The first floor of the royal palace held the private apartments of the king and queen, as well as rooms for the royal attendants. Surviving records show that the functions of the various rooms changed many times. They were often adapted as lodgings for royal guests. The original arrangement of suites of rooms entered from the galleries through a vestibule has not been retained, but it is echoed in the names of some of the interiors.

In several of the rooms to the south of the staircase, the original Renaissance beam and coffered wooden ceilings dating from 1524–1526 have survived untouched by fire, as have the friezes painted in the 1530s. The stonework windows and doorframes, carved by the workshop of Master Benedict in the 1520s, have a characteristic blend of Gothic and Renaissance features.

In this part of the castle there is also a Porcelain Cabinet. It presents not only the most outstanding, exquisitely crafted porcelain works from the factory in Meissen founded by King Augustus II, but also a wide spectrum of material culture of the 18th century. The collection presented in this way is the most significant one in Central Europe.

The second floor referred to as piano nobile, which contained the official rooms, was most often located in the first story of a palace, however, in the case of Wawel Castle it is located on the second story. The rooms are noticeably higher and more spacious in relation to those on the lower floors, and were intended for state functions. Sessions of the sejm and senate, royal audiences, and wedding receptions and balls were held in these grand rooms. Following a catastrophic fire in 1595, the east and north wings of the Renaissance palace built by the Jagiellons were rebuilt in the early Baroque style by architect Giovanni Trevano for King Sigismund III. Consequently, this part of the palace has Baroque furnishings.