Heart of Krakow: the Old Town and the Wawel Castle Guided Tour

The "Royal Route" - that was the name of the route from the Florian Gate, the front gate of the city, to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill, all royal motorcades drove along this route, crossing the city from north to south. This Royal Route tour shows all the places connected with the power and prestige Poland was enjoying in the past centuries, when Kraków was its capital.

Nowadays it is a tourist route: the Church of St. Mary, the Market Square with the Passage Rows of Sukiennica, the University Quarter, the Franciscan Monastery, St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral and finally Wawel Hill itself with the Cathedral.

We will retrace with the local guide the paths of the Polish Kings and Queens – either on the Main Square or the Wawel Hill. The very best way to think of them is in fact while strolling around the Royals Chambers, as they are still there, on the portraits, and in the things they left, which remind us of the past times. With a bit of an imagination we can see the Monarchs of Poland dancing, flirting, taking the crucial decisions… 

In the museum and the Cathedral we will have a unique opportunity to feel the spirit of Old Poland – the country whose citizens, strongly cultivating the Catholic religion, were at the same time longing for the pleasures of life so much that finally, in the end of the 18th century, they caused the partition of their beloved homeland.

Itinerary:

* Pijarska St. - In bygone times, kings returning from victorious battles, diplomats, and illustrious guests visiting Kraków entered the city through this gate. Today St Florian’s Gate (Brama Floriańska) is one of the symbols of the city, one that welcomes tourists arriving in Kraków.
* Florianska St. - One of the most famous and most exemplary streets of Kraków, it leads straight to the heart of the city – the Main Market Square. Today it tempts with a variety of shops, restaurants, and clubs, while centuries ago it hosted the solemn coronation and funeral processions of monarchs.
* The Main Market Square (Rynek Główny)  - This is the place of the most “mosts”: the most important public space in Kraków, the most expansive Market Square of medieval Europe, it gathers everything most characteristic of the city and has its most distinctive hallmarks, and last but not least: the most beautiful, the most important, the most charming, the most…
- One of the symbols of city, a pearl of renaissance architecture, Kraków’s oldest “commercial centre”: Sukiennice or the Cloth Hall is one of the most important elements of the architectural heritage of Kraków.
- 70 metres (230 ft), 110 stone steps, the executioner’s dungeons, and 700 years on the Main Market Square: this is the Town Hall Tower, the only remnant of the original seat of the city authorities.
- What does this small, unimposing church do in the impressive and vast Main Market Square of Kraków? Moreover: standing askew? This edifice is a relic of very distant times, long before the chartering of the city and the staking out of the Market Square. This place at the crossroads of trade routes was selected for a purpose: according to tradition, it is here that St Adalbert, a Bohemian cleric.
* St. Mary's Basilica - A history spanning over eight centuries, a high altar by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz), a bugle call, the star strewn murals by Jan Matejko covering the vaulting: all this in a single church! Moreover: in the very centre of Kraków!
* Grodzka St. - One of the oldest streets in Kraków, it is a part of the Royal Route, the official historical royal path leading from the gates of the city to Wawel.
* St. Peter and Paul Church - Kraków’s first church inspired by the sacred architecture of Roman baroque; with a magnificent stone façade and masterly designed dome, provides a key element in the panorama of the city.
* St. Andrew’s Church - one of Kraków’s oldest churches, captivates with its austere Romanesque form, contrasting with the baroque spires of the towers. Inside, it surprises with lavish, baroque and rococo furnishings.
* Kanonicza St. - An exceptionally picturesque little street, where every house boasts a long and rich history, often reaching back to the first half of the 14th century.
* The Wawel Castle – Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument, the Cathedral, the Royal Palace, the River Vistula Panorama
* The Dragon of Wawel.

Meeting point: in front of the Hotel Polski pod Bialym Orlem(click to go to the Google maps)
The guide with the "excursions.city" sign 
Endpoint: Wawel Hill
Length: ~2 km 
Duration: 2 hours