History lesson in Krakow? It’s hard to imagine a place that stimulates people’s imagination more! Our guides have a huge experience in working with children and youth – they always try to make sightseeing tour a veritable journey through fascinating Polish history and tell You most beautiful Krakow legends.
Our Krakow for children tour starts on Wawell Hill where young explorers have the opportunity to visit the Cathedral, go down to the crypts, and climb into the tower to touch the heart of the Sigismund Bell. They can hear some stories about Polish kings, saints (eg. St. Stanislaus), national heroes, and poets who lies within the walls of this unique temple. Renaissance architecture awaits us in the courtyard of the Wawel Royal Castle (imagine all the court stories about the life of this era!). The youngest torists should also visit Dragon’s Den where our guide will present them the legend of the famous Krakow monster.
From the Wawel Hill we can go to the Main Market Square, telling younger children magical fairy tales about Lajkonik, knights enchanted in pigeons, and builders of St. Mary’s Church. Older kids may hear about banquet at Mikolaj Wierzynek’s house or Prussian Homage – important facts from Polish and Krakow history. Walking through the Royal Route we can enjoy the most beautiful sights of Krakow – Church of St. Peter and Paul, the Town Hall Tower, Cloth Hall, St. Mary’s Basilica, and finally St. Florian’s Gate and Barbican. Of course our guide has in store many interesting anecdotes and answers to all of Your questions (even those most surprising). So, we just know how to make a school trip to Krakow was both an educational and unforgettable adventure!
We offer:
- Guides with a great sense of humor and fantastic contact with children (guide encourages kids to participate actively in exploring)
- Educational value of our tours and a great time during sightseeing (duration: 2-4 hours, depending on the selected option)
- The possibility of booking delicious, nutritious meals in excellent prices
Krakow for children – sample itinerary:
- Wawel Cathedral – our tour starts with a visit in the one of the most important temples in Poland. Royal coronations and funerals took place in this church. In the middle of it stands the Baroque confession of St. Stanislaus which recalls history of his martyrdom. Krakow bishop Stanislaus was slaughtered by king Boleslaus in 1075. Hagiographic legend says that he admonished the king. Royal tombstones are situated on the both sides of confession, and decorated by high-class sculpture (one of them was made by Veit Stoss). Before descending to the crypts, where Polish kings and poets lies it’s worth to walk among the ambulatory and see private bishops’ chapels. Then you can climb to the top of the tower and see the biggest bell in Poland – Sigismund Bell from the 16th Each junior and senior explorer will be able to touch its heart and say a wish which will come true!
- Royal Castle – beautiful arcaded courtyard of Renaissance palace is a perfect place to talk about Polish kings and queens, especially Sigismund I and Bona Sforza – Italian princess who came to Poland from a distant Bari to marry Polish king and become a queen (she was great in her new role!)
- Dragon’s Den – the legendary dragon’s lair is also a geological curiosity. We can explore the interior of the great cavern hollowed by nature in the Wawel limestone rock, or listen to the stories about prince Krak, his sons, his daughter Wanda, and shoemaker Dratewka. But the main character of the story is the great beast which long time ago persecuted inhabitants of Krakow (finally it tasted sheep stuffed with sulfur and died).
- Kanonicza and Grodzka Streets – walking towards the Old Town begins in extremely picturesque Kanonicza Street, where cathedral canons lived since Middle Ages (including the famous chronicler Jan Dlugosz). In many houses Gothic and Renaissance details has survived! (eg. In the Palace of Bishop Erazm Ciolek palace). Then we enters the Royal Route which leads us unto Barbican. It’s a historic path of coronation processions, kings’ and princes’ receptions. This way foreign envoys and guests traveled to Wawel (we take an opposite direction). Grodzka Street leads us straight to the Main Market Square (please look at the Romanesque Andrew’s church and beautiful temple of St. Peter and Paul).
- Main Market Square – in this unusual place, where the ‘heart of Krakow’ beats, we’ll stay for a long time. According to many sources it’s the largest and the biggest medieval square in Europe! Younger children will probably be interested in a story about magical origins of a big flock of pigeons (they’re here till today). They also learn about famous Lajkonik who enters the market square every year. Adults perhaps will want to listen about everyday life in former Krakow and important historical events that took place here.
- The Town Hall tower and the Cloth Hall – we will have also the opportunity to admire two most important buildings of the city and think about they functions in the past centuries. Our guide will explain why only the tower of the Town Hall stands till today. The Cloth Hall is a true precious of the city. Do you want to know how it looked like in the Middle Ages and who changed it in a Renaissance way (this beautiful attics!). Are You interested in what’s inside? No problem for our guides.
- St. Mary’s church – before visiting the basilica You should hear the story about “Yellow shoe” found behind the Altar of Veit Stoss and the other one about two brothers who competed with each other by building two church towers (it explains why they are different heights). It’s reasonable to tell older children a little more about the history of the church and its importance in the life of the city. Inside the temple, it’s obligatory to see the main altar by Veit Stoss, Neo-Gothic frescos, stained-glass windows and Renaissance sculpture which makes a great impression on tourists of all ages!
- St. Florian’s Gate and the Barbican – we and our Krakow for children tour walking down the Florianska Street to the main gate of the city. Admiring the remains of the medieval walls is a real pleasure. We go through the 14th-century St. Florian’s Gate which welcomed Polish kings and foreign distinguished guests. We will see built in the 15th century, once surrounded by a moat Barbican – one of the symbols of Krakow.
