Liskove › Trip ideas › Winter getaways in Poland, with or without skis
40 ideas for a winter getaway in Poland: snowy mountains, thermal pools, quiet small towns and the Baltic in winter. Skis are welcome but optional, and every place shows trip length, budget and a practical tip.
Stars over Hala Izerska
Izera Mountains, Lower SilesiaHala Izerska lies in the Izera Dark Sky Park, with almost no artificial light. Stay at the hut on the meadow, and on a clear night around the new moon, take a blanket outside and look for the Milky Way.From the train station in Jakuszyce, a marked trail takes you to the meadow in two to three hours at an easy pace.Matching: 40 ideas
Hala Izerska lies in the Izera Dark Sky Park, with almost no artificial light. Stay at the hut on the meadow, and on a clear night around the new moon, take a blanket outside and look for the Milky Way.
💡Tip: From the train station in Jakuszyce, a marked trail takes you to the meadow in two to three hours at an easy pace.
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.
Come to Ustka in late fall, when the beach is nearly empty and the sea runs high. Walk the promenade to the harbor, watch the waves from the shore, then warm up with a bowl of fish soup.
💡Tip: During a storm, stay off the breakwaters, because the waves can be dangerous.
Start at the Gothic castle in Darłowo and see the tomb of Eric of Pomerania, once king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, in St. Mary’s Church. Then head to Darłówko, cross the sliding footbridge and stay on the beach until sunset.
💡Tip: The footbridge in Darłówko slides open to let boats through, so sometimes you wait a moment.
From the Kołobrzeg lighthouse, walk a few kilometers east along the beach to Ekopark Wschodni, where a path, partly on boardwalks, runs between dunes and salt marsh. On the way, look for a small stone for each other to keep.
💡Tip: Off-season you’ll meet few people, but the wind off the sea can be cold, so bring warm hats.
From Międzyzdroje, climb a forest trail to Kawcza Góra and look out from the cliff-top viewpoint over the Pomeranian Bay and the town below. Then walk over to the national park’s bison enclosure.
💡Tip: Stay on the trail and keep away from the cliff edge, because the ground there crumbles.
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.
After a fall storm, go to the beach in Krynica Morska early and look for amber among the twigs washed ashore. In the afternoon, cross the spit to the harbor on the Vistula Lagoon.
💡Tip: Look for amber after strong winds from the sea, early in the morning before others comb the beach.
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.
Start the evening in Kazimierz with a zapiekanka, an open-faced toasted baguette, from one of the windows of the round hall on Plac Nowy. Then cross the Father Bernatek footbridge under its balancing acrobats and walk on to Zabłocie.
💡Tip: Zabłocie is quieter than Kazimierz, so look for a calm café there to end the walk.
Come to Ostrów Tumski just before dusk and watch the lamplighter in a cape and top hat light the gas lamps by hand. Then cross the Tumski Bridge over the Oder as the cobbled lanes start to glow.
💡Tip: The lamplighter comes at dusk: late evening in summer, afternoon in winter, so check the sunset time.
Early in the morning Mariacka Street is almost empty, so you can take in the old stone terraces without a crowd. Then climb the tower of St. Mary’s Basilica and look down at the rooftops and the Motława river.
💡Tip: Several hundred steps lead to the top of the tower, so take them slowly and pause on the way.
Bake and decorate your own gingerbread at a workshop in one of Toruń’s gingerbread museums. After dark, cross the bridge over the Vistula and look back at the Gothic Old Town lit up across the water.
💡Tip: You can see the Old Town on foot in one afternoon, and the far bank is a short walk over the bridge.
Stand in the Old Market Square at noon and watch two mechanical goats butt heads above the town hall clock. Then share a St. Martin’s croissant, filled with white poppy seeds, by the colorful merchant houses.
💡Tip: The square under the town hall fills up just before noon, so come a few minutes early.
Walk Piotrkowska Street from Plac Wolności and step into Pasaż Róży, a courtyard covered in a mosaic of mirror pieces. Then wander the side streets, take in the huge murals on tenement walls and pick a favorite together.
💡Tip: Piotrkowska runs for several kilometers, so plan a few café breaks along the way.
At Lublin Castle, find King Jagiełło, who paid for the paintings, among the Byzantine-Ruthenian frescoes of the Holy Trinity Chapel. Then share warm cebularze, onion and poppy seed flatbreads, on a walk through the Old Town.
💡Tip: Bakeries all over town sell cebularze, and they are usually freshest in the morning.
Zamość was planned from scratch as a Renaissance ideal town, and it still shows. Circle the Great Market Square under the arcades and look for the ornate facades of the colorful Armenian houses.
💡Tip: Come back to the square after dark, when the town hall and houses look completely different in the lamplight.
Follow the red line painted on the sidewalks of Szczecin, which leads you past the main sights. Look out over the Oder from the Chrobry Embankment terraces, and stop for a hot pasztecik, a deep-fried filled bun.
💡Tip: Order a cup of red borscht with your pasztecik, the way people in Szczecin eat it.
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.
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.
Book a guide and walk into the strict reserve of Białowieża National Park, where no one cuts down trees and fallen trunks stay where they fall. In the evening, stroll along the Narewka river and share your favorite moments from the forest.
💡Tip: In winter, when there is snow, animal tracks are much easier to spot.
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.
Drive from village to village below the Izera Mountains and look for Umgebinde houses, where the upper floor or roof rests on wooden posts along the ground-floor walls. Pick your dream house and decide which window would be yours.
💡Tip: They usually give themselves away with wooden arches between the posts, easy to see from the road.
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.
In Krynica-Zdrój, ride the funicular or walk up Góra Parkowa and take your time coming down through the forest. Visit the main pump room, and at dusk stroll the promenade arm in arm as the lamps come on.
💡Tip: In winter the paths down from Góra Parkowa can be icy, so wear shoes with non-slip soles.
In Szczawno-Zdrój, stroll through the wooden Walking Hall by the pump room, then follow the spa park paths to the Anna Tower. Finish among the old guesthouses on Kościuszki Street and imagine who stayed there a century ago.
💡Tip: The Walking Hall has a roof, so this works on a rainy day too.
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.
Walk the main street of Chochołów, past wooden highlander houses, many still lived in. Then warm up in the village’s thermal pools, best in winter, when frost nips your cheeks and the water warms the rest of you.
💡Tip: Many of the houses are private homes, so admire them from the street.
Cross Charles Bridge at dawn, before the crowds arrive, then climb through the orchards up Petřín hill. From the top, look down at the red roofs of Malá Strana and choose where to have breakfast.
💡Tip: It is loveliest in spring, when the orchards on the hillside are in bloom.
From Schönbrunn Palace, walk up through the gardens to the Gloriette and look out over Vienna. Then settle into an old Viennese coffeehouse, order two different cakes and share them half and half.
💡Tip: Traditional coffeehouses usually serve a glass of water with your coffee, and nobody minds if you linger.
At dusk, walk across the Chain Bridge as the lights come on over the Danube, and in the morning climb to Fisherman’s Bastion. On a chilly day, warm up in the steaming outdoor pools of the Széchenyi baths.
💡Tip: Bring flip-flops and a towel to the baths for walking between the pools.
From the Gate of Dawn, walk through the old town to Užupis, where the constitution of this artsy district hangs on Paupio Street in many languages. Read it together and pick an article for each other.
💡Tip: At sunset, climb the Hill of Three Crosses for a view over the whole old town.
Ride the old yellow tram 28 as it climbs the narrow lanes of Alfama, and in the evening sit on the low wall at the Senhora do Monte lookout with pastéis de nata fresh from a bakery.
💡Tip: Tram 28 is least crowded early in the morning and gets packed later in the day.
Before sunset, climb the Aventine to the Orange Garden, where the dome of St. Peter’s rises above the rooftops. Nearby, peek through the keyhole in the gate of the Knights of Malta, which frames the same dome.
💡Tip: There is often a line at the keyhole during the day, but it is shorter early or late.
The mountains are the safest bet, since the Tatras and Podhale (the region at their foot), the Karkonosze, the Beskidy and the Bieszczady have the best chance of snow. For a short trip, pick somewhere easy to reach: winter drives take longer, and traffic to Zakopane can be heavy on Friday afternoons.
Try thermal pools, a kulig (a horse-drawn sleigh ride, a Polish winter classic) and snowy walks. Podhale pairs Tatra views with thermal baths, and spa towns in Kotlina Kłodzka and the Beskid Sądecki have spa parks and mineral water pump rooms. The coast is lovely too, though more gray than white.
Go midweek, outside ferie, the Polish school winter break, and the stretch between Christmas and New Year. Ferie dates differ by region and spread over several weeks of January and February, while March can be calm and still snowy in the mountains.
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