Przemyśl

Przemyśl (German: Proemsel; Ukrainian: Перемишль, Peremyshľ) is a town in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathia region. The town has a picturesque location at the foot of the hill surrounding the town, only a few kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.

Old town of Przemyśl

Understand

Przemyśl owes its long and rich history to the advantages of its geographic location. The city lies in the Przemyśl Gate, an area connecting mountains and lowlands, with easy communication and fertile soil. It also lies on the navigable San river. Important trade routes passed through Przemyśl and ensured the city's importance.

Przemyśl is the second oldest town in southern Poland, after Kraków. It appears to have been founded as early as the 8th century.

• 1 Tourist information, ul. Grodzka 1, ☏ +48 16 675 21 63, cit@um.przemysl.pl. High season (15 Apr - 15 Oct): M-F 09:00 - 17:00, Sa Su 10:00 - 18:00; low season (16 Oct - 14 Apr): M-F 09:00 - 17:00, Sa 09:00 - 14:00, Su closed. Souvenir shop included. Free brochures and maps available as well as free WiFi and a computer to use. (updated May 2017)

Get in

By train

Trains run every hour or two daytime from Kraków, taking just under 3 hr via Tarnow, Rzeszów and Łańcut, for a fare of 50 zł. There's one direct train from Warsaw but you can connect via Kraków every couple of hours, total time 6 hr; similarly from Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław and Katowice. There is a daily direct train from Berlin (10 hr via Wrocław and Katowice), Prague (10 hr via Ostrava and Katowice), and Graz via Vienna.

An overnight train from Szczecin takes 14 hr 30 min via Poznań.

Trains run twice a day from Kyiv and daily from Odesa via Lviv to Przemyśl; this last leg takes 2 hr.

• 1 Przemyśl railway station (Przemyśl Główny), plac Legionów 1. This is the border station with Ukraine, so you have to go through passport control and customs to access the eastbound platforms, which are wide-gauge, 1520 mm. Coming in from the east, there may be a long line for customs, as smugglers often try to get tobacco into the EU this way. (updated Dec 2021)

Get around

The city centre is small and manageable by foot.

See

Przemyśl Castle

• 1 Castle. Built by Casimir III the Great in the 14th century.  
• Reformed Franciscan monastery. (updated May 2017)
• Rynek square. (updated May 2017)
• 2 Franciscan Church, Franciszkańska 2A. Built in baroque style (updated May 2017)
• 3 Uniate Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Corner of Asnyka and Katedralna streets). Former Jesuit church, now a Uniate cathedral with a nice iconostasis  
• 4 Carmelite Church of St. Theresa. 17th century late-Renaissance church  
• 5 Cathedral, Katedralna 1. (updated May 2017)
• 6 New Synagogue, Słowackiego 15. (updated May 2017)
• 7 Military Cemetery. Victims of the biggest World War I battles are buried here. (updated May 2017)
• 8 Kopiec Tatarski, ul. Przemysława. Located on a hill this place provides one of the best views over Przemyśl. According to the legend the small artificial hill on top of the hill was made by the Tatars as a grave of their leader that got killed in a fight. Free. (updated May 2017)
• 9 Jewish Cemetery, ul. Słowackiego. (updated May 2017)

Museums

• 10 The National Museum Branch in Przemyśl (Muzeum Narodowe Ziemi Przemyskiej), pl. Berka Joselewicza 1, ☏ +48 16 679 30 00. 10 zł, reduced 5 zł, Thursday free. 
• 11 The Museum of Bells and Pipes (Clock Tower), ul. Władycze 3, ☏ +48 16 678 96 66. Tu-Sa 09:00-16:00, Su 11:00-15:00. 10 zł, reduced 5 zł, Tuesday free. 
• 12 Museum of the History of Przemyśl (Muzeum Historii Miasta Przemyśla), Rynek 9, ☏ +48 16 678 65 01, rynek@mnzp.pl. 10 zł, reduced 5 zł, Wednesday free. (updated Mar 2018)
• 13 Archdiocesan Museum (Muzeum Archidiecezjalne im. św. Józefa Sebastiana Pelczara Biskupa), plac Katedralny 2, ☏ +48 16 678 27 92. (updated Jan 2017)
• Archeological Museum. (updated May 2017)

Further afield

• 14 Castle and park in Krasiczyn, Krasiczyn 179 (10km west of Przemyśl city centre, using road 28), ☏ +48 16 671 83 21. One of the present day cultural highlights of the region. It is often classified as one of the greatest Renaissance edifices in Poland and as one of the most beautiful castles in Europe. This castle was built by the Krasicki family in the 16th and 17th century. Nowadays it also houses a hotel and restaurant. 14 zł (10 zł reduced) for a guided tour. Tours start every hour. There is an extra ticket of 4zł (2zł reduced) for the torture room and clock tower each.  
• 15 Wooden Greek Catholic church, Kruhel Wielki, in the centre of the village (3.5 km southwest of the city centre). This wooden Greek catholic church was built in 1630 and got renovated a few years ago. It is one of the oldest examples of this type in the country. (updated May 2017)
• 16 Kalwaria Pacławska (25 km south of Przemyśl). The sanctuary in Kalwaria Pacławska has received many thousands of pilgrims since it houses the image of Mother of God from Kamianets-Podilskyi. The place has earned fame as the Jasna Góra (holy place in Częstochowa) of the Podkarpackie region. The village and surrounding fields and forests are dotted with beautiful Baroque churches and chapels. (updated Oct 2023)

Do

Saint Teresa Carmelite Church

• Walking and cycling. The tourism board has worked out several walking and cycling routes in the city and the near surroundings. (updated May 2017)

Cinemas

• 1 Kino Helias, Wojciecha Budzewskiego 1, ☏ +48 519 143 972. Located in a mall north of the center. (updated May 2017)
• 2 Centrum Cinema, ul. S. Konarskiego 9, ☏ +48 16 678 20 09, kino@ck.przemysl.pl. (updated May 2017)

Buy

• 1 Galeria Sanowa, ul. Wojciecha Brudzewskiego 1, ☏ +48 16 733 1210, biuro@galeriasanowa.pl. A shopping centre. (updated Jan 2020)
• 2 Księgarnia Bosz Przemyśl, Kościuszki 7, ☏ +48 16 676 92 20. A book shop with a nice choice of souvenirs. (updated Jan 2020)
• Przemysl InPost parcel lockers can be used for collection of orders from polish online shops. All you need to collect parcel from locker is valid polish mobile number and email address.

Eat

• 1 Pub Restauracja Melduję Posłusznie, ul. Dworskiego 11, ☏ +48 16 675 14 33. 'The Good Soldier Švejk' atmosphere recreated. (updated Jan 2017)

Sleep

Budget

• PTTK Przemyśl 'Podzamcze', ul. Waygarta 3, ☏ +48 16 678 53 74. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 10:00. Dorms and privates. 
• 1 Schronisko Młodzieżowe PTSM Matecznik, ul. Lelewela 6, ☏ +48 16 670 61 45, recepcja@ptsm-matecznik.pl. Check-in: 17:00, check-out: 10:00. Very cheap place to stay, dorms and privates, member of Hostelling International so discounts with IYHF cards apply. 28 - 60 zł. 

Mid-range

There are several hotels in Przemyśl, city council website has a list of them with prices.

• 2 Hotel Gloria-Basen Spa, Sybiraków 31, ☏ +48 16 678 22 82. A spa hotel about a kilometre outside the city centre. (updated Jan 2017)