podtour
Krakow's Main Market Square
The Main Market Square looks like a postcard, but every corner holds a better story than the postcard.
From Grodzka to Kanonicza: audio walk in Kraków
The stretch of the Royal Route nobody talks about, from the Main Market Square to the foot of Wawel: the girl who watched the barricades from her window and ended up on the stages of America, rhinoceroses on a house front, the boy Conrad outside his father's door, a prison that's now an archaeology museum and a church that only opened one day a year.
What this walk is about
You walk down from the square along Grodzka and Kanonicza, the Canons' Street, looking at the windows, past a stone lion that's been looking out over the street for centuries and a house the town council itself ended up buying. From one window, little Helena Modrzejewska watched the barricades go up in 1848; in another house, an eleven-year-old boy who would later sign himself Joseph Conrad did his homework beside his father's closed door. A pair of rhinoceros plaques led one scholar to suggest that Clara, the rhinoceros who toured Europe, came this way. A friary was a prison under three regimes and is now a museum; a preacher lent to the poor without interest; under a dome, the Enigma codebreakers are remembered and a pendulum hangs; one church held out against the Tatars (or so a chronicler says) and another vanished after standing up a bridegroom. You finish in front of the window from which a dean blessed his neighbour the day before he died. Interiors optional.
- Start
- The girl at the window
- Finish
- The dean's window
- Who it is for
- A good starting point for your first visit. A walk for book and theatre lovers. A walk for anyone curious about Polish history.
- Languages
- Spanish and British English
- Underfoot
- The walk is mostly level. There are cobbles or uneven surfaces.
The route, stop by stop
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Loading the map…
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
- 1
The girl at the window
- 2
The lion and its landlords
- 3
The rhinoceros that never arrived
- 4
The white doorway
- 5
The bars of St Michael's
- 6
The confectioner's that stayed open
- 7
The preacher who lent without interest
- 8
Beneath the dome
- 9
The church that held out
- 10
The church that opened one day a year
- 11
The palace that changed its face
- 12
A chapel on the second floor
- 13
The dean's window
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
Kraków, before you go
The centre tempts you to keep walking from square to square. Mix stone streets with parks and a warm meal, leaving time to listen in neighbourhoods that deserve a quieter pace.
More walks nearby
Copernicus's University and the Friars' Quarter
Start at the professors' church and step into Poland's oldest university: the queen who paid for it after she'd died, Copernicus and his statues, and the manuscript the guides used to show off as the book of the sorcerer Twardowski.
Wawel and the Dragon
Kraków's dragon changes its killer every few centuries: in the oldest version it's killed by Krak's sons, and the clever shoemaker only turns up late, at the end of the sixteenth century.
Good to know
What is Podtour?
An app for self-guided audio walks. Choose a city and a route, then listen to the stories behind its streets. You decide when to start and when to stop.
When can I download the app?
Podtour is coming to iOS and Android. There is no confirmed launch date yet. Join the waitlist and we will let you know when it is ready.
Does Podtour include attraction tickets?
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
Can I listen without an internet connection?
Download the audio in the app before heading out, then listen offline. Loading the online base map and calculating a new route from your location require a connection.
What languages are included?
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
How do I get a whole city for free?
Join the waitlist, choose a city and confirm your email address. When the app launches, we will email you with access details. No card is required. You can also try one free route in every city.
Can I buy for myself or for a group?
Yes. Your own access is included and you can choose 0–5 guests: up to 6 people including you. Each guest saves up to €0.50 on a walk, €1 on a pack or €2 on a whole city compared with buying separately. The counter shows the total before you confirm one payment.
How do I share, and when must guests accept?
After paying, share your purchase’s invitation link. Each guest opens it in Podtour and accepts their place on their own iPhone or Android phone. They must redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Unclaimed places then expire and cannot be recovered or renewed. Access accepted in time is kept. Opening the link does not use a place; one account takes just one place, and no more people can join once all places are taken.
Can I add guests after buying?
No. Choose all your guests before confirming the first purchase. Afterwards you can share the places you paid for, but you cannot increase their number or restart the 30-day deadline.
Your first city,
on Podtour.
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Your first city,
on Podtour.
Join the waitlist and get one whole city free when Podtour launches. You choose where.
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One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.