Must-see attractions in Carpathian Mountains

  • Castle Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    In 1641 Prince Stanisław Lubomirski turned Łańcut's 15th-century fortified manor house into the grand fortress and residence that stands today. Now a…

  • Sącz Ethnographic Park

    Carpathian Mountains

    About 3.5km southeast of central Nowy Sącz, this ethnographic park is one of the largest and best skansens in Poland. Houses and other buildings typical…

  • Underground Tourist Route

    Carpathian Mountains

    Rzeszów’s prime attraction is this 396m-long route linking 25 old cellars beneath the central market square. The circuit took 17 years to complete and…

  • Church of the Assumption of Mary

    Carpathian Mountains

    Located In the village of Haczów (hah-choof), 16km east of Krosno and accessible by bus, this is the largest timber Gothic church in Europe and is a…

  • Centre of Glass Heritage

    Carpathian Mountains

    Celebrating Krosno's five centuries as Poland's epicentre of glass production, this slick exhibition centre is the town's main attraction. The family…

  • Krasiczyn Castle

    Carpathian Mountains

    The late-Renaissance 'castle' at Krasiczyn is more of a stately home – ostentation trumped defensive strength when Italian architect Galeazzo Appiani…

  • Morskie Oko

    Zakopane

    Perched nearly 1400m above sea level, the emerald-green 'Eye of the Sea' is the largest lake in the Tatras and a popular outing from Zakopane. Minibuses…

  • Łańcut Synagogue

    Carpathian Mountains

    Just outside the park surrounding the castle is Łańcut's impressive synagogue, built in the 1760s to replace a 17th-century wooden original destroyed by…

  • Tatra Park Nature Education Centre

    Zakopane

    The national park's education centre walks visitors through the natural history of the mountains, including dioramas, interactive displays, kids'…

  • Main Pump Room

    Carpathian Mountains

    This modern structure on the main promenade looks more like a retro-futuristic airport terminal than a spa colonnade. But behind the plate-glass and…

  • Czorsztyn Castle

    Carpathian Mountains

    This fortress was built as the Polish counterpart to the Hungarian stronghold opposite at Niedzica – the customs frontier ran through the area…

  • Church of the Poor Clares

    Carpathian Mountains

    The Church of the Poor Clares was where Stary Sącz was born. Commenced in Gothic style in 1285 and completed in 1332, it later gained opulent baroque…

  • Franciscan Church of the Holy Cross

    Carpathian Mountains

    Southeast of the Rynek is this large Franciscan church, which grew from an early 15th century kernel (today the presbytery and sacristy) and is filled…

  • Town Hall

    Carpathian Mountains

    Tarnów's arresting Gothic city hall, which draws all eyes in the Rynek, dates in its earliest parts to the 15th century. Given a later Renaissance…

  • Museum of the Oil & Gas Industry

    Carpathian Mountains

    Bóbrka, 17km southwest of Krosno, is the cradle of the Polish oil industry. It was here in 1854 that the world’s first oil well was sunk by Ignacy…

  • Tarnów Cathedral

    Carpathian Mountains

    Tarnów's cathedral dates in part from the 14th century, but was remodelled at the end of the 19th century in neo-Gothic style. The interior shelters…

  • Gothic House

    Carpathian Mountains

    Built for canons of the nearby Collegiate Church in 1448, this broad-beamed brick townhouse now contains a branch of Nowy Sącz's regional museum…

  • Old Church & Cemetery

    Zakopane

    This small wooden church and atmospheric cemetery date from the mid-19th century. The Old Church has charming carved wooden decorations and pews, the…

  • Szymanowski Museum

    Zakopane

    An adjunct to the national museum in Krakow, the Szymanowski Museum highlights the life and work of the early modern Polish composer Karol Szymanowski …

  • Niedzica Castle Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    Built in the 14th century and continually improved over the centuries in which it guarded Hungary's northern border, this superbly preserved lakeside…

  • Corpus Christi Parish Church

    Carpathian Mountains

    Biecz's monumental Gothic parish church, rearing skywards in red brick, dates in its earliest parts to the 15th century and testifies to the Renaissance…

  • Bernardine Church

    Carpathian Mountains

    Northwest of the Rynek is the Bernardine Church, with its opulent furnishings and decoration. It was built for Ligęza as his mausoleum, and there are…

  • Przemyśl Cathedral

    Carpathian Mountains

    Przemyśl's cathedral lords over the upper (southern) end of the Rynek. There's been a church here since at least the 12th century, but the current…

  • Ethnographic Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    This branch of the city’s regional museum has Europe’s only permanent collection relating to Roma culture. In the backyard there's an open-air exhibition…

  • Former Synagogue

    Carpathian Mountains

    The Germans' almost complete destruction of Tarnów's synagogue, once the focus of spiritual life for the 25,000 Jews who lived here, is only more…

  • Tarnów Regional Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    Two 16th-century townhouses on the central square comprise the main regional museum, largely used for rotating exhibitions. The main part of the small…

  • Family Home of John Paul II

    Carpathian Mountains

    The home where future pope Karol Wojtyła was born on 18 May 1920 is now a popular museum, restored to its historical appearance. The Wojtyła family lived…

  • Tower

    Carpathian Mountains

    The tallest structure in town, Biecz's 58-metre-high town-hall tower offers commanding views of the Ropa Valley and Carpathian Foothills. Built between…

  • New Town Synagogue

    Carpathian Mountains

    Also called the 'big' synagogue, since it's much larger than the Old Town Synagogue next door, this house of worship dates to the early 18th century and…

  • Regional Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    This very worthwhile regional museum owes its existence to local shoemaker Józef Paszkiewicz, who amassed a collection of artefacts relating to the city…

  • Craft Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    Directly opposite the Subcarpathian Museum, about 200m north of the Rynek, the Craft Museum features ethnographic displays related to such local crafts…

  • House with a Tower

    Carpathian Mountains

    This branch of the Biecz Regional Museum occupies what's called the 'House with a Tower', a 16th-century dwelling attached to a stout tower. Take a peek…

  • Jewish Cemetery

    Carpathian Mountains

    This former Jewish burial ground, the largest of its kind in southern Poland, lies 1km north of the centre. The cemetery dates from the 16th century and…

  • Bernardine Monastery

    Carpathian Mountains

    The immense Bernardine Monastery, which contains impressive 16th- and 17th-century paintings in its cloister, serves as the spiritual centre of Kalwaria…

  • National Museum of Przemyśl

    Carpathian Mountains

    Przemyśl's impressive modern museum presents well-curated permanent exhibitions on the city's prehistoric and medieval times, its Jewish history and the…

  • Tatra Museum

    Zakopane

    This is the main branch of the Tatra Museum, which occupies various branches around Zakopane. Featuring old-fashioned exhibits exploring the natural…

  • Subcarpathian Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    Two hundred metres north of Krosno's Rynek is this diverting regional history museum, housed in the 15th-century Bishops’ Palace. Expect interesting…

  • Museum of Zakopane Style

    Zakopane

    Housed in the Willa Koliba, this was the first of several grand wooden villas designed by the noted Polish painter and architect Stanisław Witkiewicz in…

  • Rzeszów Regional Museum

    Carpathian Mountains

    Housed in a one-time Piarist monastery, complete with frescoed vaulting from the 17th century, the Rzeszów Regional Museum contains Polish paintings from…