Flow condition in a Kaplan turbine draft tube is investigated using laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) and particle image velocimetry(PIV). The investigated draft tube is composed of a cone followed by an elbow and a straight diffuser. The three velocity components were measured after the elbow at two different locations across the straight diffuser to quantify the flow asymmetry as well as the secondary flows formed in this region. The velocity profiles at the draft tube inlet are measured using a 2D LDA system allowing estimation of the draft tube inlet swirl. The results are presented at three operating points of the turbine. The flow condition after the draft tube bend was shown to be highly dependent on the vortex structures within the straight draft tube; namely Dean vortices and the swirl leaving the runner. At operating points with high flow rates and low swirl, Dean vortices dominate the upstream swirl; a symmetric but inhomogeneous flow resembling flow after a pipe bend forms within the straight diffuser. At part load operating points with high swirl and low flow rate, the flow after the bend is dominated by the upstream swirl resulting in asymmetric flow after the draft tube bend. The flow asymmetry is shown to be a 2nd order function of the swirl-to-Dean ratio.