The easiest way to start wandering around Tarnów Land is to go to Tarnów. If you want to do it the Green Way, you can take a train, which will conveniently take you to the Art Nouveau railway station. From there, it’s just a short walk away along Krakowska Street to get to the Tarnów Market Square with its Renaissance town hall and beautiful façades of local townhouses. You don’t have to walk too far to get to Cathedral Square (Plac Katedralny) with its Gothic Basilica, and then to the recently revamped Kazimierza Square – and if you cross them, you will eventually get to Wałowa Street with its promenade, where you can take a stroll and enjoy the Galician atmosphere of the city. For centuries, Tarnów has been a melting pot of cultures, which means that while admiring the sights, you will come across the traces of the once numerous Jewish community, the Romani, Hungarians, Austrians and those of other nations whose histories brought them to Tarnów Land. If you want to relax amidst some wonderful greenery, you won’t be disappointed when you visit the favourite spot of many residents of Tarnów –Strzelecki Park with the mausoleum of General Józef Bem — as well as simple and practical Piaskówka Park, romantic Sanguszków Park, and the wooded hill of St. Martin, with the ruins of the Tarnowski Castle towering over the city – the panorama you can see from there is quite a sight to behold.
If you drive a couple of kilometres southwards, you can enjoy landscapes with the gently sloping Ciężkowice Foothills and the Dunajec River Valley. Open spaces, cultivated fields, meadows with flowers as well as forests encourage cycling trips and walks. The spot is increasingly referred to as the Polish Tuscany, since it is the heart of the Polish wine-making culture that in recent years has been undergoing significant development. The Tarnów region offers exquisite conditions for cultivating vines due to its relatively high temperatures and sunshine. The city is well-known as one of the hottest places in Poland.
In recent years, several lookout towers have been built in the region, enabling visitors to admire the beauty of the area – with good weather, you can even see the peaks of the distant Tatra Mountains. Some very worthwhile destinations include Zakliczyn or Ciężkowice, which enable you to experience the atmosphere of a real Galician town. While touring the area, take a short break at the castle in Czchów or take a detour through the Stone City in Ciężkowice, so that you can have a chance to take a closer look at interesting rocks with imaginative names – the Witch, the Badger, and even Hell.
The Tarnów region is pleasing not only to the eye, but also to the ear – and we are not only talking about the sounds of nature, singing birds and wind rustling the leaves on the trees, but also the music of great Polish composers that you can hear in the manor house in Kąśna Dolna, formerly the property of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, as well as in the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, which always surprises visitors with its modern design.
The Dunajec River Valley can be quite tempting to avid cyclists, who can take advantage of selected fragments of the VeloDunajec route, although they are not the only ones who will enjoy its charms – just ask any canoeing and water sports enthusiast. Czchów Lake, the Dunajec River, Biała River, and numerous streams and ponds are more than enough to leave everybody satisfied. People who love discovering the secrets of folk crafts during their green tours will definitely enjoy learning more about the traditions of craft paper forms in the Ryglice area as well as finding out more about the hand-made wooden household accessories in Rzuchowa.
The northern areas of the region and Powiśle Dąbrowskie are characterised by an idyllic landscape of villages, including the painted Zalipie, where local painters decorate the walls of their houses, farm buildings and fences with colourful floral ornamentation. It is the only such region in Poland. This unusual village attracts many tourists from Poland and abroad, who often make a special effort togo there from Kraków just to see these special paintings.
The Tarnów region is also famous for the hospitality of its inhabitants and numerous agritourism farms as well as hostels and shepherd's huts, where not only can you enjoy a restful pause after a long and hard hike or bike trip, but also eat some delicious food and have a taste of local wines. All of these things combined make Tarnów and its surroundings – the realm of Małoposka flavours – an inspiring place for a sightseeing trip done the Green Way.
Jeśli chcesz zwiedzić wschodnie krańce Małopolski koniecznie sięgnij po ekoprzewodniki po Ziemi Tarnowskiej dostępne na https://visitmalopolska.pl/w-rytmie-eko i ruszaj szlakiem przygody!