For centuries, this route has been followed by monarchs returning after victorious battles, bishops assuming office, envoys from foreign lands, and the funeral corteges of great Poles. This historic route leads along Floriańska Street, crosses the Main Market Square, and then runs along Grodzka and Kanonicza streets as far as Wawel. Clustered along it are the greatest treasures of the Royal Capital City: the Barbican and St Florian’s Gate, the Cloth Hall, St Mary’s, St Adalbert’s, and St Peter and St Paul’s, mansions (Pod Baranami / Under the Rams, Palace of Bishop Erasm Ciołek), and museums (including the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art, Rynek Underground, and Archdiocesan Museums). Walking the Royal Route is certainly a must when you visit Kraków, yet, what a pleasant “must” it is!

An unhurried walk along the Royal Route takes about one hour, if you don’t visit the sites on the list. Yet it is certainly worth your time to enter the Barbican and scale the defensive wall, explore Saint Mary’s Church and its tower, visit at least one of the museums on the route, and – crowning your excursion in the footsteps of kings – a thorough exploration of Wawel!