the name means "menagerie", from the royal hunting grounds that once lay here — and its sub-district Salwator form a quiet, prosperous quarter of villas, old monasteries, and river walks that feels a world away from the tourist centre a couple of tram stops east.
The historic core clusters around the Norbertine convent and the tiny wooden Church of St. Margaret near the Salwator tram terminus, the starting point of the city's Lajkonik procession each summer. Above rises the Kościuszko Mound, a 19th-century earthwork raised by hand in honour of the national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, ringed by an Austrian fort and offering the finest panorama of Krakow. The riverbank below is a popular cycling and walking route, and the slopes beyond lead into the forest and on to the Benedictine abbey at Tyniec.
This is the neighbourhood for green space and long views rather than monuments. Take the tram to Salwator, walk up to the mound for the panorama, and follow the river path back toward the centre.