100km (60 miles) S of Kraków
Zakopane is a surprisingly likable, sprawling mountain village that serves as the hub of the Polish side of the High Tatras. With its array of accommodations, including some very beautiful hotels, restaurants, and attractions, it's a sensible base for any exploration of the region.
Zakopane plays a role in Poland's literary and cultural history that may be unprecedented as far as mountain resorts go. Certainly there is no equivalent on the Slovak side of the Tatras, where the resorts are simply resorts, and the mountains, though lovely places to hike or ski, are still only mountains. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a swath of Poland's intellectual elite decamped here in a bid no less ambitious than to reinvent, or at least reinterpret, Polish culture. The country's best writers, poets, artists, musicians, and architects gathered here and found something uniquely Polish in the unspoiled nature and solid mountain cottages of simple people.
The two world wars and the decades of Communism that followed put an end to the Zakopane art colony, but a special, funky feeling remains. Certainly the wooden houses here are some of the most beautiful you'll see anywhere, and in and among the trees and the gardens -- and away from the crowds -- you'll find a stimulating, uniquely Polish resort that feels very much of a different age.
At the height of the summer or winter season -- when the main street, Krupówki, is filled to bursting with vacationers -- it may take awhile to find that special feeling. After you've had your fill of the "Main Street" scene, branch off among the neighborhoods, where a more relaxed and pleasing aesthetic takes hold.
Zakopane Travel Experiences
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Snow...in june
1.üü equals 3 slovakia krownsWe took a bus from krakow to story smokevec...in the northwest of slovakia. the bus ride was ok...... Continue reading »
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Poland: Zakopane
Monday 12th JuneOff to the mountains again. This time to Zakopane in the Tatra mountains on the southern border of Poland and Slovakia. A... Continue reading »
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Tatra mountaines again
Polish mountaines TATRA.Góry warte zobaczenia, bo samo miasto hmmmmm....peÅ‚ne snobów z naszywkami Alpin's :)OczywiÅ›cie powodem wyjazdu by... Continue reading »
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Arrival to Zakopane
We arrived to Zakopane in the evening, so it was already dark there. We were very tired after a long road from Belorussian Brest through... Continue reading »
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Weekend in the mountains!
This past weekend, Dianna, Lana, Natalee, and I went to Zakopane, Poland. It's a town about 80 miles south of Krakow located in the... Continue reading »
Popular Zakopane Hotels
- Good Bye Lenin Hostel Zakopane
- Hostel Stara Polana
- Hotel Villa Marilor
- Lighthouse Towers
- Guesthouse Benita
- Hotel Belvedere
- Hotel Litwor
- Willa Litwor
- Litwor
- Tuberoza
