Krakow strolls: The Royal Route

This is our third walk together through Kraków, in which we traverse the Royal Route—from the Barbican all the way to Wawel—while also peeking into neighboring streets and courtyards, uncovering nooks that are easy to miss in a hurry. Along the way, we talk about remarkable places we pass: historic townhouses, atmospheric streets, and magnificent churches that have shaped the city’s unique landscape for centuries. We explore their history, the figures connected with them, and the colorful anecdotes that bring Kraków’s past to life.

We will stop at the Matejko House to look behind the scenes of the master’s life and work, then head down to the Mały Rynek (Small Market Square), passing the “Żak” fountain and mood-filled alleys. From there, we’ll continue to the Dominican monastery—the Basilica of the Holy Trinity—and then to the Franciscan Basilica, where stained glass and polychrome decorations provide a backdrop to a brief tale of Kraków modernism. Along Grodzka Street we’ll reach the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and the Romanesque Church of St Andrew, and along the way we’ll also mention Igor Mitoraj’s sculpture in the courtyard of the Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Iuridicum. Later we’ll visit St Giles’ Church at the foot of Wawel and proceed to Kanonicza Street—number 25 now houses the Pontifical University of John Paul II. The finale awaits at Kanonicza 17: in the National Museum in Kraków—the Bishop Erazm Ciołek Palace—we will conclude our walk with an encounter with the art and heritage of the old city.

It’s a route that blends history with a sense of place and lets you read Kraków like an open book—from townhouse façades to quiet cloisters, from legends to traces of everyday life.