Karpacz Promenade

Walking the promenade in Karpacz takes about five minutes, yet this short stretch of ul. Konstytucji 3 Maja packs in Poland's shortest street, the country's highest town hall and a pavement with the bootprints of Polish Himalayan climbers. It is the town's tourist heart: cafés, cake shops, restaurants and most of the souvenir shops. It is worth slowing down, though, because — as the town itself advises — almost every building here has a story.

Before you reach the promenade

Start at the Museum of Sport and Tourism on ul. Kopernika. With your back to the museum you will see ul. Skrzatów Karkonoskich (Karkonosze Gnomes Street): it is 30 metres long and has just one building, now a kindergarten — the shortest street in Poland. Next comes the Church of the Sacred Heart and a park devoted to the history of mining, where you can look for mysterious Walloon marks carved into the stones and "queue" with the wrongdoers awaiting sentence in the shade of the court lime tree. Across the road, the Bachus restaurant occupies the former court inn.

Conquerors' Square and the memorial stone

On the right-hand side of the promenade stands the Church of the Visitation, whose onion-shaped cupola reminds many visitors of an Orthodox church. In fact it is an echo of the Tyroleans who lived in the area from the 18th century. A few buildings further up is the Town Hall, and in front of it Conquerors' Square (Skwer Zdobywców): plaques set into the pavement bear the bootprints and names of Himalayan climbers, including Andrzej Zawada, Maciej Berbeka, Leszek Cichy, Anna Czerwińska and Jerzy Kukuczka. A plaque on a stone commemorates the first winter ascent of an eight-thousander — on 17 February 1980 Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki stood on the summit of Mount Everest in winter.

More along the way

• Historic Miniature Park opposite the town hall — models of Karpacz's best-known buildings as they looked in the early 20th century.
• The slopes of Pohulanka with ski lifts and the CRiS Kolorowa toboggan runs — this is where the promenade ends.
• A park 100 metres higher up with trampolines and the figure of the Mountain Spirit, Karkonosz, guarding the entrance to the Karkonosze Mysteries museum.
• The building with a Crucifixion scene opposite the Church of the Visitation — once a meeting place for worshippers before Karpacz had a church.

Tripto tip

The promenade is free public space, open at all hours, while the museums and attractions along it have their own opening times and tickets. Allow 45–60 minutes if you want to look into the churches and the park with the court lime tree rather than walking it in five minutes. In peak season and during winter school holidays it gets very crowded — come in the morning for photos of the bootprints on Conquerors' Square.