Stare Miasto

The most important sightseeing area of Kraków is Stare Miasto, which means Old Town in Polish. It is packed with fascinating landmarks.

One of the most splendid parts of Stare Miasto is Planty Park, one of Kraków’s largest green spaces that surrounds the entire Old Town. This area was where the city walls and its watchtowers once used to stand. Nowadays, it is composed of numerous gardens all differently designed.

Once you traverse the park, you get to the city’s Old Town. Its majestic squares, elegant buildings and beautiful churches are some of the reasons why it is amid the first sites to be inserted in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The neighborhood is packed with traditional Polish restaurants, souvenir shops and open-air cafés that are always brimming when the sun comes out.

What to see in Stare Miasto

The best way to discover this charming zone is to wander down its cobblestone streets without a specific direction. Nevertheless, the most iconic historic sites are located on the Royal Road. This thoroughfare begins at St Florian’s Church, crosses the Barbican, a fortified gateway from the fifteenth century, through St Florian’s Gate and onto Florianska Street and all along Grodzka Street. The Royal Road also passes through Market Square (Rynek Glowny), the main square in Kraków. At the end of Grodzka Street is Wawel Hill and its imposing Castle.