Ulica Florianska

Ulica Florianska is the medieval street that runs from the Florian Gate down to the Main Market Square, part of the historic Royal Route into the Old Town. Lined with townhouses, cafes and shops, it is one of the most walked streets in Krakow. At its northern end stands the Florian Gate, the last surviving Gothic city gate, with the Barbican just beyond it. For centuries this was the way kings entered the city on their way to Wawel.

Florianska is the natural walk between the station end of the Old Town and the main square, so you will almost certainly use it. It is worth slowing down for: the frontages carry old signs and details above the modern shopfronts, and the street connects several of the city's landmarks in a couple of hundred metres. It is busy, commercial and central, the pulse of the Old Town rather than a quiet corner.

The Barbican and the Florian Gate anchor the northern end, where a short run of the old city wall still stands and local artists hang paintings for sale along it. Look up as you walk: many of the townhouses keep carved stone doorways, old house signs and painted details from earlier centuries. Among them is the Jama Michalika cafe, a long-standing literary haunt, and the street is thick with cafes, ice-cream counters and shops all the way to the square.

Florianska appears on the grid plan drawn up in 1257, when Krakow was rebuilt after the Mongol raids, and it has kept its line ever since. The Florian Gate at its head dates to the early 14th century and was the city's main entrance in medieval times. As part of the Royal Route, the street carried coronation processions from the gate through the square and on to Wawel. It was among the first streets in the city to be cobbled.

The street is short and takes only a few minutes to walk, but with the gate, the wall and a stop at a cafe you can easily spend half an hour or more on it.

Early morning is the only time Florianska is quiet, before the shops open and the crowds move through. It is at its busiest in the afternoon and on summer evenings. The street is lit and lively after dark, which makes for a pleasant walk down to the square at night.

Florianska links the northern edge of the Old Town to the Main Market Square. From Krakow Glowny, the main station, walk through the Planty and past the Barbican and you enter the street through the Florian Gate. It is pedestrianised and about a five-minute stroll end to end. See the Krakow guide for wider transport.

The street is flat but laid with cobbles that are uneven for wheelchairs and prams. It is closed to general traffic, though watch for the occasional service vehicle and the horse cabs that use the square. The Florian Gate itself has steps if you climb the wall walk.

Florianska joins several of the Old Town's main sights:

• Barbican and the Florian Gate, at the northern end.
• Main Market Square and St Mary's Basilica, where the street meets the square.
• Hotel Pod Roza, a historic hotel on the street itself.

It is the ceremonial road that kings once followed into Krakow, running from the Florian Gate along Florianska, across the Main Market Square and down Grodzka to Wawel Castle. Florianska is its opening stretch.

It runs from the Florian Gate at the northern edge of the Old Town straight to the Main Market Square, a walk of a few minutes.