Kazimierz Dolny

View over Kazimierz Dolny

The central Rynek square at night

Kazimierz Dolny (Yiddish: קאזמיר Kuzmir) is a town of 2,500 people (2019) in eastern Poland, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula river in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodship.

Get in

Minibuses from cities like Warsaw, Lublin, and Puławy operate daily. Additionally, visitors may take a train to Puławy (approximately 8 km away) and take either a taxi (50 złoty) or a bus/minibus (3-4) to Kazimierz.

Get around

It is easy to walk around the town itself, as it is relatively small and compact. There is a taxi stand operating on the main square (rynek). For a little more excitement, there are 4x4 jeeps offering tours of the surrounding woods, limestone quarry, and ravines during the summer for approximately 50 złoty per person. A short walk from the square to the river leads to a place where one can rent bicycles and scooters for an hour or a day.

See

On the main square is a rather large church. Walking further up the hill leads to the ruins of a castle and guard tower (joint ticket for 5 zł), where one can enjoy a panoramic view of the town and the Wisła. Further up on the hill and to the right are the "Three Crosses," a memorial for when a plague decimated the town's population (2 zł entrance fee).

Walking approximately 2.5 km down the path along the Wisła will bring you to a very large limestone quarry and boats that cross the river to take tourists to Janowiec.

• 1 Parish Church, ul Zamkowa 6. 8AM-6PM. Mid 14th-century Gothic church remodelled in Renaissance styles in the 16th century (updated Sep 2016)
• 2 Natural History Museum, ul Puławska 54. May-Sep: Tu-Su 11:00-17:00; Oct-Apr: Tu-Su 10:00-15:00; closed on public holidays & day following. Housed in a nicely restored 16th-century granary. There is however little information in English. Kids will find the collection enjoyable thanks to the range of stuffed birds, insects and other animals. (updated Sep 2016)
• 3 Jewish cemetery, ul Czerniawy. Over much of the history of the village, Kazimierz Dolny had a large Jewish minority. In the decades leading up to WWII almost half of the population was Jewish. It's located on the road to Opole Lubelskie, about 2km from Rynek. (updated Sep 2016)

Do

The Korzeniowy Dół gorge, east of the village center. The village is known for this kind of gorges.

Sometime during the week and on Sundays there is a morning market in the main square.

During the summer Kazimierz holds many known festivals in Poland including: one of the larger Folk Festivals (June); Klezmr Music Festival (mid-July); and a large, international-flavored film festival in early-to-mid-August.

At and around the main square you can find multiple tourist buses offering tours to the Jewish cemetery, the biggest gorge and more. You will have around 20 minutes of free time at the cemetery and the gorge. For 10 zł to 15 zł (tour of around 1 hour) they are great value since you don't have to walk all the way. The tours will leave when they have around 6 people to join the tour.

1 Hike in the gorges. The networks of gorges around the village of Kazimierz Dolny allows you to relax and take a breath of truly fresh air. There are numorous gorges, with Korzeniowy Dół being the most famous one. The GPS coordinates that are indicated here belong to Korzeniowy Dół, but don't hesitate to include some others in your hike as well! Free. (updated Sep 2016)

Buy

Kazimierz is known as an artists' town, and accordingly there are a number of galleries showcasing and selling local art. Additionally, on market days there are many hand-made baskets and other trinkets that can be bought.

Eat

There are a number of restaurants in Kazimierz, ranging from the low-end to expensive.

Uphill from the Rynek is a 7-15 zł kebab restaurant, while on the Rynek, Pub Mars serves basic spaghettis and pizzas.

Approximately 200 m from the square off of Lubelska Street (heading towards the Wisła) is a traditional Jewish restaurant called 'U Fryzjera' (The Barbershop), which has live Klezmer music every Saturday night.

On Lubelska between the Rynek and the river is Zielona Tawerna (Green Tavern), where the Presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic ate in summer 2007.

Drink

The majority of bars are concentrated in the main square and include Rynkowa, Galeria, U Radka, Rozmaitosci, and Pub Mars. Rynkowa shows Polish national soccer matches on a large pull-down screen, while Mars serves food, and U Radka houses a number of original works of art and always plays Rolling Stone's-style music. Prices are almost exactly the same throughout the city, as a sort of price-fixing agreement appears to be in place. Half liter beers are generally 7 zł, although expect to pay more in restaurants.

There are no night clubs in the town, the closest one being in Król Kazimierz a few kilometers away. Otherwise, one must go about 9 km to Puławy for dancing/nightlife.

Go next

• Lublin — the biggest city and capital of the region, it has a well-preserved old town with typical Polish and unusual Renaissance architecture, the so-called Lublin Renaissance. There are minibuses from Kazimierz Dolny.
• Nałęczów — spa near Kazimierz Dolny.
• Puławy - the closest city and transport hub. Close to the city center is a beautiful palace and equally beautiful surrounding park. The city also lies on the banks of the Vistula river.