Liskove › Trip ideas › Day trips for couples in Poland
26 ideas for couples who want a day out within easy reach of big Polish cities: castles and palaces, national parks, small towns and short trails. Each place shows the season, budget and whether you can get there without a car, plus a tip for the road.
The lookout tower on Lubań
Gorce, Lesser PolandA lookout tower tops Lubań, and on a clear day it looks out over the Tatras, the Pieniny and Lake Czorsztyn. Bring a map and have a little contest to see who can name more peaks.The shortest climb starts at Przełęcz Snozka in Kluszkowce, and a longer trail leads up from Krościenko nad Dunajcem.Matching: 26 ideas
A lookout tower tops Lubań, and on a clear day it looks out over the Tatras, the Pieniny and Lake Czorsztyn. Bring a map and have a little contest to see who can name more peaks.
💡Tip: The shortest climb starts at Przełęcz Snozka in Kluszkowce, and a longer trail leads up from Krościenko nad Dunajcem.
From Czarne in Wisła, walk a loop: up the Czarna Wisełka valley to the Przysłop hut, over Barania Góra, and down the Biała Wisełka valley past the Kaskady Rodła cascades. These two streams join to form the Vistula.
💡Tip: Start in the morning, since the loop takes several hours, and plan a long break at the Przysłop hut.
Walk up Żar from Międzybrodzie Żywieckie, spread a blanket to one side of the launch site and watch the paragliders take off from the slope. From the top you can see Lake Międzybrodzkie and the peaks of Beskid Żywiecki.
💡Tip: Paragliders fly most on sunny, breezy days, so check the forecast before you go.
From Przełęcz Sokola, take the red trail up Wielka Sowa, the highest peak of the Owl Mountains, topped by a stone lookout tower. Snap a photo together by the tower, then come back each year to retake it.
💡Tip: The climb is gentle, so this route works in winter too.
On the cliff in Trzęsacz, a piece of wall is all that remains of a Gothic church that once stood far from the sea. See it from the viewing terrace, walk the beach to Rewal and return for sunset.
💡Tip: Come in fall or winter, when the ruins are quiet and the waves pound the shore.
Get up before dawn and bring a blanket and a thermos to the pier in Orłowo, where the sun rises over the Gulf of Gdańsk. Then walk the beach below the Orłowo Cliff before the crowds arrive.
💡Tip: In fall and winter the sun rises later, so catching dawn doesn’t mean getting up in the middle of the night.
On a winter day the Sopot pier can be almost empty, with mostly gulls for company. Walk it to the very end, then follow the shore to Jelitkowo and order hot chocolate in a café by the sea.
💡Tip: Sopot is an easy train ride from Gdańsk and Gdynia, and a pedestrian street leads from the station to the pier.
In Chmielno, between lakes Białe, Kłodno and Rekowo, book ahead at a family pottery workshop and try throwing a small bowl on the wheel. Before sunset, climb the hill above the village to see lakes linked by narrow channels.
💡Tip: Wear something you don’t mind ruining, because clay gets messier than you’d expect.
Walk all the way around Lake Bachotek, a long lake with an island in the middle, on paths through the woods of the Brodnica Landscape Park. Rest on a beach along the way, then finish in Brodnica’s old town.
💡Tip: Set aside a whole day for the walk around the lake and pack some food.
Wander around Nikiszowiec, a brick mining estate over a century old, where the windows have red frames. Walk through the courtyards and past St. Anne’s Church, then order a Silesian lunch of roulade, dumplings and red cabbage.
💡Tip: City buses run to Nikiszowiec from downtown Katowice, so you will not need a car.
Chełmno is called the town of lovers because its parish church holds relics of St. Valentine. Walk along the medieval walls, then find the Chełmno rod, an old measure of length, on the back of the town hall.
💡Tip: A few hours are enough for the Old Town, so Chełmno pairs easily with a visit to Toruń.
The Teutonic castle in Malbork is so huge that you need several hours to see it. Late in the day, cross to the far bank of the Nogat and watch the setting sun warm the brick walls.
💡Tip: Trains run to Malbork from Gdańsk, and the castle is an easy walk from the station.
Książ sits on a rock above a wooded gorge and is one of the largest castles in Poland. After touring the rooms where Princess Daisy once lived, walk down to the garden terraces above the forest.
💡Tip: Trains run to Wałbrzych, and a city bus goes right up to the castle.
With its many turrets, Moszna Castle looks like something from a fairy tale, and an old park with canals surrounds it. Come in spring and walk along the water while the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom.
💡Tip: Azaleas usually bloom in May, and the park is much quieter on weekdays than on weekends.
The walls of Ogrodzieniec Castle, on the Eagles’ Nests Trail, rise straight out of white limestone rocks. Come in the late afternoon, walk the route through the courtyards, and watch the ruins warm in the low sun.
💡Tip: The area around the castle is full of rocks and trails, so leave time for a walk in the Jura.
Łańcut Castle was the home of the Lubomirski and Potocki families, with rich interiors and a famous carriage collection. In the carriage house, let each of you pick a favorite, then visit the orangery in the castle park.
💡Tip: The castle is close to Rzeszów, so it makes an easy day trip, by train too.
The neo-Gothic castle in Kórnik stands by a lake, and behind it begins the oldest arboretum in Poland. See the magnolias bloom in spring or the leaves turn in fall, then walk along the lake.
💡Tip: Nearby Rogalin is known for its ancient oaks, so you can stop there the same day.
Bike around the Milicz fish ponds on the marked roads and dikes, and take long breaks at the bird towers. Bring just one pair of binoculars and pass it back and forth every time something flies over the water.
💡Tip: You will see the most birds in spring and fall, in the morning or just before sunset.
Start at Brama Krakowska near Ojców, a rock gate beside the Spring of Love, and walk the Prądnik valley to Pieskowa Skała. The walk ends at Maczuga Herkulesa, or Hercules’ Club, a limestone rock wider at the top than at its base.
💡Tip: The valley gets crowded on weekends, so come on a weekday or early in the morning.
Take a city bus from Warsaw to Truskaw and follow a trail from there between pine-covered dunes. Stop for a moment and listen to how quiet it is just a few miles from a big city.
💡Tip: There are no shops or huts along the forest trails, so bring your own water and sandwiches.
Walk the boardwalk from Waniewo to Śliwno across the Narew wetlands. Cross the river channels on floating platforms, pulling them across together by hand, and from the lookout tower watch the river split into many branches.
💡Tip: The crossings are sometimes closed when the water is low or out of season, so check before you go.
Wooden houses with deep eaves, rebuilt after a 19th-century fire, line the sloping market square of Lanckorona. After a stroll among them, take the forest path up Lanckorona Hill and reminisce about your first trip together.
💡Tip: Lanckorona is close to Kraków, so a single day is plenty.
Walk along the wooden graduation towers in Ciechocinek while brine trickles down the blackthorn branches, and breathe in the salty air as if you were by the sea. Then sit in the spa park by the Grzybek fountain.
💡Tip: Come between spring and fall, because that’s the only time brine runs down the towers.
In Nałęczów, taste the local mineral water at the pump room, then find the Spring of Love in the spa park. Also see the wooden cabin where the writer Stefan Żeromski worked, and walk the loess ravines around town.
💡Tip: After rain the loess turns to mud, so save the ravines for a dry day.
The thermal pools in Uniejów are a short walk from the Gothic castle of the archbishops of Gniezno. Swim in the warm water, walk around the castle, then cross the footbridge over the Warta at dusk.
💡Tip: Weekends can get crowded, while on weekdays the pools are much calmer.
Follow the main trail between the sandstone towers to the viewpoint over two rocks called “the Lovers,” which look as if they are hugging. Take a photo with them behind you, striking the same pose.
💡Tip: Summer weekends get crowded, so come first thing in the morning or on a weekday.
A place close to home that mixes a walk with something to see: a castle, a national park, a small town with a market square or a short trail with a view. Match it to the season and leave time for lunch and an unhurried trip back.
Nearby towns with a station, for example Malbork and its huge brick castle from Gdańsk, Wieliczka and its salt mine from Kraków, Gniezno from Poznań or Łódź from Warsaw. Every idea here is marked if it’s easy to reach without a car.
Choose one main sight and one walk, and leave the rest of the time for food, coffee and whatever you stumble on. Save the main thing for daylight hours and don’t plan every minute.
In Liskove you keep your shared moments, and questions and games make the road shorter. One Premium works for you and your person (2 for 1).