Tarnów travel guide
Renaissance town hall, a Jewish cemetery and Poland's warmest weather
A well-preserved old town an hour east of Kraków by train, with a Gothic and Renaissance town hall, a 14th-century cathedral and important Jewish heritage. Visit April to June or September to October; one day is enough, two with the war cemeteries nearby. Costs are moderate, and Schengen rules give many passports 90 days.
An hour east of Kraków by train, Tarnów is a compact Lesser Poland town with one of the best-kept old centres in the south: a medieval street plan, 16th-century tenements and stretches of defensive wall. It also has the highest average temperature of any Polish city, which makes it a good bet for a spring or autumn day trip.
The Rynek is built around a Gothic and Renaissance town hall, and the 14th-century cathedral is a few steps away. Walk to Basztowa for the half-bastion, the best surviving piece of the walls. Nearby stands the bimah, the brick platform that is all that remains of the old synagogue. The Jewish cemetery on Szpitalna, founded in the 16th century, keeps about 3,000 tombstones; borrow the magnetic gate card from the information centre at Rynek 7 against a refundable deposit.
Two smaller sights reward a detour. Holy Trinity, a late Gothic wooden church from the 16th century, hides between railway tracks on Tuchowska. The station itself, an elegant building from 1906, deserves a look on arrival. Farther out, war cemeteries from the 1915 Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive dot the surrounding villages, and restaurants line ulica Krakowska for the evening.
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Top things to do in Tarnów
An intact old town, Jewish heritage and First World War cemeteries.
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Best time to visit Tarnów
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 16-24C in spring and 14-20C in autumn, ideal for the Old Town and the cemeteries on foot; September is drier than early summer.
Highs around 26C, the warmest in Poland, and July is the wettest month at about 107 mm, so expect afternoon storms and sightsee in the morning.
Highs of 2-4C and frosty nights, but light rain and quiet streets around the Rynek.
May to July bring 92-107 mm of rain a month, mostly in short downpours; carry an umbrella for the walk out to the Szpitalna cemetery.
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Getting there
Kraków trains and buses to the 1906 station hall
Fly into Kraków's John Paul II airport, take the 20-minute train to Kraków Główny, and continue on hourly trains to Tarnów, a little over an hour on the main line towards Rzeszów; buses take a similar time. Trains from Nowy Sącz take about 1 hour 45 minutes. Tarnów's elegant 1906 station stands south-west of the centre.
- Train from Kraków
- About hourly, just over 1 hour
- Bus from Kraków
- Frequent, a similar time to the train
- Train from Nowy Sącz
- About 1 hour 45 minutes
- Station to Rynek
- About 15 minutes' walk north-east
- Pick up the Jewish cemetery key at Rynek 7 as soon as you arrive, as the information point keeps office hours.
Where to stay
Rooms on Krakowska, by the Rynek or near Dworcowa
Tarnów is small enough that almost any central hotel, on Krakowska, by the Rynek or near Dworcowa and the station, puts the Old Town within a short walk. Choose by noise, budget and how early your morning train leaves.
- Ulica Krakowska
- Hotel Bristol and the town's main restaurant street, a few minutes from the Rynek; livelier in the evening
- Traugutta
- Hotel Cristal Park, a larger hotel a little east of the Old Town, quieter at night
- Dworcowa, by the station
- Hotel Gal, handy for early trains, about 15 minutes' walk from the sights
- Piłsudskiego
- Hotel Kantoria and Camping 202 Pod Jabłoniami share an address, the choice for campervans and drivers
Getting around
Old Town lanes from the Rynek to Basztowa's half-bastion
Walk Tarnów's Old Town, where the Rynek, the cathedral, the bimah and the Basztowa half-bastion are minutes apart, with the Szpitalna cemetery a short walk east. About 30 city bus lines reach the wooden Holy Trinity church and the Chyszów war cemetery; validate tickets on board. A car helps for village war cemeteries.
- On foot
- Rynek, cathedral, walls and bimah all within minutes
- City buses
- Around 30 lines, for Tuchowska, Chyszów and the suburbs
- Car
- Best for the Gorlice-Tarnów war cemeteries in the countryside
Know before you go
What makes Tarnów worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The bimah, a lone brick platform that is all that survives of the old synagogue.
- The Jewish cemetery on Szpitalna, one of southern Poland's oldest, with thousands of tombstones.
- Holy Trinity, a 16th-century wooden church squeezed between railway tracks on Tuchowska.
Good to know
- The Jewish cemetery gate is locked and visits are not allowed on Saturdays or Jewish holidays; borrow the card key at Rynek 7, and men should cover their heads.
- The cathedral tower is not on the regular visitor route, so plan to see the cathedral from the nave and plac Katedralny.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Tarnów, month by month
Tarnów's July and August highs reach about 26°C; January's sit around 2°C. July is the wettest month at about 107 mm, December the driest at about 33 mm.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Tarnów (Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, via Wikipedia).
Tarnów's Rynek, the bimah and the Jewish cemetery key
Take an early train from Kraków to Tarnów and pause in the 1906 station hall before walking to the Old Town. Collect the Jewish cemetery key from the information point at Rynek 7, admire the Renaissance town hall, then see the bimah, all that stands of the old synagogue. After lunch on Krakowska, visit the cemetery on Szpitalna.
Then stand back and look at the town hall in the middle of the square, Gothic at its core with a Renaissance attic. The 14th-century cathedral is a minute away on plac Katedralny, with the Diocesan Museum beside it.
Late morning. Walk east to the bimah, the brick platform left standing when the old synagogue was destroyed in the Second World War. Close by, the former mikveh on plac Więźniów Oświęcimia marks the departure of the first transport of Polish prisoners to Auschwitz in June 1940. Finish the walls at the half-bastion on Basztowa.
Afternoon. After lunch on Krakowska, walk out to the cemetery on Szpitalna, founded in the 16th century, where thousands of tombstones lean among the trees. Return the key, then take a bus or taxi to Holy Trinity, the late Gothic wooden church hemmed in by rail tracks on Tuchowska.
Evening. If you stay over, walk through Strzelecki Park to the mausoleum of General Józef Bem, the Tarnów-born hero of the Hungarian revolution of 1848.
Placki po węgiersku, Lisiecka sausage and set lunches on Krakowska
Ulica Krakowska is where Tarnów eats, with more cafés and pubs around the Rynek. The cooking is Lesser Poland home food, generous and cheap: order placki po węgiersku, potato pancakes with goulash, and Lisiecka sausage. Lunch is the best-value meal, when many restaurants offer a set two-course obiad.
Look for placki po węgiersku, crisp potato pancakes folded around a spicy goulash, a dish that suits a town whose park holds the tomb of a Hungarian national hero. Pierogi ruskie with potato and curd cheese and żurek, sour rye soup with sausage and egg, are on almost every menu. Kiełbasa lisiecka, a coarse, smoked pork sausage from villages west of Kraków with protected EU status, is a good thing to order cold with bread and mustard.
Lunch is the best-value meal: many Polish restaurants offer a set two-course obiad on weekdays, soup followed by a main. For a slower afternoon, take coffee and cake in one of the cafés on the Rynek, and on a hot July day remember that this is the warmest town in Poland and get there before the storms.
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How we research our Tarnów travel guide
Tarnów's rail links and cemetery access are checked against the city's official website and Poland Travel, with Wikipedia for its Jewish and wartime history.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of TarnówPoland TravelAuschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Tarnów.
Getting there
They take much the same time, a little over an hour. Trains run roughly hourly from Kraków Główny; buses are frequent too.
Fly into Kraków's John Paul II airport, take the 20-minute train to Kraków Główny, and continue on hourly trains to Tarnów, a little over an hour on the main line towards Rzeszów; buses take a similar time. Trains from Nowy Sącz take about 1 hour 45 minutes. Tarnów's elegant 1906 station stands south-west of the centre.
General
At the Tarnów information centre at Rynek 7, which lends a magnetic gate card against a refundable deposit. Return it by 18:00 Monday to Thursday, 16:00 on Friday or 17:00 on Sunday; there are no visits on Saturdays.
Nothing else. The brick bimah, the platform from which the Torah was read, is the only part of the building left standing.
Warmer than any of them on average: it has the highest long-term mean annual temperature in Poland, with July highs around 26C.
It sits between railway tracks outside the Old Town, best reached by city bus or taxi. The late Gothic church dates from the 16th century.
Cemetery no. 200 at Chyszów and no. 202 in the town are the closest. Dozens more from the 1915 Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive lie in nearby villages.
A German agent set off a bomb there two days before the invasion of Poland, killing 20 people.
General Józef Bem, born in Tarnów and celebrated in Hungary for his role in the 1848 revolution.
Walk Tarnów's Old Town, where the Rynek, the cathedral, the bimah and the Basztowa half-bastion are minutes apart, with the Szpitalna cemetery a short walk east. About 30 city bus lines reach the wooden Holy Trinity church and the Chyszów war cemetery; validate tickets on board. A car helps for village war cemeteries.
Timing & weather
Not as a regular visit. Ask at the information centre at Rynek 7 whether any tower access is offered during your stay.
May to July, with about 92-107 mm a month, mostly as short storms. September and October are drier.
The best time to visit Tarnów is Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct. Mild, often warmer than elsewhere in Poland, good for walking the Old Town.
- Best overall: April - June, September - October (Highs of 16-24C in spring and 14-20C in autumn, ideal for the Old Town and the cemeteries on foot; September is drier than early summer)
- Summer: July - August (Highs around 26C, the warmest in Poland, and July is the wettest month at about 107 mm, so expect afternoon storms and sightsee in the morning)
- Winter: December - February (Highs of 2-4C and frosty nights, but light rain and quiet streets around the Rynek)
Visa & documents
Poland applies the Schengen area's entry rules. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Crime against visitors to Poland is low. Watch for pickpockets in busy tourist areas and overpriced bars that target tourists.
