Wawel

Situated on top of a hill next the the Vistula River, the Wawel complex houses a the royal castle and cathedral from the ancient days of the Polish Kingdom, and the site was the centre of Polish political and religious activity up until the 17th century before the capital was shifted to Warsaw. Its long history—circa the early medieval period—accounts for the architectural variety of buildings found on the complex. The castles and courtyards seem to be outwardly Renaissance (I think – I’m no expert) and we toured the Gothic Cathedral (12zl, or 7zl concession, might cost a little more for an audio guide) which also featured the Royal Tombs, the Sigismund Bell and a pretty decent view of Krakow.

The place was pretty quiet because it was a frigid winter evening (-13ºC out to be precise) so we didn’t stay long, it might have been just under 2 hours. I suspect that the view from Wawel Hill might be more magnificent in the summer though, and if you ever drop by, do check out the Dragon’s Den at the bottom of the hill (we didn’t), it sounds mighty interesting.