About

Located in southern Poland's Tatra Mountains near the Slovakian border, Zakopane is the country's most popular ski resort. It is also an excellent location for mountaineering, with many hiking trails throughout the Tatra National Park. Other popular sports, depending on the time of year, include snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, ski jumping, snowmobiling, climbing, horseback riding and cycling. In the summer, you can go boating on the Dunajec River or swim there. Zakopane is also the home of the unique Goral culture, highland people with their own dialect, food and art. Back in the town, Krupowki is a popular street for shopping, restaurants and rides, and there is a lively nightlife as well. You can purchase traditional Goral goods during the summer at a local market on Krupowki Street.

Getting to and from

The best airport to fly into is John Paul II Krakow-Balice International Airport. Several buses and other companies do transports from the airport to Zakopane. You can also take bus numbers 208, 252 and 308 into Krakow or line 902 at night. About five trains travel daily between Krakow and Zakopane. Several bus lines also run to Zakopane from Krakow. Both usually take around two or three hours.