About This Tour
This walking tour focuses on Kraków’s Old Town, covering the city’s most recognizable streets, squares, and landmark buildings within a compact area. The experience is built around the main market square and the connected network of historic lanes where daily life, architecture, and local traditions meet. Expect a mix of grand facades, smaller courtyards, and constantly changing views as the route moves between open public spaces and narrower passages. The atmosphere is lively near the central square, with cafés, performers, and shops, while just a few minutes away the streets feel calmer and more residential. The route includes places tied to Kraków’s medieval growth and its later cultural prominence. Remains of defensive structures and gates help explain how the city was protected and organized, while monuments and civic landmarks reflect the period when Kraków served as a political and cultural center. Churches and chapels add a strong visual identity, with details that range from monumental towers to smaller side entrances and intimate interior spaces. The tour also touches on areas connected to scholarship and public life, highlighting Kraków’s role as a long-standing university city and a center of learning. Overall, this is a well-rounded introduction designed for travelers who want to understand the layout of the Old Town while enjoying its most iconic scenery. It suits visitors looking for classic postcard views, a sense of local rhythm, and an easy way to connect key highlights without rushing. The route can be taken at a relaxed pace with time for short museum visits, quick stops for photos, and breaks in the main square when the weather is pleasant.
- Duration
- 45m
- Distance
- 2.8 km
- Stops
- 24 locations
- Languages
- 9 languages
Updated 2026-01-20
Interactive Map
Tour Stops (24)
Stop 1: Adam Mickiewicz Monument
Krakow’s classic meeting point - the 1898 Mickiewicz Monument, known locally as “under Adaś,” standing in the heart of the Main Market Square.
Stop 2: St. Mary’s Basilica
Kraków’s Main Square landmark - uneven twin towers, the hourly hejnał trumpet call, and Veit Stoss’s monumental Gothic altarpiece.
Stop 3: Plac Mariacki and St. Barbara’s Church
A quiet side square beside St. Mary’s Basilica - once a cemetery - with St. Barbara’s Church, a Gothic chapel with the Ogrójec sculpture scene.
Stop 4: Mały Rynek and Wikarówka (St. Mary’s Vicars’ House)
Mały Rynek - Kraków’s old “overflow” market for meat and fish - plus Wikarówka, the historic clergy house linking the square to St. Mary’s.
Stop 5: Szpitalna Street
Old Town street named for a medieval Holy Spirit hospital - later reshaped by the Słowacki Theatre - and long famous for Kraków’s antiquarian book trade.
Stop 6: Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
Kraków’s ornate 1893 city theatre - inspired by Paris, born from a bold demolition, and home to Siemiradzki’s giant 1894 painted curtain.
Stop 7: Kraków Barbican and City Walls
Kraków’s best-preserved medieval fortifications - the 1498-1499 Barbican with its moat, thick walls, and the surviving city-wall fragment.
Stop 8: St. Florian’s Gate
Kraków’s only surviving medieval city gate - first noted in 1307, linked to the Barbican, and the traditional starting point of the Royal Road.
Stop 9: Zaułek Książąt Czartoryskich, Baszta Stolarska, and the “Mercury” Statue
A hidden Old Town corner by the walls - the 15th-century Carpenters’ Tower, Thorvaldsen’s Mercury, and the open-air painting gallery by St. Florian’s Gate.
Stop 10: Church of the Transfiguration and Czartoryski Museum
A Baroque Piarist church with illusionistic ceiling art, next to the Czartoryski Museum - home to Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine, reopened in 2019.
Stop 11: Wodzicki Palace and the Princes Czartoryski Library
A historic Old Town corner - Wodzicki Palace beside the Princes Czartoryski Library, plus a clear view into Kraków’s smog problem.
Stop 12: Floriańska Street
Kraków’s classic Old Town walk - the start of the Royal Road, lined with historic townhouses, Matejko’s home museum, and the legendary Jama Michalika café.
Stop 13: Floriańska Street Photo Spot - View of St. Mary’s Basilica
Quick photo stop on lively Floriańska Street with a strong framed view toward the towers of St. Mary’s Basilica.
Stop 14: Feniks Building
Quick photo stop - the modern 1929-1932 Feniks Building, famous for its contrast with Kraków’s medieval Main Market Square.
Stop 15: Badylak’s Well (Studzienka Badylaka)
A small hydrant-like memorial on Rynek Główny marking Walenty Badylak’s 1980 protest against the Katyn cover-up, commemorated with a 1990 plaque.
Stop 16: Main Market Square, Sukiennice, and Rynek Underground Museum
Kraków’s Main Market Square - Sukiennice Cloth Hall, MNK’s 19th-century art gallery upstairs, and the Rynek Underground Museum below.
Stop 17: Town Hall Tower (Wieża Ratuszowa)
The only remnant of Kraków’s old Town Hall - a 14th-century, 70 m tower with a slight lean, lions at the entrance, and a great viewpoint.
Stop 18: Collegium Maius - Jagiellonian University Museum and Professor’s Garden, Kraków
Kraków’s oldest university courtyard - Collegium Maius museum, the charming musical clock, and the hidden Professor’s Garden just behind it.
Stop 19: Jagiellonian University - Collegium Novum, Copernicus Statue, and the “Tree of Freedom”
Collegium Novum, the Copernicus statue, and the Drzewo Wolności oak - three quick symbols of Kraków’s university pride, science, and memory.
Stop 20: Plac Franciszkański - Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha Monument and the Archbishop’s Palace
Plac Franciszkański - Sapieha monument, Wyspiański stained glass, and the famous Papal Window opposite.
Stop 21: Plac Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints’ Square)
All Saints’ Square - city hall, monuments, and the Wyspiański Pavilion with unrealized stained-glass designs.
Stop 22: Dragon Window
Photo stop: an interactive dragon in a window, a modern nod to Kraków’s dragon legend.
Stop 23: Grodzka Street View toward Rynek Główny
A classic Grodzka Street corridor view toward Rynek Główny along Kraków’s historic Royal Route.
Stop 24: Church of St. Wojciech (St. Adalbert’s Church)
Final stop back on Rynek Główny - the small, historic Church of St. Wojciech, one of Kraków’s oldest sacred sites.
Tips & Recommendations
- Start early in the morning to enjoy the main square before peak crowds.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes as most streets are cobblestone.
- Check opening hours in advance for museums and university courtyards.
- Dress modestly when entering churches, with shoulders covered.
- Allow extra time around the main square for street activity and views.
- Visit in spring or early autumn for mild weather and fewer tourists.
- Keep personal belongings secure in busy pedestrian areas.
- Many sites are close together, so walking is the best way to experience this route.