Traditionally considered, the very centre of Cracow is the area enclosed by the Planty. The Planty is a narrow ring of greenery extending from the Barbican and embracing the city centre in an irregular, oval-like shape, elongated towards the Vistula, and reaching the foot of Wawel Hill. The Planty was designed as a garden ring in the 19th century to replace the demolished city walls that had used to contain the most ancient part of Cracow - the city itself.

The area which width never exceeds 800 metres and length - 1,500 metres, and where nearly every building is of historical value, houses several dozen museums and galleries, a number of churches, theatres, cinemas, bookshops and antique shops, shopping malls and whole streets lined with shops, as well as hundreds of cafés, restaurants and pubs. All these irrefutably bring a small town to mind. Little wonder that most tourists are astounded to learn that the number of residents of the metropolitan area of Cracow actually amounts 740,000.

Looking down from Wawel Hill you will see the towers of many churches - this means that you have entered the Royal Route. The Royal Route can be drawn as the longest straight line within the Planty Ring. It is Cracow's oldest and most traditionally important road. On national holidays hundreds of Cracovians set off from the Wawel foothill in patriotic processions.
A century ago the popular Emperor Franz Josef also followed this route when he visited Cracow. To date no VIP delegation has missed the Royal Route, which begins in Grodzka Street and then goes up to the Main Market Square, along Florian'ska Street to its end at Matejko Square, where at the Grunwald Monument and the Tomb of Unknown Soldier political manifestations and veteran appeals are held on special occasions.