What is the Kraków self-guided walking tour?
The Kraków self-guided walking tour is a walk through the Old Town at a speed you set, with audio narration on your phone taking the place a guide would normally hold. Allow about 3 hours: 47 minutes of that is time on your feet, the route measures 3.8 km, and at 10 stops you stand still and listen. Nothing runs to a timetable and there is no group to keep up with.
At St Mary's Basilica the narration takes in the hejnał, the trumpet call sounded from the taller tower every hour and broken off mid-note in memory of a watchman said to have been shot as he raised the alarm. Under the arches of the Cloth Hall it turns to the knife that hangs there, kept alive by the legend of two rival brothers. At the cathedral you hear why old bones are chained beside the door, and at the Copernicus statue why it moved to the Planty only in 1953.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 47 min · 3.8 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish
What you do on the walk
Listen
Every stop brings the story of the place, the legends around it and the carved detail most people pass without noticing. The same text sits on screen for anyone who would rather read.
Walk on
Google Maps carries you from one stop to the next: 47 minutes on foot spread over 3.8 km, at whatever pace suits you.
Break off
Sit down for coffee and a slice of cheesecake, give an hour to a museum, then take the walk up again later or on another day.
Eat and browse
Tips for food and shops near the route come with the stops. Your starting point and the order are yours to set in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walk is for
A first time in Kraków
One walk sorts out the Main Market Square, the city walls and Wawel Hill and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
No raised umbrella to follow and no meeting time: you stay where something holds you and move on when you are ready.
A single day in the city
3 hours takes in the Old Town and Wawel, which leaves the afternoon for Kazimierz or for a museum.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: the Main Market Square, St Florian's Gate, Wawel, the Avenue of Stars
10 stops · about 47 min walking · start: Town Hall Tower · finish: Avenue of Stars
The first stop is the Town Hall Tower, and the Cloth Hall and St Mary's Basilica stand on the same Main Market Square. The route then runs the Royal Route backwards, out through St Florian's Gate to the Barbican, before curving west into Plac Szczepański and along the green Planty belt to the statue of Nicolaus Copernicus. Grodzka Street then runs south past the Church of Saints Peter and Paul before the climb to the cathedral on Wawel Hill, and the Avenue of Stars brings the walk to a close. A different opening stop or another order can be set in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Town Hall TowerStart
The Town Hall Tower is all that is left of Kraków's old town hall, which was pulled down in the 19th century. The Gothic tower leans slightly, and a pair of stone lions guards its entrance.
2Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)
The Cloth Hall stands in the middle of the Main Market Square and owes its present look to the Renaissance. In its 15th-century heyday merchants traded spices, silk, leather and wax here, and market stalls still fill its long central passage. A knife hanging in the passage is said to be the one used by the jealous brother in the legend of St Mary's towers.
Read the full story →
3St Mary's Basilica
St Mary's Basilica is a Brick Gothic church built in the 14th century, and its taller tower reaches 80 metres. Every hour a trumpeter plays the hejnał from it, breaking off mid-note in memory of a watchman said to have been shot while sounding the alarm. Inside stands the high altar by Veit Stoss, carved between 1477 and 1489.
Read the full story →
4St Florian's Gate
St Florian's Gate, first mentioned in 1307, is the only one of Kraków's eight medieval city gates that was not pulled down in the 19th century. The 33.5-metre tower marks the start of the Royal Route, along which kings entered the city, and its south face shows a relief of St Florian.
Read the full story →
5Barbican
The Barbican is a round brick fortress outside St Florian's Gate, once linked to it by a long bridge across the moat. It guarded the main entrance to the city and, together with the gate and a stretch of walls, survived when most of the fortifications were demolished in the 19th century.
6Plac Szczepański
Plac Szczepański was created in the early 19th century after the medieval Church of St Stephen, which gave the square its name, was demolished. It is framed by Art Nouveau buildings such as the Palace of Art of 1901 and the Stary Theatre, and the fountain in the middle was added in 2010.
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7Nicolaus Copernicus Statue
This bronze statue honours Nicolaus Copernicus, who studied at the Kraków Academy, today's Jagiellonian University, in the 1490s. Made by Cyprian Godebski and unveiled in 1900, it first stood in the courtyard of the Collegium Maius and was moved to the Planty park beside the Collegium Novum in 1953. The astronomer holds up an astrolabe.
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8Church of Saints Peter and Paul
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul stands on Grodzka Street, the road kings followed up to Wawel, and was built for the Jesuits in the Baroque style. In front of it, statues of the apostles stand on pillars along the fence, below its pale stone façade.
9Wawel Cathedral
Wawel Cathedral was the coronation church of Poland's kings, and most of them are buried here. Look for the golden dome of the Sigismund Chapel on its side, and for the large old bones hanging at the entrance, said to belong to the Wawel dragon.
10Avenue of StarsFinish
Kraków's Avenue of Stars is a walk of fame modelled on the famous one in Hollywood. Star plaques along the walkway carry the names of well-known personalities, and it is fun to see how many of them you recognise.
Read the full story →
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