Zakopane: a relaxed retreat in Poland’s Tatra mountains

Zakopane is a Polish ski resort that’s known as the country’s winter sports capital. But in the summer months, it’s a good base for hiking in the Tatra National Park and visiting the nearby thermal baths. It’s also a pretty Highland town that offers a relaxed respite between visits to the busy cities of Kraków and Warsaw. Here’s how you can spend a chilled couple of days in Zakopane.

How to get to Zakopane from Kraków

My friend and I chose to book the high-speed intercity train that runs between Kraków and Zakopane. It was easy to book in advance online, and a comfortable journey of around two hours. You can also get a FlixBus, which is cheaper and doesn’t take too much longer, but can be subject to congestion delays at weekends. If you’re not close enough to walk to your accommodation, then Uber and Bolt are both very cheap in Poland. Do not get conned by a taxi driver outside Zakopane train station! There are plenty of places to stay in Zakopane. We chose Hotel Logos, which was close to the centre, had nice rooms and a very good restaurant. We had some excellent pierogi and fish mains on our first night.

Spend a day at the Chochołowski Thermal Baths

Visiting a thermal baths for a relaxing day out was top of the list for my friend and I. Fortunately, our food tour guide in Kraków came from Zakopane and recommended Chocholowskie Termy. We booked online in advance and then took an Uber to and from Zakopane, which is a 20-25 mins drive.

We chose the full-day slot at the baths, but you can also go for a few hours. Towels were available to hire when we arrived and then we set about exploring. It’s a huge place! We tried out all of the different areas and pools (apart from the children’s area, which has slides). We also had excellent Zapiekanka for lunch at the pizza bar and multiple drinks at the swim-up bars! There is an over-18 section which you can get into from the changing room. It’s not too obvious to find, so persist as it’s much quieter. For an extra cost, there is also a luxurious naked saunarium on a higher floor. It has multiple saunas, but as my friend isn’t really a sauna fan, I just used the sauna in the over-18s area.

Wander around town and taste the local Highland cheese

Zakopane isn’t a big place, so it’s easy to walk around. We started at the excellent Tourist Information Kiosk on Tadeusza Kościuszki to pick up some maps etc. Nearby are a couple of parks with sculptures and a wooden Zakopane sign.

Not far away, Zakopane’s main street, ul. Krupówki is lined with rustic taverns, many playing mountain music, as well as shops and multiple kiosks selling traditional Tatra sheep’s cheese. The latter is pressed into spindle-shaped moulds and smoked. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t love it, but I do always like to try the local specialities.

The best and quirkiest shop we found was away from the main street, in Kościeliska. It’s called Galeria Tatrzańska and has a wide range of ceramics and other gifts.

Take the funicular to get mountain views

One of the most popular attractions in Zakopane is the Gubałówka funicular and chair lift. They take you to and from the top of Gubałówka mountain. As I’m not keen on chair lifts, we took the funicular both ways. The views from the top are good, but once you start to walk towards the chair lift, they are largely obscured by shops, stalls and restaurants. Maybe they eventually peter out as you get closer to the lift, but we walked a fair way along, popped into a very nice wooden church and still the stalls continued. So we opted to have a drink on the terrace of one of the restaurants to enjoy the view.

Go hiking in the Tatra National Park

Tatra National Park is 212 sq km and has almost 300 trails and tracks of different lengths and elevations. We didn’t have lots of time in Zakopane, so we wished we’d done a walk into the national park instead of Gubałówka. The guy in the tourist info kiosk was super helpful and gave us a map with various walks marked. Not all routes were open, so it’s good to check. You can take a taxi to the start of a trail if it’s too far to walk.

Learn about Zakopane’s unique architecture

One thing you can do without leaving town is learn about Zakopane Style, the town’s own unique form of architecture. It was originated by the painter Stanisław Witkiewicz, who fancied himself as an amateur architect. Similar to the UK’s Arts and Crafts movement, he based the style on traditional houses and outbuildings. You can find out more about the movement’s history at the Museum of Zakopane Style, which is in Willa Koliba, the first house that Witkiewicz designed. A group of artists were working outside when we visited, and you can see from below that one was pretty good. After the visit, you can look out for some of the 40 wooden properties that are still standing around the town.

Try out Highlander food and drink

As well as the Highlander cheese and Pierogi, there are plenty of other local dishes to try. We found that Karczma Zapieck is a great Highlander-style restaurant with traditional food and live folk music. It’s also directly opposite a branch of Pijana Wisnia, and if you’ve read my Kraków post, you’ll know I got a real taste for their cherry liqueur!

There are also plenty of places to eat that serve other types of food. We went to a Swiss restaurant, Mała Szwajcaria, for an excellent fondue. We also found a couple of good lunch spots: Cafe Tyrodnik Podhalánski, which was a bit hard to find but worth it for the view. Also, STRH Bistro Art Cafe at the top of the main street, which did excellent sandwiches, also with a view. But our favourite find has to be Cafe Piano, a quirky bar where you can sip your cocktails in a swing!

So I think there’s plenty to keep you occupied for a couple of days or longer in Zakopane. And for me, it was a welcome change of pace after a busy few days in Kraków. To read more about my trip to Poland and other European destinations, visit the Europe section of my blog.