The Wawel Royal Castle is likely the most iconic piece of architecture in Krakow. The castle is located above the city center with a view of Vistula River. During my recent stay in Poland, I had a lovely day in Krakow, which was just made to visit this key attraction. Here are some impressions in Pictured Story format of the castle structures itself. I will feature separate postings about the state room and the castle garden.
Wawel Royal Castle – Location & Admission
Wawel Royal Castle is located at the South of Stare Miasto, the old town. I already shared some impressions of the Florianska street with you. There are a couple of different walkways up to he castle. If you use Krakow public transports, a large number of trams stop at Wawel. Alternatively, you can also use taxis or Uber, which are very cheap there. The directions within the huge area are given in Polish and English. Furthermore, there are maps in several languages.
In general, visiting the castle grounds as such is free. However, there is a series of tickets you may buy for dedicated visits. In this posting, the only item charged is the dragons den, which was my least favorite experience on the castle hill (10 PLN). Tickets are limited and some have time slots, so booking in advance may be sensible.
Views of Wawel Royal Castle
As said, the castle is located right at the river, so that the West part as well as the uphill walkways have a lovely view of the city and key attractions like the Cracow Eye. I personally used the Northern entrance, which also made me run into the Cathedral and the statue of Pope John Paul II. The religious leader is treated as a local hero in and around Krakow and you find many statues of him. More or less regardless of which entry you opt for, you run right into the Historical Courtyard, which is giving you some really nice perspectives, not only on a sunny summer day.
A gate leads you into he in-fact castle area. This is also the place from where you enter the state rooms. The arcades are a famous part of the architecture. During my visit, you could even buy designated ticket just for walking along the first level of the gallery. As you saw in the pictures below, Wawel Royal Castle is full of flowers and plants. Thus, it is a lovely place to visit in summer. I included some closeups of flowers in the courtyard below.
Wawel Royal Castle – Dragons Den
This cave is supposed to host the legendary Wawel Dragon, which you can buy in any kind of design as plush animal as well. The entrance to the cave is at castle level. From there, a sheer endless circular staircase takes you down, almost to river level, before you visit the cave. The cave is nice, but definitely not worth the entrance. You may enter the den with a backpack. Thus, I recommend (if at all) to do this one as the very last attraction and grab your luggage before.
Wawel Royal Castle – Services
Apart from shops and cafes / restaurants, there are several visitor services. For example, there are a luggage storage (you must not take backpacks into the castle room, for example) and several bathrooms spread over the grounds. These services are free if you have a valid ticket for that day of any kind. For example, the turnstiles at the toilets open when you scan them.
