I want to ride my bicycle – Cracow and Lesser Poland by bike

Over the last couple of years the city has been trying to discourage cars from driving in the city center. At the same time, the authorities have created more facilities for cyclists and other alternative options for those using public transport. The new commuter rail is under construction, new city railway stations and new lines of fast tram are being built. With every year there are also more buses, including electric ones, and the frequency of public transportation is increasing. At the same time there are more and more cycle paths and currently Cracow – for many years lagging behind other Polish cities in a “pro-cyclist race” – is on the third place in Poland when it comes to the length of bicycle routes. There is also an idea to build a regional cycling path network covering Lesser Poland region to allow locals and tourists to go sightseeing by bike.

For instance: you can get to Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim by bus – with an organized group and the guide or on your own. If you choose the second option (and you don’t have your own car), the buses leave the Lesser Poland Bus Station (marked as: MDA – Małopolski Dworzec Autobusowy in Polish) every 10 or 15 minutes. The bus ticket costs from 12 to 15 PLN and the trip takes about 90 minutes. There is also another alternative: you can pay around 9 PLN and go there by train (the journey takes approx. 75-90minutes).

However, another very interesting alternative to all the above is to go to Auschwitz by bike. There is a modern cycle path called The Vistula Bicycle Route (Wiślana Trasa Rowerowa) that leads from Cracow to Oświęcim. If you choose this mean of transport you will be able to admire great landscapes otherwise unavailable to those travelling by bus or by train. Such bicycle ride may take approximately 3,5-4,5 hours (depending of course on the number of stops and your physical condition).

Another important and very popular bike route is the one that leads from the Wawel Castle to 11-th century Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec. Once a village, currently Tyniec administratively belongs to the municipality of Cracow. You can get there not only by bike although it is the most common way, but you can also jump on a bus, take a car or even a water tram on the Vistula river. If you choose a bike – there are organized trips with a guide, during which you may learn many curiosities about history of this extraordinary place, a place that was very important for the medieval Poland and for its monarchy.

It’s obviously not the end of the good news about wonderful cycle paths in the area. Another route, that we can strongly recommend, is the path that leads from the Main Market Square to Nowa Huta – a district built once as a separate city, which now is a part of the Cracow. It was planned as a colossal center of heavy steel industry and populated primarily by industrial workers Nowa Huta is a pearl of an industrial architecture.

Besides the city of Ostrava, in Czech Republic, it is an obligatory place to see for anyone who is interested in socialist realistic style of 50’s and 60’s. This is the place where the communist government of Poland was trying, in line with the soviet plan, to materialize the dream of a garden city (which was, as a matter of fact, a concept created in the USA in the 20’s). The final result, even after so many years, remains impressive.

Nowa Huta is a kind of „town inside the city” – it has its own identity and stormy history. It is worth visiting a place like this with a guide who can tell you even more unique stories. We recommend you the best (and having stylish vehicles!) storytellers in the District of Nowa Huta – Crazy Guides.

And if you still have time and will, you can easily get away from the city to Puszcza Niepołomnicka (Niepolomice primeval forest). This old and, still, quite big forest, was once upon a time very popular destination for Polish kings to go for hunting. Nowadays, with several walking and cycle paths it is one of the favorite leisure areas for Cracovians. And, what is important, you can also get there from Nowa Huta using a bike path.

If you are looking for reliable bike rental and tour agency in Cracow and nearby area, we recommend you to visit this site: Cruising Cracow, owned by our Polish-Canadian friend.