Wawel Royal Castle

What it is

Wawel Castle was the residence of Polish kings until Sigismund III moved his court permanently to Warsaw in 1609. After fires in 1499, Sigismund I the Old rebuilt the royal residence between 1507 and 1536, which is when the arcaded Renaissance courtyard took its present form. In 1978 Wawel was inscribed on the first UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Historic Centre of Krakow. During the German occupation it was the residence of the governor general, Hans Frank.

What you can see

The castle museum is split into separately ticketed parts rather than one visit. The official list is: the Castle first and second floor (the State Rooms and the Royal Private Apartments), the Castle Underground (The Lost Wawel, the Church of St Gereon and the Lapidarium), the Crown Treasury, the Armoury, Looking for the Dragon, the Viewing Tower, the Royal Gardens, the Dragon's Den and Between the Walls. The museum's own guidance puts each part at between 10 minutes (the Dragon's Den) and about an hour (the first floor, or the underground).

The State Rooms hold part of the Jagiellonian tapestries: Sigismund I and his son bought more than 350 of them, woven in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Tickets

Tickets are sold online at bilety.wawel.krakow.pl, up to a month ahead, and the museum says the number of tickets is limited. The castle does not sell tickets for Wawel Cathedral, the Royal Tombs, the Sigismund Bell or the Cathedral Museum; those are booked through the cathedral. Current prices for the main parts are in the Practical panel on this page.

The Dragon's Den is a limestone cave in the side of the hill, open from 24 April to 31 October; its ticket includes the Royal Gardens.