From Wawel Hill to St Florian's Gate: Kraków's Old Town on foot, half a day

Kraków's old town has a spine, and this walk follows it. You start on Wawel Hill, where Polish kings lived and were crowned, then walk north along the street that leads straight into the Main Square. From there you finish at the gate where the medieval walls once closed the city.

Six stops fill a relaxed half day, with time to go inside the churches and sit down on the square. Everything lies in a line, so you never double back.

Wawel Castle: where the kings lived

Begin on top of the hill, before the crowds build up. Wawel Castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style between 1507 and 1536, after a fire, by Italian-trained craftsmen working for King Sigismund the Old. Their best work is the arcaded courtyard, which you can look at for a long time. The cathedral stands right beside the castle, and it is where Polish kings were crowned. Its Sigismund Bell, cast in 1520 and rung only on special occasions, hangs in the tower above.

Wawel CastleAttractionWalk the courtyard first, then decide how much of the royal rooms you want. Step into the neighbouring Wawel Cathedral, the coronation church, which is a stop of its own. Leave by the gate on the Old Town side and follow the street downhill.Photo: Stanislau 93, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl

Church of Saints Peter and Paul: the first Baroque in town

Grodzka Street is older than the square it leads to, which is why it breaks the grid of the rest of the town. Halfway along, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul stands back behind a row of stone apostles. It was built between 1597 and 1619, and it is described as the first building in Kraków designed entirely in the Baroque style. Acid rain wrecked the original apostles, so the figures you see are copies cut from the same kind of stone.

Church of Saints Peter and PaulPlace of worshipLook at the dome and façade from the street, then step inside. Then rejoin Grodzka Street and keep going towards the square.Photo: Jeremiah Z. Cockroach, CC BY-SA 4.0

Franciscan Church: colour on every wall

A short way on, the plain Gothic outside of the Franciscan Church hides one of the most colourful interiors in the city. The church goes back to the 13th century and was consecrated before 1269. In the 1890s the painter Stanisław Wyspiański decorated the east end with flowers. He also designed the stained glass in the apse, made in Innsbruck between 1899 and 1904, including the window of God the Father.

Franciscan ChurchPlace of worshipGo in and look at the painted walls and then at the apse windows. It is a working friary, so keep voices low. Come out and continue north; the Main Square is next.Photo: Igor123121, CC BY 4.0

Main Square: the middle of town

The Main Square was laid out in 1257, when Kraków received its town charter, after the Mongol raid of 1241 had wrecked the earlier town. Three streets meet each side at right angles, a tidy medieval plan that still holds. Right in the middle stands the Cloth Hall, once the centre of the cloth trade. It was rebuilt in the Renaissance style after a fire in 1555, and the shops and cafés on its ground floor now fill the long passage.

Main SquareLandmarkCross the whole square slowly. Walk through the Cloth Hall's central passage, where the stalls are, and climb to its upper floor, home to a gallery of the National Museum. Then look for the lone tower: it is all that remains of the old Town Hall. Head for the red-brick church with two unequal towers in the corner.Photo: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0

St. Mary's Basilica: the trumpet that stops

St. Mary's Basilica is a Gothic brick church whose two towers do not match. From the taller one, a trumpeter plays a short melody every hour, day and night, and the tune breaks off mid-phrase. Inside is a late Gothic wooden altarpiece by Veit Stoss, from the end of the 15th century and a national treasure of Poland.

St. Mary's BasilicaPlace of worshipStand in the square on the hour to hear the trumpet call from the taller tower. Then go in to see the Veit Stoss altarpiece behind the high altar. Check the visiting times before you queue. Leave on the north side and follow Floriańska Street.Photo: Pgkos, CC BY-SA 4.0

St Florian's Gate: out through the walls

Floriańska Street is the last part of the Royal Road, the way kings and their guests entered the city. It ends at St Florian's Gate, first mentioned in 1307 and about 33 metres tall, with a Baroque cap added in 1660. Turn round on the street side to see a St Florian relief of the 18th century, and on the far side an eagle carved in 1882 to a design by Jan Matejko.

Saint Florian's GateLandmarkPass through the gate and look back at its two faces, the saint on one side and the eagle on the other. Just beyond it stands the round Barbican, a fortified outpost once linked to the gate across the moat; our data lists it as open from April to October and closed from November to March, so check before you plan to go in. This is a good place to end the walk.Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0

Where the walk ends

You have gone from a king's hill to a city gate, and each stop explains the next: the court at Wawel, the churches along Grodzka Street, the market square where trade was done, and the wall that closed it all in. From the gate, the lanes of the old town are all around you for a coffee and a rest.