Kanonicza Street

Step away from the bustle of Grodzka into Kanonicza, one of Kraków's oldest and best-preserved streets. It was part of the Okół settlement below the castle, and for centuries the canons of Wawel Cathedral lived here: hence the name.

1Canons' houses

Behind the Renaissance and Baroque façades are medieval houses. The most striking is the Deanery at number 21, remodelled between 1582 and 1588 by the architect Santi Gucci, with an elegant arcaded courtyard. At number 17, the palace of Bishop Erazm Ciołek now houses a branch of the National Museum devoted to the art of old Poland. At number 5, Tadeusz Kantor founded the Cricoteka in 1979, the archive of his avant-garde theatre.

2Długosz and Wojtyła

Jan Długosz, the 15th-century chronicler we keep quoting in Kraków, lived on this street: one of the houses bears his name. And at number 19, in the 1950s, lived a young priest and lecturer called Karol Wojtyła, the future John Paul II. Since 1994, numbers 19 and 21 have housed the Archdiocesan Museum.

Within a few metres you'll find a medieval chronicler, an avant-garde playwright and a pope.

At the end of the street you can already see Wawel Hill. Keep going down and climb the cobbled ramp.

3What to look for

• The carved stone doorways, with coats of arms and dates.
• The arcaded courtyard of the Deanery at number 21.
• The view of Wawel at the end of the street.