St. Nicholas Day in Poland 2026: Where to Go with Kids

6 December 2026 falls on a Sunday, so St. Nicholas Day (Mikołajki in Polish) is a full day for a family outing this year. Monday 7 December follows right after, and some places, including the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw and the Gdynia Aquarium, are closed that day. From our attraction database we picked ideas that work in winter and do not depend on the weather: zoos, science centres, model railways, thermal pools, Christmas markets and two events built around St. Nicholas himself.

Prices and opening hours come from our attraction cards, as of October 2026, so check them before you travel. We do not guess at St. Nicholas programmes: we describe only what we found on organisers’ or ticket sellers’ pages. Most zoos and museums announce their own programmes only in November, so for those we say it plainly: programme announced in November.

St. Nicholas Day in Poland in three sentences

Presents usually appear during the night of 5 to 6 December. Today they are mostly sweets and small toys, which children find in a boot, a big sock or under the pillow. The custom of someone dressed as St. Nicholas bringing gifts on the eve of his name day goes back to the Middle Ages.

Quick choice: where to go with kids on 6 December

Situation	Idea	City	Watch out for
Rain, all day	Copernicus Science Centre	Warsaw	open 9:00–19:00 on Sunday, closed Monday 7 Dec
Rain, 2 hours	Hydropolis, Kolejkowo	Wrocław	Hydropolis limits entries per hour
Under 5 years	Old Zoo, Gdynia Aquarium	Poznań, Gdynia	Old Zoo is free, children under 5 enter the Aquarium free
Teenagers	Planetarium, Lumina Park	Toruń, Wrocław	planetarium shows in Toruń, online tickets for Lumina
Real St. Nicholas events	St. Nicholas Festival, St. Nicholas Farm	Wrocław, Mościska	festival 5–6 Dec only with limited tickets, farm on weekends
Free	Old Zoo, Kraków market	Poznań, Kraków	market runs from 27 Nov, zoo open until 16:00
Zoos in winter	Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk	four cities	shorter winter hours, the Gdańsk ticket office closes at 14:00
Warm water	Mszczonów Thermal Baths, Malta Thermal Baths	near Warsaw, Poznań	hourly pricing, dearer at weekends

Confirmed St. Nicholas events

St. Nicholas Festival, Wrocław. According to the ticket-sales page eBilet, the first edition of the festival will run only on 5 and 6 December 2026 at Tarczyński Arena, on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 20:00. Over more than 3,000 m² there are to be a North Pole zone, a Toy Factory, an Elf Academy, a post office, workshops and a final meeting with Santa. Each child gets a “Santa’s Helper Passport” for collecting stamps. Children up to 2 years enter free, tickets are limited and the popular time slots sell out first. The page lists no prices.

St. Nicholas Farm, Mościska. According to the card for Farma Iluzji, based on the park’s website, the forest amusement park turns into the St. Nicholas Farm in winter: from 30 November to 20 December 2026, for individual visitors on weekends from 11:00 to 17:00, with entry on the full hour (11:00–15:00). It is about 100 km and 1 hour 20 minutes from Warsaw. Winter prices are not on our card, so check them on the farm’s website.

Programme announced in November. Museums, science centres and zoos often run their own St. Nicholas Day events, but we found no published programme for 6 December 2026 yet. This applies, among others, to the Copernicus Centre and the zoos in Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk. We list no show times or Santa meetings that the venues’ own pages have not confirmed.

A week later, on 11–13 December, the Angel Festival takes place in Lanckorona (card), and according to the newspaper “Super Express” of 20 October so does the Nikiszowiec fair in Katowice (card). These are good plans for the following weekend, not for Sunday 6 December itself.

1. A rainy day: science centres and model railways

Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw. Kopernik has more than 400 exhibits for hands-on experiments. The youngest, up to 6, have their own exhibition, Bzzz!, the High Voltage Theatre is for ages 6 and up, and the laboratories for ages 9 and up. On Sunday the exhibitions are open 9:00–19:00, and the ticket office closes an hour earlier. A weekend exhibition ticket is 50 zł full price and 36 zł reduced, children up to 2 years enter free, and a combined ticket with the planetarium costs 68–70 zł. Tickets are for a specific time, so buy them online. On Monday 7 December Kopernik is closed.

Hydropolis and Kolejkowo, Wrocław. Hydropolis fills a former underground water tank from 1892: seven zones over 4,600 m², a replica of the bathyscaphe Trieste and a film on a 360° screen. On Sunday it is open 9:00–19:00, last entry at 18:00, and entries are limited, so choose a time slot when you buy online. Allow about two hours. Kolejkowo is a model of Wrocław and Lower Silesia with 19 trains and more than 6,300 figurines, with day, night and a storm with real rain. It is open 365 days a year, with online tickets from 39 zł (reduced from 33 zł), and children up to 3 enter without a ticket. Check December hours in the calendar on its website; in October it was open 10:00–19:00 on Sundays. Kolejkowo Gliwice has a similar layout with twelve trains.

Experyment and the Aquarium, Gdynia. Experyment is open 10:00–19:00 on Sunday. A full ticket is 35 zł, reduced 25 zł, and a family ticket for two adults and a child 85 zł. A visit takes about two hours, and the centre is closed on Monday. On Fridays after 15:00 tickets cost 15 zł, so 4 December is the cheaper option. The Gdynia Aquarium (listed in our database as Oceanarium) has 76 tanks and about 250 species. From October to March it is open 10:00–17:00, a ticket is 43 zł full price and 30 zł reduced, and children up to 5 enter free. From November to the end of February it is closed on Mondays.

Bajka Pana Kleksa, Katowice. Bajka is more than 1,400 m² of puzzles in a former porcelain factory, for children aged 5–12. On weekends it is open 10:00–20:00. Adults need a ticket too, you walk around in socks, and a pushchair will not work. Prices depend on the date and appear once you choose a time in the online shop.

2. With a child under 5

With the youngest, short routes and free entry for small children work best. Entry to the Old Zoo in Poznań is free, and from November to February it is open 9:00–16:00. At the New Zoo in winter (November–February) a full ticket is 20 zł, a family ticket 35 zł, and children under 3 enter free. At the Gdynia Aquarium children up to 5 enter free. At Kopernik a toddler can go to the Bzzz! exhibition, and Kolejkowo in Wrocław has platforms for children, a play corner and pushchair access. At Mszczonów Thermal Baths, 40 km from Warsaw, there is a children’s pool, and children under 3 do not pay.

3. Teenagers: science, light and water

The Planetarium in Toruń sits in a former gasometer from 1860. A show under the 15-metre dome costs 25 zł full price and 20 zł reduced, and the ticket office is open 10:00–16:00 on Sunday. You can also go to the largest planetarium in Poland, the Planetarium in Chorzów, but we have no hours or prices on its card. In Wrocław, Lumina Park opens in the evening at Topacz Castle: more than 200 light installations along a 1.5 km route, in season until 14 February 2027. An online weekend ticket is 43 zł full price and 39 zł reduced, a family ticket 147 zł, and hours depend on the date (usually until 21:00). For older children there is also the Wieliczka Salt Mine, open daily, with a route of 2–2.5 hours. Check the December schedule in its online shop. In October and November a Tourist Route ticket in Polish costs 103 zł full price and 82 zł reduced, and children up to 4 enter free.

4. Zoos in winter: where to go

All the big zoos we checked stay open in winter, just for shorter hours. Kraków Zoo is open daily all year, a ticket from 1 November to 31 March is 40 zł full price and a 2+2 family ticket 132 zł; children under 3 enter free. Bus 134 stops at the gate. Wrocław Zoo is open daily 9:00–16:00 from November to February, and the ticket includes the Africarium with its underwater tunnel; online it costs from 69 zł (99 zł at the ticket office). At the Gdańsk Zoo the ticket office is open only 9:00–14:00 from November, and visiting runs until 15:00. From October to March a ticket costs 30 zł full price, 20 zł reduced and 90 zł for a family. At Łódź Zoo with the Orientarium the building is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry at 16:00), with a 26-metre underwater tunnel inside. For Warsaw Zoo we have no hours or prices on the card, so check its website.

5. Warm water on a winter day

Mszczonów Thermal Baths have two year-round thermal pools with water at 26–34°C. On Sunday they are open 9:00–21:00, and a weekend ticket is 19 zł for an hour, 36 zł for two and 51 zł for three (reduced 16, 30 and 42 zł). Malta Thermal Baths in Poznań are open daily 9:00–23:00: an hour costs 46 zł, three hours 75 zł, a whole day 109 zł, and children under 3 enter free. Aquapark Fala in Łódź has slides up to 144 m and a year-round outdoor pool with water of about 32°C; at weekends three hours cost 99 zł.

6. Christmas markets and a free walk

Christmas markets generally open in the second half of November. The market on Kraków’s Main Square runs from 27 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, usually 10:00–20:00, with free entry. The market in Katowice runs from 20 November to 6 January and has about 100 stalls, a Ferris wheel, carousels and an ice rink; entry is free, and you pay only for shopping, food and extra attractions. For a full overview of dates, see our guide: Christmas markets in Poland 2026.

For a day trip from Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk

• Warsaw: Kopernik for a whole day, Mszczonów Thermal Baths for the afternoon, the St. Nicholas Farm in Mościska on a weekend.
• Kraków: the zoo in the Wolski Forest, Wieliczka, the market on the Main Square in the evening.
• Poznań: the Old and New Zoo, Malta Thermal Baths. The Maltanka park railway is not running: the 2026 season ended on 27 September and the 2027 season has not been announced yet.
• Wrocław: the Zoo with the Africarium, Hydropolis, Kolejkowo, Lumina in the evening, and the St. Nicholas Festival on Saturday and Sunday, 5–6 December.
• Tricity: the Zoo in Oliwa (arrive before 14:00), Experyment and the Aquarium in Gdynia, and a walk along the South Pier, where the tall ships Dar Pomorza and Dar Młodzieży are moored. Aquapark Sopot is open 9:00–22:00 at weekends.

Already planning the school break? See our overview: winter holidays in Poland 2027 with kids.

Frequently asked questions

What can we do with children on Sunday 6 December 2026?

The safest picks are places open daily: the zoos in Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław and Gdańsk, Kopernik in Warsaw, Hydropolis and Kolejkowo in Wrocław, Experyment in Gdynia and the thermal baths. Of the real St. Nicholas events we confirmed the St. Nicholas Festival in Wrocław (5–6 December) and the St. Nicholas Farm in Mościska (weekends until 20 December).

Are the attractions open on 6 December?

The places on our list are open on Sunday, but for shorter hours in winter. On Monday 7 December Kopernik, Experyment, the ticket office of the Toruń Planetarium and, from November to February, the Gdynia Aquarium are closed. Always check the hours on the venue’s website.

Where can we go for free or cheaply?

You can enter the Old Zoo in Poznań and the markets in Kraków and Katowice for free. It is cheap at the New Zoo in Poznań in winter (20 zł, family 35 zł) and at Mszczonów Thermal Baths (from 19 zł an hour at weekends). Experyment has 15 zł tickets on Fridays after 15:00, but that is a Friday, not the Sunday.

Where should we go with a child under 3?

To the Old Zoo in Poznań, Kolejkowo or Kopernik with its Bzzz! exhibition. At most places on our list children under 2 or 3 enter free, and at the Gdynia Aquarium up to 5. If you plan Bajka Pana Kleksa, bring a baby carrier, because a pushchair will not work there.

What should we do in the rain?

Kopernik, Hydropolis, Kolejkowo, Experyment, the Gdynia Aquarium, Bajka Pana Kleksa and the Planetarium in Toruń. Buy tickets in advance, because Hydropolis limits entries and Kopernik tickets are for a specific hour.

Do we need to buy tickets in advance?

At Kopernik, Hydropolis, the St. Nicholas Festival and Bajka Pana Kleksa it is best to, because entry is by time slot or the number of tickets is limited. At zoos the ticket office is usually enough, but at Wrocław Zoo an online ticket is cheaper than at the office (from 69 zł instead of 99 zł).

Coming home from a full day out with the kids? Turn your route into a “Twoja podróż” (Your Journey) poster and hang a map of your family’s favourite places on the wall.