Planty Park Walk

The Planty is the green belt that encircles Kraków's Old Town, and walking it is one of the simplest and most enjoyable ways to get to know the city centre. It was laid out between 1822 and 1830 on the line of the medieval defensive walls, which were largely dismantled at the time. The result is a ring of parkland about four kilometres long and covering around 21 hectares, made up of some thirty smaller gardens, each with its own character. At its southern end the loop meets Wawel Hill.

Following the whole ring takes about an hour at an unhurried pace, longer if you stop to look at the monuments along the way. More than twenty statues stand among the trees, including figures of Nicolaus Copernicus, the painter Jan Matejko, Queen Jadwiga and King Władysław II Jagiełło, as well as monuments to the artist Artur Grottger and to Grażyna, and a Chopin fountain. Plaques honour figures from Kraków's intellectual life, among them the chronicler Jan Długosz, the artist Stanisław Wyspiański and the mathematicians Stefan Banach and Hugo Steinhaus. Look down, too, for the outline of the former Bookbinders' Tower marked in white stone on the path.

The northern stretch passes the surviving section of the walls, with St Florian's Gate and the Barbican, and it is from here that the Royal Route leads into the Main Market Square. On the western side the path runs past the Jagiellonian University buildings, and in the south it approaches Wawel. Benches, ponds and fountains make it a natural place for a break between sights, and locals use it as a daily walking route and short cut.

The Planty is free and open at all times, and it suits everyone: families with pushchairs, runners, and visitors who want a break from museums. It is especially pleasant in spring when the trees come into leaf and in autumn when they turn colour. In summer the shade is welcome after the open squares of the Old Town. There are no gates, so you can join or leave the loop at almost any point.

The simplest place to start is near Kraków Główny station and the Barbican, from where you can walk the ring in either direction. If you only want to walk part of the loop, simply pick the stretch nearest the sights you plan to visit that day and use it as a green short cut between them.