Forget Krakow and the country’s mainstream attractions; for a date with a difference, check out Poland’s lesser-known gems.
The Paris of the East
Whereas pre-war Warsaw once bragged of being the Paris of the East, today it is the Silesian mining town of Rybnik that stakes a tenuous claim for that title. As absurd as it may seem, since 2022 the city has been home to a 15-meter-tall replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Weighing in at a hefty eight tons and composed of 3,000 steel elements, the tower was built in the district of Niedobczyce, an area informally nicknamed Paris by the locals. Costing 159,000 złoty, the structure was built after 1,645 residents voted for it in the city’s participatory budget.
Already enshrined as one of Rybnik’s defining features, in 2023 an elaborate April Fool’s Day hoax saw locals tricked into believing that Hollywood A-listers Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler were filming there.
Reel Love
Forego a night down at the multiplex to instead check into Szczecin's Pionier. Opened as the Helios by Otto Blauert in 1907, for years it was certified by Guinness as the world’s oldest cinema, a crown it held until researchers uncovered a handful of other more legitimate claimants.
Rebranded the Odra after the war, it reopened on Boxing Day, 1945, with a screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s Soviet epic, Ivan the Terrible. Finally settling for its current name, Kino Pionier, in 1950, this local favorite found itself immortalized in the poetry of Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński.
Despite its modern, glass-plated exterior, the cinema unfolds to reveal a plethora of cinematic heirlooms such as vintage posters, dusty film reels and humming projectors.
In fact, one screening room has been rendered in much the same way as it would have originally appeared and sprinkled with antique tables, chairs, glass sconces and patterned wallpaper. To this day, silent films are accompanied by the sounds of a piano manufactured in Stettin (Szczecin's pre-WWII name) in 1898.
A Reef-reshing Retreat
Azure seas, crystal sands and stilted over-water bungalows come to mind when thinking of the Indian Ocean. So too do long-haul flights and nosebleed prices. But those wishing to experience the exotic on a budget now have an unlikely alternative in the form of ‘the Polish Maldives.’
You heard that right. Set 30 kilometers east of Katowice, discover southern Poland’s answer to the Maldives in Park Gródek, a former dolomite quarry that has been reinvented as a public park.
Here, the star turn is supplied by a wiggly, wooden boardwalk set over a lake. Granted, the walk itself is brief—and in winter, liable to be muddy and murky—but for sheer novelty value, it’s difficult to beat.
A Tale of Two Lovers
Poland has no shortage of spellbinding castles; in that regard, the stone ruins of Krzyżtopór, the Disney-esque Moszna and the almost spectral Książ all spring to mind. But while all three lend themselves well to romantic elopements, the Gothic moated castle at Oporów, around an hour north of Łódź, presents a more intimate experience.
Attracting only a modest trickle of tourists, this well-preserved 15th-century knightly residence could fit on a postage stamp. As small as it is, Oporów comes generously steeped in legend, one of them almost Shakespearean in its sense of romantic tragedy.
According to local lore, it is said that one castellan’s daughter fell in love with a monk from the nearby Pauline Monastery. Together, the young couple would conduct their trysts in a tunnel running beneath the castle. One night, however, the passageway collapsed, burying the lovebirds alive.
Nowadays, the unfortunate lovers can be heard wailing in the chapel or seen roaming the grounds, their ghostly presence seemingly affirmed by 2010 CCTV footage showing falling orbs and unexplained pulses of lights filling the chapel at night.
A Heart-shaped Lake
While Morskie Oko in the Tatra Mountains is widely considered Poland’s most famous—and beautiful—lake, it’s by no means the most romantic. For that, look no further than Jezioro Czarne.
Fringed by dense woodland and found in the western Polish province of Lubuskie, this naturally formed body of water has become a cult attraction owing to its unusual heart-shaped form.
Not all are convinced, however, with online critics likening the lake’s shape more to a baked bean, a kidney and even a small sausage.
Wood you believe it?
Poland doesn’t just boast a heart-shaped lake but a heart-shaped forest. Actually more of a grove, this so-called ‘love island’ of trees sits by Skarszyn, a village 20 kilometers from the western city of Wrocław.
Best viewed in spring when the rapeseed fields that surround it turn a shock shade of yellow, little is known how the heart was formed. Though visible on maps in 1933, back then the grove appeared more like a three-pointed star. However, by 1984, maps suggested it had taken on its current shape—whether this was due to human manipulation or the mysterious workings of the natural world remains unclear.
The City of Lovers
Known as ‘the City of Lovers,’ the walled town of Chełmno heaves with pretty tenements and Gothic church spires—but as pretty as it looks, it earns its moniker through its associations with St. Valentine.
Housed in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for several centuries those visiting the church have been able to view a two-centimeter fragment of the saint’s skull inside an octagonal silver reliquary.
Known for its miracle-giving properties, the skull isn’t the church’s only glory. Other highlights include a painting purportedly brought from Rome depicting Valentine’s decapitation and a bell tower with swoon-worthy views that reward those that climb its 199 steps.
Beyond the church, the town does much else to reference its nickname. Explorers will find heart-shaped flowerbeds, a bench adorned with a monument of a canoodling couple, shop windows filled with heart-shaped cakes and—on February 14th—a giant heart made from votive candles.
Love is in the Air
If Poland’s Maldives walking trail is a little underwhelming in its length, then the skywalk at the recently opened Brama w Gorce (Gateway to the Mountains) in Waksmund, southern Poland, is anything but.
Snaking its way above the treetops, the 1,300-meter route offers memorable views of the local landscape and feels all the more special on a crisp winter’s day. As an alternative to Poland’s more standard observation points and viewing platforms, this newbie tops the lot.
The Classic Rendezvous
Just over 70 years ago, Polish cinema enjoyed a landmark moment—the 1954 release of the country’s first ever color film, a romantic comedy titled Przygoda na Mariensztacie (Adventure at Mariensztat).
Using the construction of Warsaw’s Mariensztat district as its backdrop, one of the key scenes saw the movie’s two protagonists meet on the escalator running from the mouth of Old Town’s Castle Square.
By reliving this moment yourself, those that traipse down ‘the moving stairs’ won’t just be following in the footsteps of Polish cinematic history. When it opened in 1949, the 30-meter escalator became the first such contraption to debut in the capital and was billed as a triumph of Communist engineering.
Thousands attended its opening—in fact, such was the excitement, notices (which are still on display) were hung forbidding repeat rides and warning those with heart conditions against the perils of using it.
A Song for Lovers
Łódź’s Ulica Włokiennicza once enjoyed a reputation as Poland’s deadliest street—once a Dickensian-style den of thieves and dotted with bawdy drinking dens manned by Fagin-like characters, later years saw it become the epicenter of the city’s underworld. Brothels and black-market activity thrived during Communism, and after… it says much that during the 90s and 2000s, Włokiennicza served as the backdrop for several WWII films.
Now reenergized following a much-needed facelift, the street’s principal highlight is a small fountain nestled in one of the walls depicting a pair of furtive lovers smooching under an overcoat.
Unveiled in 2004, it was dedicated to Agnieszka Osiecka, a poetess who wrote the ode ‘Lovers from Kamienna Street’ (Włokiennicza’s former name).
Quoting Osiecka, the inscription reads: “Lovers from Kamienna Street, do not give rings or flowers. Lovers from Kamienna Street, do not know Shakespeare at all. Lovers…”
Tsars in your Eyes
Carska, in the heart of the eastern Białowieża nature reserve, sets a new standard for unorthodox weekend breaks. Occupying the grounds of a train station specifically built to handle the luggage of the Tsars during their hunting trips to the region, accommodation can be found inside a vertiginous water tower and a set of cottages straight from the pages of Hansel and Gretel.
The main pull, though, is the voluptuously decorated suites inside the four saloon wagons that sit on the disused rail line. Surrounded by portraits of monocled aristocrats and whiskered monarchs, one is transported to the times of Pushkin and Tolstoy.
More In Nature & Travel MORE...
