Cities · Mountains · Countryside
City walks, mountain paths, regional food, and quieter corners from Poland’s changing landscapes.
Our Polish roots gave us the first reason to visit. We wanted to get to know a country that was already part of our family story and see it for ourselves.
We fell in love with Poland as we travelled around it. For us, its beauty is in the forests and mountains as much as in the old towns and historic buildings. This section is where we document that part of our travels and share what we’ve learned along the way.
Photo: Maksym Kozlenko. Original · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized for this site; some views are cropped.
In Lower Silesia, Wrocław’s market square and river islands are a base for trips to the Sudetes, castles and timber churches. Farther east, Kraków’s Old Town leads south to Wawel Hill. These guides include city walks, park routes and practical details for planning a visit.
Choose a place for our guide and dated photographs. Search by its English or local name, or follow an area or subject that interests you.
211 places · Showing 18
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Zielona Góra · Lubusz
We like a park that gives us a building to look at and room to keep walking. At Zatonie, the palace ruins lead into avenues and open lawns. Our photographs return to the park in different seasons, from bare winter trees to the green paths of May.
Guide & 18 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
At Wawel, we like leaving time between the buildings. There are arches to look up at, paths beside the brick walls and the Vistula below. Our April 2024 photographs follow the grounds and courtyard; the guide explains how to add a museum visit.
Guide & 18 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The food courtyard gives a Kazimierz walk a place to stop; notice the painted wall above the stalls as well as the entrance signs.
Guide & 10 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Zielona Góra · Lubusz
The grass runway and windsock make us look across a much wider space than a town square. The photographs also show picnic seating and a sports court beside the airfield grounds.
Guide & 18 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The pale façade draws the eye from Grodzka Street; inside, the organ gallery and side altars make the visit worth taking slowly.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The straight avenue gives us room to slow down between Wawel and the city streets; flower beds and small monuments reward leaving the quickest route.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The chapel’s marble and gilded carving invite a closer look, but we would make that pause fit around worship in the Dominican church.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The tree canopy and old courtyard walls are what draw us to this corner of Kazimierz. It is a good place to make space for a break between nearby heritage stops.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
A few benches and a fork in the park path can be enough of a reason to pause. The spring planting makes this small named space part of the walk itself.
Guide & 6 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
We like the way this named square folds into the Planty paths: a bench, new leaves and the city buildings still close by.
Guide & 4 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
This is a small pause on a longer city walk. The photographs give us the bench and path to look for, without turning a named patch of greenery into a full-day outing.
Guide & 2 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The curved beds and tulips catch our eye before the name on the bench does. It is a small stop that suits a walk through Kraków’s theatre quarter.
Guide & 4 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Żagań · Lubusz
The planted paths inside surviving brick walls make us stop and ask what used to stand here. The memorial and old masonry deserve time on a Żagań walk.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The trail board gives a useful starting point, then the doors and inscriptions make us want to follow the route on foot rather than tick off buildings from a distance.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
One small stone figure can change what we notice on the approach to Wawel. We would look at its faces before continuing towards the hill.
Guide & 1 photograph
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The leafy edge of Wawel is a useful pause before the hill. Our single photograph records the greenery and people moving along the approach.
Guide & 1 photograph
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
The older masonry along the park edge gives us something to follow with our eyes. We like a route where a stretch of lawn and a building detail sit side by side.
Guide & 12 photographs
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Kraków · Lesser Poland
Walking around the side of St Mary’s changes the view: the big market square gives way to brick walls, smaller doorways and St Barbara’s Church.
Guide & 12 photographsOur Muskau Park photographs also cross into Germany. Explore the Bad Muskau collection →
Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Castles & palaces
We like giving Zatonie’s palace park time for its ruins and wooded paths. Plan a visit near Zielona Góra and browse photographs across the seasons.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Castles & palaces · History
Wawel gives us reasons to pause between the courtyard and the river. Explore our April photographs and plan the castle exhibitions you want to see.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Arts & crafts · History
Find Pil Peled’s Judah mural in Kraków’s Kazimierz, with our courtyard photographs, its festival origins and notes for a short walking stop.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Attractions · Local life
See our photographs around Przylep airfield near Zielona Góra, learn about the aeroclub and check visitor access before planning an aviation stop.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Churches & synagogues · History
Explore Saints Peter and Paul Church on Kraków’s Grodzka Street through our photographs, its Jesuit history and practical notes for a considerate visit.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Hikes & walks
Walk the Planty’s Wawel Garden in Kraków with our spring photographs, the park’s origins and ideas for a green pause before the castle approach.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Churches & synagogues · History
Find Saint Hyacinth’s chapel within Kraków’s Dominican church, with our interior photographs, historical context and notes on worship and visitor access.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Food · Local life
See Mleczarnia’s courtyard in Kraków’s Kazimierz through our photographs, with neighbourhood context and notes for planning a café stop.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Music
Find Piotr Skrzynecki Square on Kraków’s Planty, with our spring photographs, its connection to Piwnica pod Baranami and ideas for continuing the walk.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Music
Visit Ewa Demarczyk Square on Kraków’s Planty with our spring photographs, the singer’s local connection and a short walk near Wawel.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Arts & crafts
Find Jerzy Jarocki Square on Kraków’s Planty, with our photographs, the theatre director’s dedication and notes for a short Old Town walking pause.
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Photo: Postcards From The Smokies ·
Poland · Parks & gardens · Arts & crafts
See Konrad Swinarski Square on Kraków’s Planty, with our spring photographs, the theatre dedication and a short walk around the neighbouring streets.
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