Nowy Sącz: Culture and City Walks

Nowy Sącz can be explored through a variety of themes: a city walk connects key landmarks, while museums showcase architecture, crafts and folk culture. There are also themed trails ranging from ice cream to street art, as well as a nature attraction in the Dąbrówka district. When planning your stay, you can first decide whether to focus on the city’s history, museum exhibits, demonstrations or a themed walk.

City Walk Between the Market Square and City Walls

The city walking route starts at the town hall in Nowy Sącz’s Market Square. It passes the Basilica of St. Margaret and runs along the remains of the city walls. The Market Square, basilica and wall remains provide different landmarks along the walk. Starting at the town hall gives the route a clear departure point; the other stops connect sacred architecture with the remains of the city fortifications. If you are interested in architecture and the historic cityscape, the route offers a connected way to explore these themes.

Museums: Buildings, Workshops and Folk Culture

The Muzeum Okręgowe w Nowym Sączu is now based in the Gothic Cathedral. Galician Town is a reconstruction of a small-town building complex with a small market square and a row of around a dozen houses. It also features a photography studio, a watchmaker’s workshop and a pottery workshop. The exhibits range from the reconstructed complex to individual workshops.

The Sądecki Ethnographic Park presents wooden architecture and the traditional folk culture of the local ethnographic groups of the Lachy, Pogórzans and Sądecki Highlanders, as well as the ethnic groups of Lemkos, Germans and Roma. The museum exhibits have different emphases: Galician Town showcases a small-town building complex with workshops, while the park focuses on wooden architecture and the cultural groups listed above. This lets you choose between a reconstruction featuring specific workshop settings and a presentation of architecture and folk culture.

Demonstrations and Nature Attractions

The Sądecki Ethnographic Park regularly and occasionally hosts demonstrations of traditional rural crafts, workshops in regional crafts and presentations of regional cuisine. Dates vary. If you would like to plan around a specific demonstration, workshop or presentation, check the current event schedule before your visit.

The natural beaver habitat is in a forest in the Dąbrówka district. It is considered a photo opportunity in different seasons and adds a nature element to the museum and city themes.

Choose Walks by Theme

The Nowy Sącz Ice Cream Trail is a walk that lets you explore the city while sampling its ice cream specialties. Individual businesses may change, so check in advance which stops currently suit your plans.

Another city walk follows the Nowy Sącz graffiti and street art trail. Individual artworks may change. If a particular piece matters to you, take this possibility of change into account when planning.

The Ecumenical Pilgrim Route passes through places in Nowy Sącz that are important to Poles, Jews, Roma, Germans and Lemkos. The walks thus focus on different themes: ice cream specialties, graffiti and street art, or places that are significant to several communities. This makes the theme of each walk the main consideration when choosing your route.

Discover more destinations: Rąbkowa, Białawoda, Tylicz, Krzyżówka, Łącko, Labowa, Wierchomla Mała, Żegiestów.

For the main travel overview: Nowy Sącz.