Poland walks

To the east of Wrocław, the Centennial Hall displays its immense concrete dome, a masterpiece listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This circular walk takes you around the entire site and the surrounding Szczytnicki Park. You’ll walk past the base of the great hall and the slender spire of the Iglica, reach a remarkable log church nestled amongst the trees, then stroll along the banks of the ponds and canals in the landscaped park. You’ll walk alongside the Four Domes Pavilion, passing under the vine-covered pergola whilst admiring the jets of the Multimedia Fountain, opposite the market hall.

Starting from Karpacz in Lower Silesia, this long mountain hike leads to Śnieżka, the highest peak in the Sudetes, on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. You’ll first climb through the wild Sowia Dolina valley, passing over footbridges and past the Kaskada Joanna waterfall, before reaching the long ridge of the Karkonosze Mountains and following its peaks all the way to Śnieżka. The descent runs alongside the Kocioł Małego Stawu glacial cirque and its lake nestled beneath the rock faces, then heads down through the forest towards Karpacz, in the heart of the Karkonosze National Park. Please note that the high ridge remains snow-covered and windswept for much of the year.

A metropolis in Lower Silesia nestled amongst the many branches of the Odra, Wrocław ranks among Poland’s most beautiful cities, with its bridges, islands and hundreds of bronze dwarves hidden on street corners. This stroll takes you from one end of the city to the other, taking in its most iconic sights. You’ll set off in search of the little musician dwarves, cross the vast Rynek lined with colourful patrician houses, stroll along the banks of the Odra opposite the cathedral’s spires, then head for Cathedral Island and its cobbled alleyways. The walk then heads towards the regenerated Nadodrze district and its painted courtyards, crossing a string of islands and bridges as it follows the river, before ending in front of a striking locomotive towering skywards. A wonderful way to discover Wrocław on foot, combining medieval heritage and urban art.

In the heart of Biebrza National Park, Poland’s largest, this circular forest trail circles Fort IV of the Osowiec fortress. Built by the Russian army to block access to the Biebrza Marshes, the stronghold was largely blown up by its garrison during the Great War. Fort IV, the most recent of the four structures and one of the first to be cast entirely in concrete, lies in ruins, overgrown with moss in the middle of a sparse pine forest: gutted barracks, a vaulted powder magazine, small blockhouses and earthen ramparts bordering a moat, overlooked by an observation platform.

On the edge of eastern Poland, the Narew National Park protects a wild river that branches into a multitude of intertwining channels, nicknamed the ‘Amazon of Podlasie’. From the village of Waniewo, the famous kładka – a long wooden footbridge – winds its way through the reed beds and marshes. The walkway is interspersed with waterways which you cross yourself on small floating rafts, hauling yourself along a chain from one bank to the other. Further on, a watchtower stands on the hilltop of the former fortified castle that once guarded the river crossing.

Situated on the banks of the River Narew, on the edge of Podlasie, Tykocin is regarded as one of Poland’s most beautiful small Baroque towns and was for a long time a major centre of Jewish life in the country. This easy circular walk first follows the ‘bulwary’ promenade along the river, opposite the old metal bridge and its willow-lined banks. It then heads into the heart of the town, from the Great Synagogue to the vast square where the statue of Hetman Czarniecki and the Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity stand, before meandering through the cobbled streets lined with traditional wooden houses.