For couples

Where to go as a couple in Silesia? Choose an evening at the theatre, a mountain hut in the Beskids or a ridge walk: dozens of places for two across the region.

This selection sorts out ideas for a shared outing: from stages in Katowice, Bytom and Cieszyn, through huts and summits of the Silesian and Żywiec Beskids, to a cave in the Jura and spa parks. It holds more than two hundred entries, so start by deciding what you want today, quiet on a trail or an evening in a comfortable seat. Ideas for single towns are gathered separately, for example for Katowice, Bielsko-Biała and Wisła.

Where can couples go in Silesia?

The easiest way to choose is by time of day and weather. An evening suits a play or a concert, a clear day suits a Beskid ridge, and a lighter outing suits a park or a hut you can reach without a strenuous climb. The region is compact enough that you can find each of these within a short journey from the conurbation.

The sections that follow lead from city stages, through mountain huts and summits, to the Jura and the green corners of towns. If you are planning a weekend, combine two different themes, for instance a morning walk in the hills and an evening performance in Bielsko-Biała. There is no need to rush across the whole voivodeship, because many places lie close together.

Where to spend an evening for two: theatres, opera and concert halls?

If you want a warm, handsome interior for an evening together, pick a stage. The region has over a dozen theatres and concert halls, and many occupy historic buildings, so the evening doubles as a city outing.

Katowice

In Katowice the closest stage to the Market Square is the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre, the region's largest drama theatre, whose early twentieth-century building is listed as a monument. Also in the city centre, on Świętego Jana street, the Rialto Cinema-Theatre greets visitors with a classicist facade and offers arthouse screenings, concerts and plays inside. Lovers of symphonic music head for the Culture Zone, home to the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Its brick facade echoes Nikiszowiec and the auditorium holds around eighteen hundred people.

In the same area, at Sławika and Antalla square in Bogucice, you will find the International Congress Centre with its green roof, raised on the site of a former mine. It is not a theatre, but it makes an interesting stop for a stroll before an evening concert, because the neighbourhood is compact and easy to cross on foot.

Bytom, Chorzów, Zabrze and Sosnowiec

In Bytom the Silesian Opera Building on Moniuszki street has housed the opera since 1945, although the house went up in the early twentieth century for concerts and the town stage. In Chorzów, Teatr Rozrywki stages musical shows in a former hotel and culture house in the city centre. In Zabrze, the House of Music and Dance draws visitors with a modernist building and a hall of good acoustics. In Sosnowiec, Zagłębie Theatre has an amphitheatre-shaped auditorium with paintings by Rudolf Sarbiewski.

Bielsko-Biała, Cieszyn, Rybnik and Częstochowa

In Bielsko-Biała the Polish Theatre comes from the drawing board of Emil von Förster, an architect from Vienna, and statues of Apollo and the muses decorate its front. In Cieszyn the Adam Mickiewicz Theatre stands on Theatre Square, created by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer. In Rybnik the Rybnik Land Theatre on Kazimierz Kutz square has a main hall, a chamber hall and a gallery. In Częstochowa concerts are held at the Bronisław Huberman Częstochowa Philharmonic, a modernist building with two halls.

Which summits and views are best in the Beskids?

For a first outing as a pair, pick Szyndzielnia or Skrzyczne, because both have mapped approaches, huts and easy access. For a calmer trip, Klimczok and Barania Góra will do, and for those who crave space there is Rysianka in the Żywiec Beskids.

Szyndzielnia in Bystra rises to about one thousand and twenty-eight metres and has a lookout tower and an alpinarium. A gondola lift to Szyndzielnia from 1953, the first of its kind in Poland, carries passengers up, so you may ride one way and walk the other. Close by rises Klimczok, one thousand one hundred and seventeen metres high, with the boundary of Bielsko-Biała and Szczyrk running over the top. Skrzyczne tops the whole Silesian range and carries a mast, a hut and ski runs. To see where the Vistula begins, climb Barania Góra, the second highest mountain of that range, crowned by a lookout tower and a nature reserve.

At the Salmopol Pass, also called the White Cross, several trails meet and the road from Szczyrk to Wisła passes, making it a convenient base for a shorter stretch. In the Żywiec Beskids Rysianka exceeds thirteen hundred metres and offers a wide meadow with views, beside which stands a hut.

Which mountain huts are worth a tea or a night?

For a couple, the most comfortable huts lie on popular trails, namely Szyndzielnia, Skrzyczne and Hala Rysianka. If you prefer silence, choose the shepherd-style huts on remote meadows or the privately run hut on Soszów.

Silesian Beskids

The PTTK Mountain Hut on Szyndzielnia, dating from 1897, is open all year and looks out over the Beskids. The hut on Skrzyczne stands just beneath the summit, at twelve hundred and fifty metres. On Błatnia you will find a hut from 1926 with fifty beds. In Wisła you can choose Stożek, the earliest of the surviving Polish huts in that range, close to the Czech border, the privately run hut on Soszów Wielki at a trail junction, and the hut at Przysłop, from which three trails lead to Barania Góra. Szczyrk has Chata Wuja Toma, a hut open every season inside a 1918 highlander cabin just under the Karkoszczonka pass.

Żywiec and Little Beskids

On Hala Rysianka stands a PTTK hut at twelve hundred and ninety metres, and about fifteen minutes on foot from there is the hut on Hala Lipowska. The hut on Hala Boracza in Żabnica sits on a saddle with a view of Romanka. On Pilsko, above Korbielów, the hut on Hala Miziowa lies on the Main Beskid Trail. A quieter mood belongs to the PTTK Bacówka on Krawcowy Wierch in the Żywiec Landscape Park and the Bacówka on Rycerzowa from 1975, regarded as the first of these shepherd-style huts. In the Little Beskids waits the hut on Magurka Wilkowicka from 1913. In Bielsko-Biała, near Szyndzielnia, stands Stefanka on Kozia Góra: formally it is now a tourist facility, but it still serves meals and beds.

What can couples see in the Jura?

In the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, it is easiest to combine a climbers' crag with a short walk into a cave. Near Podlesice rises Zborów Hill, a limestone height and nature reserve popular with climbers. Beneath it lies Głęboka Cave, the only cave on the northern Jura open to visitors, one hundred and ninety metres long. For a longer journey, follow the Trail of the Eagles' Nests, a red hiking trail over one hundred and sixty kilometres in length that passes medieval castles of the Jura.

Where is a calm walk in town?

If you prefer a short stroll to a mountain trip, choose a park or a place with an interesting past. In Jastrzębie-Zdrój the Spa Park is the largest park in town, laid out in the nineteenth century in the centre of the former spa and listed as a monument. By the river Biała in Bielsko-Biała you will find the Reksio Monument, a bronze fountain unveiled in 2009 and a pleasant stop on a walk. Where Mysłowice meets Sosnowiec you will find the Triangle of the Three Emperors, the old point at which Prussia, Austria and Russia met, in the fork of two Przemsza streams.

How to plan a mountain day for two?

The simplest plan rests on one summit and one hut along the way. Choose a ridge where the places lie close together and leave time for a rest at a table. A day arranged like that is easy to shorten when the weather turns.

Around Bielsko-Biała, a convenient chain is Szyndzielnia, Klimczok and Stefanka on Kozia Góra: the summits neighbour each other and the huts stand on the route. Whoever stays in Szczyrk has Skrzyczne, Chata Wuja Toma and the Karkoszczonka pass close at hand, where several trails come down. In Wisła the base is Przysłop below Barania Góra, and the Salmopol Pass lets you change direction, because it is a trail junction between Szczyrk and Wisła. In the Żywiec Beskids plan one longer day on Rysianka: there is a meadow with views, and two more huts stand nearby, so the trip easily becomes a weekend with an overnight stay.

Remember that some places are privately run or formally tourist facilities rather than PTTK huts. This concerns Soszów Wielki and Stefanka, so check before you leave whether you can count on a hot meal or a bed. If in doubt, start with the hut on Szyndzielnia, which is open all year.

What to choose in each town?

Once you have a town in mind, check its own selection.

• Conurbation: the Katowice selection is the largest, and beside it look at Gliwice and Bytom.
• Beskids: Bielsko-Biała and Wisła are natural bases for trips onto the trails.
• Racibórz, Częstochowa and Tarnowskie Góry: places for couples are gathered in Racibórz, in Częstochowa and in Tarnowskie Góry.

Frequently asked questions

Where can two people go in Silesia on a rainy evening?

To a theatre, an opera or a concert. The largest stages stand in Katowice, Bytom, Chorzów, Zabrze, Sosnowiec, Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn. You can check the repertoire in the events calendar on this portal.

Which Beskid hut is best for a short outing?

Szyndzielnia is the easiest choice, because the gondola lift shortens the climb and the hut is open all year. Skrzyczne is similarly convenient, with a hut just under the summit.

Is there a cave in the region that visitors can enter?

Yes, Głęboka Cave in the Zborów Hill reserve on the Jura. It is one hundred and ninety metres long and is the sole cave on the northern Jura that visitors can enter.

Where is a romantic walk in town?

In parks, such as the Spa Park in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, or by the fountain with the Reksio monument in Bielsko-Biała. In Katowice, the area around the orchestra hall and the congress centre makes a good addition to an evening.

Can couples plan a longer trail?

Yes. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests in the Jura is over one hundred and sixty kilometres long, and in the Beskids huts beside the trails let you plan a night on the way.