Kraków Old Town and Wawel Guide: A Walking Route

This walk follows the Royal Road, the route kings took into the city for their coronations, from the northern gate to Wawel. It's about 1.5 km and takes half a day with stops, the first morning of our 3-day itinerary. Start early; the Market Square is at its best before the tour groups arrive.

1. The Barbican. A round brick fortification from 1498, one of the few surviving in Europe, just outside the old walls. It connects to the city through the gate ahead.
2. St Florian's Gate. The one main gate left from the medieval walls, with a stretch of wall beside it where artists hang paintings for sale.
3. Floriańska Street. The main street into the Old Town, lined with old townhouses. Look up: many have painted house signs.
4. The Main Market Square. Rynek Główny opens out ahead. Walk round the edge, then through the Cloth Hall arcades. Stay until the hour to hear the trumpet call from St Mary's tower.
5. St Mary's Basilica. Buy a ticket at the office across the small square, then enter by the side door. The Veit Stoss altarpiece, 13 metres high, is one of the largest Gothic altarpieces anywhere.
6. The Town Hall Tower. All that remains of the old town hall. Climb it for views across the square.
7. Collegium Maius. A short detour west on Jagiellońska Street to the university's Gothic courtyard.
8. Grodzka Street. South towards Wawel, past the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, with statues of the twelve apostles on its railings, and the Romanesque St Andrew's.
9. Kanonicza Street. A quieter parallel street of canons' houses, the prettiest in the Old Town, leading to the foot of Wawel.
10. Wawel Hill. Walk up to the castle courtyard, with its Renaissance arcades.

Choosing at Wawel

Wawel is a complex of separate museums, each with its own ticket and many with limited daily entries. With limited time, choose two. The Cathedral is the heart of it: royal tombs, the gold-domed Sigismund Chapel, and the huge Sigismund Bell you can climb up to. The State Rooms have Renaissance tapestries, and the Crown Treasury and Armoury the coronation sword. Buy tickets early in the day or online, as popular exhibitions sell out. Finish at the Dragon's Den, a cave that leads down to the riverbank.

After Wawel

From the river, Kazimierz is a ten-minute walk south. Kanonicza and the streets below Wawel are also among the quietest places to sleep in the centre, as our where to stay guide explains.