Lublin
Lublin is one the premier cities in Eastern Poland and the Lubelskie Province. As the largest city east of the Vistula River and just 100 miles away from Poland’s capital, it is known as the “gate to the East” and is an important educational and scientific center. For more information please visit the official Lublin travel portal.
The city’s iconic Kraków Gate has been standing since the 14th century and its gate clock has been there since the 16th century. It is here where a trumpeter plays each day at noon. There is also a small museum devoted to the city’s history here.
You can pass through the Krakow Gate to reach the Old Town. Lublin’s Old Town is full of charm with its cobbled narrow streets and traditional style architecture and Renaissance burgher houses. Everything here is seeping with history and character. In fact, this area is sometimes referred to as “Little Krakow”. There are more than 100 historic mansions and other buildings to marvel at. For a different perspective, you can try the underground tourist trail, which visits old wine cellars and shop basements from various points in the city’s history to give you a more intimate look at the past and present ways of life in Lublin.
The Lublin Cathedral and Trinity Tower are also in the Old Town. The Cathedral is baroque style and is very popular with visitors on account of its extensive wall paintings. The Trinity Tower rewards visitors with breathtaking panoramic views of the entire city.
About one-third of the city’s population is comprised of students, which lends the city a youthful vibe and plenty of choices when it comes to nightlife. You’ll also find all the cultural activities you might expect in a university town. Lublin has a full roster of festivals that take place in the city throughout the year. The themes run the gamut from typical fare like music and dance to carnival arts to documentaries to alternative culture.
The Neo-Gothic Royal Castle is one of the city’s top tourist attractions and it’s easy to see why. The imposing castle was even a prison at one point but it now houses the Museum of Lublin with its impressive Polish Paintings Gallery and a nice collection of coins and military items. The museum is one of Eastern Poland’s oldest and largest. The Church of the Holy Trinity is also onsite. Visitors who enter the church are treated to Byzantine wall paintings that go back to the early 1400s.
The Basilica of the Dominican Order of St. Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr one of Lublin’s oldest churches. It was originally built in 1253 but was rebuilt following a fire in 1575, so it is still quite old. The Renaissance style church has a number of chapels that are truly awe-inspiring, even if you’re not religious.
The University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska Botanical Garden is home to a staggering collection of flora. You can find more than 1500 species of trees, 800 types of vegetables, and more than 6500 types of plants in all. There are some interesting themed areas as well, such as an area with plants mentioned in the Bible and one devoted to medicinal plants. If you want to spend more time outdoors, you can also rent a boat or skis and enjoy Zemborzycki Lake, which also has a few cafes and restaurants nearby.
Lublin is easy to reach and easy to get around as well. It has its own airport but there are also plenty of trains and buses from other cities like Warsaw and Kraków. The train ride to Warsaw is just 2 ½ hours from Lublin. The downtown and Old Town areas are very compact and easily navigated by foot, but the bus and trolley lines in the city are decent and there is even a tourist trolley bus line that stops at all the main sights.
