The "Towns" category holds 9 places you explore as a whole: historic districts, spa towns, riverside boulevards and small towns. Plan three to six hours of walking for each.
Three of them are in Kraków. Kazimierz was a separate royal town from 1335 to 1800; here you will find seven synagogues, the Remuh Cemetery and Wolnica Square. Nowa Huta, built from 1949 as a socialist-realist "ideal city" for steelworkers, has Central Square, the Avenue of Roses and the Ark of the Lord church, consecrated in 1977. Podgórze, across the Vistula, is a former free town with a triangular market square, St Joseph's Church, the Krakus Mound and traces of the ghetto. Cieplice-Zdrój in Jelenia Góra is considered the oldest spa in Poland – its hot springs were mentioned in 1281. Opole's Little Venice is a row of townhouses reflected in the Młynówka, a former bed of the Oder, and Złotów in Krajna sits among five lakes with a four-kilometre promenade.
Outside Kraków, places in this category are spread out: two in Lower Silesia (Cieplice and Szczawno-Zdrój), and one each in Warsaw, Szczecin, Opole and Greater Poland.
In practice: walking around districts and boulevards is free – Nowa Huta and the Piast Boulevard in Szczecin are marked as free in the catalogue; you only pay for museums and synagogues. Spring to autumn is the most pleasant time, and Opole's Little Venice is best in the evening, when the townhouses are lit up.
Cities & towns
Kraków
For almost five hundred years Kazimierz was not a district of Kraków but a separate town — with its own market square, town hall and walls, cut off from Kraków by a branch of the Vistula. King Casimir the Great founded it on 27 February 13…
Cities & towns
Kraków
In 1949 work began on fields outside Kraków on a city built from scratch – for the people who would work in a gigantic steelworks. Nowa Huta ("New Steelworks") was meant to be a model socialist town without a church and with a central squa…
Cities & towns
Kraków
Podgórze (say "pod-GOO-zheh") and its Market Square are the heart of a former independent town on the south bank of the Vistula, now one of Kraków's most rewarding districts to explore on foot. Here you'll find a triangular square crowned…
Cities & towns
Jelenia Góra
Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój (say "chyeh-PLEE-tseh SHLON-skyeh ZDROO-y") is the spa district of Jelenia Góra and Poland's oldest spa town: therapeutic bathing in its hot springs has continued since the 13th century. Known in German as Bad Warmbr…
Cities & towns
Opole
Opole Venice (Opolska Wenecja, roughly "oh-POL-skah veh-NETS-yah") is the most photographed spot in Opole, southwestern Poland: a row of colorful townhouses rising straight out of the Młynówka channel and reflected in its still water. It i…
Cities & towns
Złotów
Złotów is a small county town in the historical Krajna region, on the border of Greater Poland and Pomerania, set on the Głomia river and five lakes: Miejskie (Złotowskie), Baba, Burmistrzowskie, Proboszczowskie and Zaleskie. People come f…
Cities & towns
Kraków
In 1949 work began on fields outside Kraków on a city built from scratch – for the people who would work in a gigantic steelworks. Nowa Huta ("New Steelworks") was meant to be a model socialist town without a church and with a central squa…
Cities & towns
Kraków
For almost five hundred years Kazimierz was not a district of Kraków but a separate town — with its own market square, town hall and walls, cut off from Kraków by a branch of the Vistula. King Casimir the Great founded it on 27 February 13…
Cities & towns
Szczecin
Before 1945 it was the main riverside street of the Old Town, where cargo was unloaded from ships. Today Piastowski Boulevard (Bulwar Piastowski), also known as the Sailors' Avenue (Aleja Żeglarzy), is the lower level of Szczecin's Oder wa…
Cities & towns
Warszawa
The Vistula Boulevards in Warsaw (Bulwary Wiślane, roughly "bool-VAH-rih vish-LAH-neh") are a riverside promenade stretching several kilometers along the left bank of the Vistula in central Warsaw, from below the Old Town past the Powiśle…
Cities & towns
Opole
Opole Venice (Opolska Wenecja, roughly "oh-POL-skah veh-NETS-yah") is the most photographed spot in Opole, southwestern Poland: a row of colorful townhouses rising straight out of the Młynówka channel and reflected in its still water. It i…
Cities & towns
Kraków
Podgórze (say "pod-GOO-zheh") and its Market Square are the heart of a former independent town on the south bank of the Vistula, now one of Kraków's most rewarding districts to explore on foot. Here you'll find a triangular square crowned…
Cities & towns
Jelenia Góra
Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój (say "chyeh-PLEE-tseh SHLON-skyeh ZDROO-y") is the spa district of Jelenia Góra and Poland's oldest spa town: therapeutic bathing in its hot springs has continued since the 13th century. Known in German as Bad Warmbr…
Cities & towns
Szczawno-Zdrój
Twice a day, at 12:00 and 20:00, Henryk Wieniawski's "Polish Song" rings out from the neo-Gothic Anna Tower above the spa park – the signature sound of Szczawno-Zdrój, a spa town at the foot of Chełmiec (850 m) in the Central Sudetes. Form…
Cities & towns
Złotów
Złotów is a small county town in the historical Krajna region, on the border of Greater Poland and Pomerania, set on the Głomia river and five lakes: Miejskie (Złotowskie), Baba, Burmistrzowskie, Proboszczowskie and Zaleskie. People come f…
The synagogues – including the Old Synagogue from the 15th century, Remuh from 1553 and the Tempel from 1862 – the Remuh Cemetery, Wolnica Square and Skałka. Allow 2–3 hours for a walk.
Yes – walking around Central Square, the Avenue of Roses and the housing estates is free. Only the museums in the district charge.
Cieplice-Zdrój in Jelenia Góra is considered the oldest spa in Poland – its hot springs were mentioned in 1281.
Updated: · Opening hours and prices can change — check the attraction page before you go.