The development of every civilisation is primarily associated with rivers. Suffice it to mention the life-giving flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, what had been revered for centuries was largely lost in the 19th and 20th centuries, which saw a turn away from rivers. Many of them were polluted and being around them was unpleasant.
However, for some time now, humanity has been returning to the past. We care about the quality of waterways and the appearance of riverside areas, and we create boulevards, bicycle paths and other elements of tourist infrastructure that allow you to relax on the rivers. So maybe it's time to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors and follow the current of the Queen of Polish Rivers, i.e., the Vistula River Trail, as well as its tributaries – the Dunajec, Raba, Skawa, Poprad, and Biała.
Cream cakes (kremówki), plum brandy (śliwowica), dinosaurs, steam locomotives
Someone will ask: is it worth it? What is there to see? Judge for yourself by going around Małopolska with us on a journey to gorgeous places you didn’t even know existed.
The best-known city on the Vistula River Trail is, of course, Kraków. However, there are plenty of other interesting places along the way – the Amusement Park in Zator, the only-in-Poland Phonography Museum in Niepołomice and Szczucin’s Museum of Road-building that’s the only one of its kind in Europe.
A trip along the Dunajec Trail is mainly associated with the Dunajec River Gorge. Still, it is also a chance to visit three lakes and several castles and look in Croatia... Hiking along the Raba River allows you not only to visit the open-air museum of steam locomotives in Chabówka and get to know the attractions of the City of Children of the World – Rabka-Zdrój but also to visit the fascinating castle hill in Dobczyce and underground corridors of the Salt Mine in Bochnia.
On the banks of the Poprad River there is the City of Gardens – Muszyna – several health resorts forming a unique complex and the wonderfully beautiful Stary Sącz, one of the oldest and most beautiful towns in Poland, strongly associated with Saint Kinga.
On the Skawa River flowing in the western part of the region lie Sucha Beskidzka, where the Devil met Master Twardowski in the Rzym Inn and kidnapped him to the Moon, as well as the papal Wadowice, where you can still try the famous cream cakes (kremówki). On the eastern side of Małopolska, at the Biała River, it is worth visiting numerous Orthodox churches and letting your imagination run wild in the Petrified City.
These are just a few examples, perhaps inspirations, indicating the variety of attractions, among which everyone will undoubtedly find something for themselves. Regardless of age and interests. These are perfect places for family trips.
On foot, by bike, by car... Małopolska tempts everyone
Travelling along the rivers flowing through Małopolska is just one of the proposals for discovering the charms of Małopolska. Everyone can choose the one that suits them best; there are plenty of possibilities: hiking trails, (link to hiking trails in Małopolska), car routes or bicycle routes walks with Nordic walking poles, thematic trails allowing you to get to know the beauty of wooden architecture and traditional crafts or strongholds on the Trail of the Eagle's Nests. As man does not live by views and impressions alone, there is also the Małopolska Gourmet Route and the Małopolska Wine Trail.
In short, it is impossible to be bored in Małopolska. We have something for the spirit as well as the body. Discover Małopolska with us!