{"id":7580,"date":"2026-11-07T22:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T21:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/?post_type=blog_&#038;p=7580"},"modified":"2026-11-07T22:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T21:59:09","slug":"wawel-castle-what-to-see","status":"publish","type":"blog_","link":"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/wawel-castle-what-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Wawel Castle and Wawel Hill: What to See"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Wawel Hill is a place like no other in Krakow<\/strong> \u2013 not only because of the magnificent Royal Castle and the legendary dragon, but also thanks to the remarkable exhibitions and events held within its historic walls. Depending on the season, you can discover it in many different ways. Here is a taste of what Wawel has to offer.<\/p>\n<nav><b>Contents<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#open-all-year\">Wawel exhibitions open all year<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#cathedral\">The Cathedral, the crypts and the Sigismund Bell<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#warmer-months\">Wawel in the warmer months<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#events-and-tickets\">Events and tickets<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-7412 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/co-skrywaja-mury-wawelu-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Wawel Castle in Krakow\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/co-skrywaja-mury-wawelu-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/co-skrywaja-mury-wawelu-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/co-skrywaja-mury-wawelu-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/co-skrywaja-mury-wawelu.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/768;\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"open-all-year\">Wawel exhibitions open all year<\/h2>\n<p>Whatever the season, anyone who loves history, traditions, monuments and great stories can visit one \u2013 or, if time allows, all \u2013 of Wawel\u2019s permanent exhibitions. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The State Rooms \u2013 the former residence of Poland\u2019s kings, with grand halls such as the Senators\u2019 Hall, the Envoys\u2019 Hall (with its famous carved heads in the ceiling), the Tournament Hall and the royal chapel.<\/li>\n<li>The Royal Private Apartments \u2013 the kings\u2019 private chambers, along with rooms for the royal court and visiting dignitaries.<\/li>\n<li>The Crown Treasury and Armoury, full of precious objects.<\/li>\n<li>Oriental Art and the Turkish tents \u2013 works of eastern art that came to Poland through trade and military contacts.<\/li>\n<li>Lost Wawel, an archaeological and architectural reserve, and Underground Wawel, a lapidarium of historic stonework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also worth reading: <a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/best-museums-in-krakow\/\">7 of the best museums in Krakow<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"cathedral\">The Cathedral, the crypts and the Sigismund Bell<\/h2>\n<p>Visiting Wawel without seeing the Cathedral is like coming to Krakow and not hearing the bugle call from St Mary\u2019s! The present Gothic cathedral was consecrated in 1364 and grew richer with every new reign, resulting in what we can admire today. Alongside its beautiful chapels \u2013 including the Sigismund Chapel, the Vasa Chapel and the Holy Cross Chapel \u2013 and the Cathedral Museum, it hides the crypts where Polish kings, national poets and bishops are buried.<\/p>\n<p>In the cathedral tower hangs the famous Sigismund Bell, cast in 1520 and one of Poland\u2019s national symbols. It is rung only on the most important religious and national occasions.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"warmer-months\">Wawel in the warmer months<\/h2>\n<p>When the winter cold eases, Wawel opens several extra attractions, which you can visit from spring until autumn. The most popular is the <strong>Dragon\u2019s Den<\/strong>, a winding cave route of about 80 metres leading to the lair of the Wawel Dragon, which \u2013 according to legend \u2013 was defeated by a clever shoemaker. Right by the exit stands one of Krakow\u2019s best-loved symbols: a fire-breathing dragon statue. Find out more about Krakow\u2019s legends and secret spots in <a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/mysterious-places-in-krakow-worth-visiting\/\">mysterious places in Krakow worth visiting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another seasonal attraction is the <strong>Sandomierska Tower<\/strong>, the highest point of the castle open to visitors. Climb to the top for a wonderful view over the Vistula \u2013 and see more of the city\u2019s best panoramas in our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/best-scenic-viewpoints-in-krakow\/\">Krakow\u2019s best viewpoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Royal Gardens<\/strong> are also worth a visit in season. After years of painstaking archaeological research, they have been recreated in the style of the 16th century, and in spring and summer they are full of colour and fragrance.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"events-and-tickets\">Events and tickets<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Wawel also runs a full programme for children, families, schools and art lovers<\/strong>, including family workshops, outdoor games, guided walks, performances and many other events \u2013 it is worth checking the calendar before your visit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You will find up-to-date information on events, tickets, bookings and free admission days<\/strong> on the official website, wawel.krakow.pl, or at the tourist information centre. To avoid long queues or sold-out tickets, plan your visit to Wawel in advance \u2013 especially in the high season. Staying at Grand Ascot Hotel, you can walk to Wawel through the Old Town \u2013 and with our plan for <a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/krakow-in-2-days\/\">Krakow in 2 days<\/a> you can fit in all the other highlights too.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"book-your-stay-in-krakow\">Stay in the heart of Krakow<\/h2>\n<p>Grand Ascot Hotel is 600&nbsp;m from the Main Market Square, about a 6-minute walk. What you will find on site:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>underground car park in the building (advance booking required)<\/li>\n<li>sauna and gym<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/bar-and-restaurant\/\">Four Restaurant<\/a> and Wine &amp; Spirits Bar<\/li>\n<li>buffet breakfast<\/li>\n<li>pets welcome<\/li>\n<li>3 conference rooms, the largest for up to 100 people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sign up for our newsletter and get up to 10% off your stay.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/rooms-and-apartments\/\">See rooms and apartments<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/special-offers\/\">See special offers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wawel Hill is a place like no other in Krakow \u2013 not only because of the magnificent Royal Castle and the legendary dragon, but also thanks to the remarkable exhibitions and events held within its historic walls. Depending on the season, you can discover it in many different ways. Here is a taste of what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7580","blog_","type-blog_","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog-discover-krakow"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wawel Castle and Wawel Hill: What to See - Grand Ascot Hotel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What to see at Wawel: the Royal Castle\u2019s State Rooms, the Treasury, the Cathedral and its crypts, the Sigismund Bell and the Dragon\u2019s Den.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/wawel-castle-what-to-see\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wawel Castle and Wawel Hill: What to See\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What to see at Wawel: the Royal Castle\u2019s State Rooms, the Treasury, the Cathedral and its crypts, the Sigismund Bell and the Dragon\u2019s Den.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/en\/blog\/wawel-castle-what-to-see\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grand Ascot Hotel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grandascothotel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/grandascot.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/wawel-castle-4480556_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"961\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GrandAscot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grandascot.pl\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wawel-castle-what-to-see\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grandascot.pl\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wawel-castle-what-to-see\\\/\",\"name\":\"Wawel Castle and Wawel Hill: What to See - 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