For couples: Katowice

Things for couples to do in Katowice: theatres, the Culture Zone, squares and trails. Over forty places for an evening or a day out together.

The list mixes plans under a roof and in the open air: a theatre stage and a concert hall, modern architecture, mining estates and forest paths. It helps you choose where to go together depending on the weather and the time you have. Wider choices for the whole region wait in Dla par, and for a general overview of the city see the attractions in Katowice.

Where should you go first in Katowice as a couple?

For a first outing choose the city centre and the Culture Zone. Most places on the list lie in Śródmieście: the Market Square, theatres, a pedestrian street and squares. You can start the evening with a stroll and finish with a play or a concert.

If you have more time, add one place outside the strict centre: the Giszowiec estate, the Murcki Valley or the forest in Podlesie. A dozen or so of the places are squares and green spots, several are walking trails, and the rest are stages, galleries and buildings worth a look.

Where can you spend an evening at the theatre, cinema or a concert?

Theatres and concert halls in Śródmieście and the Culture Zone offer the most for an evening. Choose a stage to match your mood: a large historic building, an intimate theatre or an arthouse cinema.

The Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre occupies a neoclassical building from 1907 at Rynek 10. No other drama theatre in Upper Silesia is bigger: it runs three stages, and the Silesian dialect appears in the repertoire. The building is on the heritage register, so come early and admire it from outside.

The Rialto Cinema-Theatre at ulica Świętego Jana 24 has operated since 1913. A classicist facade fronts what is now the Silesia Film arthouse cinema, and the hall also hosts concerts, plays and meetings. On the same street, at number 10, stands the Ateneum Theatre, the Silesian Puppet and Actor Theatre. Its repertoire is mainly for children, so it is more of a curiosity than a first choice for a date.

For a more intimate evening try the Teatr Bez Sceny, founded in 1997 at ulica 3 Maja 11 and nominated several times for the Golden Masks. The independent Teatr Żelazny works in Załęże, at Gliwicka 148a, in a temporary hall for 139 seats. An unusual combination is Old Timers Garage in Piotrowice: a theatre and music club housed in the one-time Piast cinema, with classic cars on show next to the stage.

For concerts on a large scale there is the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra at plac Wojciecha Kilara 1. It opened in 2014; the brick elevation recalls Nikiszowiec, and the main auditorium seats about 1,800. Check the calendar and choose a programme that suits you both.

How do you see modern Katowice on a walk?

You can see modern Katowice most easily in the Culture Zone in Koszutka and Bogucice, on the former grounds of the Katowice coal mine. You can walk the whole area at a leisurely pace, and most buildings are viewed from outside.

The International Congress Centre (MCK) stands at plac Sławika i Antalla 1. It was opened in March 2015. Greenery covers the roof, and the biggest hall takes 8,000 people. Most visitors look at the building from outside, while large events happen within. Nearby, at aleja Roździeńskiego 1, rise the towers of the .KTW Office Buildings. The interiors are closed to visitors, but the public square by the complex is a good place for a short rest.

For visual art step into Rondo Sztuki, a gallery run by the Academy of Fine Arts. It occupies the top floor of a 2007 building shaped like a half dome and puts on exhibitions of prints, photography and design. Music and visual festivals are run by Katowice City of Gardens at plac Sejmu Śląskiego 2.

Fans of modernism should see the Superjednostka on aleja Korfantego: a huge residential block put up between 1966 and 1970. It is 187.5 metres in length and holds 764 flats. It was originally called a Consolidated Housing Unit. It impresses from outside with its scale. A similar modernist feel belongs to the University of Silesia Campus in Śródmieście, with buildings from the 1960s and 70s, a newer library and the Film School.

Which squares, pedestrian streets and fountains in the centre suit a stroll?

One route is enough for a walk through the centre: from the Market Square along the pedestrian street to St Mary's Church, with stops at squares and by a fountain. All these places lie in Śródmieście.

The Market Square in Katowice is the main square of the city, crossed by tram lines, with the theatre on one side and a bugle call played at noon. Mariacka Street has been pedestrianised since 2008, and the tenement houses along it were built around 1900. It leads to St Mary's Church, which gave it its name. At ulica Stawowa 13, by the crossing with ulica 3 Maja, water flows from the brass Frog Fountain from 1980, a work by Joanna Ambroziak-Hanasiewicz.

West of the Market Square lies Freedom Square: hexagonal, taken from the city plan of 1856 and surrounded by listed tenement houses and the Goldstein Palace. Further on, south of the railway tracks, are the green Karol Miarka Square where a monument to Moniuszko (1930) and the Karlik fountain stand, and Bolesław Chrobry Square, where the Silesian Museum stood before the war. Now the square holds a monument to Józef Piłsudski and the Silesian Eagles obelisk.

By the station lies Maria and Lech Kaczyński Square next to the Galeria Katowicka, beside an older neo-baroque tenement. It is more of a transfer point than a place to sit. Calmer is Silesian Sejm Square with the Korfanty monument, laid out in the 1920s by the Silesian Sejm building.

What is there to see in Giszowiec, Murcki, Załęże and other districts?

Outside the centre a few districts with a clear character are worth a visit: Giszowiec with its mining estate, Murcki with a river valley, and Wełnowiec-Józefowiec with a forest and a former workers' colony. Each makes a separate half-day trip.

Giszowiec is a mining estate from 1907-1910, built to the garden-city concept. Roughly one third of the old housing is still standing, but the green layout with a square in the centre is still readable. The heart of the estate is Pod Lipami Square, rebuilt in 2014-2015. The Berlin architects Georg and Emil Zillmann drew up the plans for the miners of the Giesche colliery.

In Murcki start with the Murcki Valley: a leisure area in the valley of the Przyrwa, where you find a pond, a water garden and footpaths. In 1865 an enclosure was set up here for four bison brought from Białowieża. Nearby lies Jan Kasprowicz Square, the former market of Murcki, lined with modernist houses and a statue of St Barbara.

In Wełnowiec-Józefowiec you find Alfred's Wood, a city forest of 15.88 hectares, and Plac Alfreda by the "Alfred" shaft complex, in a 19th-century workers' colony that is still inhabited. In Załęże stands Plac ks. Józefa Londzina, known locally as Gruszka, a former palace park with an outdoor gym and a playground. Szopienice has Silesian Insurgents' Square with the St Hedwig church complex and an obelisk, and the Witosa estate has St Herbert Square where a fountain, a church and a children's playground stand.

A quiet corner in Brynów is the Lapidarium in Kościuszko Park: boundary stones, a plaque and old gravestones displayed in the open and looked after by the Museum of Katowice History. In Panewniki, at ulica Panewnicka 63, stands the Provincial House of the Sisters Servants, a convent complex dating from the 1930s, with chapels, a room devoted to Blessed Edmund Bojanowski and a missions museum. It is a working convent, so visit it with respect.

Which walking trail should you choose for a walk together?

For a short stroll the best choice is a trail of a few kilometres, and for a full day one of the longer PTTK trails. All the routes here are walking trails with markings, and for walkers they differ mainly in length.

• Wesoła Fala Trail: green, about 2.7 km, from the Murcki Valley to the Wesoła Fala centre in Mysłowice.
• Park Trail: black, about 4.2 km, linking Kościuszko Park with the Katowice Forest Park.
• Murcki Valley Trail: black, 6.8 km long, starting at the Bolina leisure centre and ending in the Murcki Valley.
• Ochojec Trail: black, about 17-18 km, from Ochojec in Katowice to Lędziny.
• Katowice Walking Trail: blue, about 24 km, from Chorzów through Katowice to the forests in the south of the city.
• Żwaków Trail: black, 35.5 km, from Katowice Piotrowice station to Tychy-Paprocany.
• 25th Anniversary of the PTTK Trail: a green loop of about 115 km, from the Silesian Park in Chorzów through the towns of the conurbation and back.

The first two trails are enough for an afternoon, the others are full-day expeditions. If you like unusual places, add the Gypsy Bridge in the Gniotek forest in Podlesie to your plan: a railway viaduct of reinforced concrete dating from about 1918 and roughly 10 metres tall. No train ever crossed it.

Where to go together when it rains, and where in good weather?

For a rainy day choose the theatres, the cinema and the concert halls: the Silesian Theatre, Rialto, Teatr Bez Sceny, Teatr Żelazny, Old Timers Garage and the seat of the NOSPR. All of them give you a roof for a few hours. The gallery in Rondo Sztuki and the university campus also work when the weather is poor.

In fine weather head for the squares, the pedestrian street and the forest. The trails, the Murcki Valley, Alfred's Wood and the Gypsy Bridge are best seen on a dry day. The Culture Zone and the Superjednostka look good at any time, because you view them from outside.

Frequently asked questions

Where should you go on a first date in Katowice?

The easiest choice is Śródmieście: a walk from the Market Square along Mariacka Street, and in the evening a play at the Silesian Theatre or a film at Rialto. Both lie in Śródmieście.

What can two people do in Katowice in the rain?

Go to a theatre, an arthouse cinema or a concert. The list includes the Silesian Theatre, the Rialto Cinema-Theatre, Teatr Bez Sceny and the seat of the NOSPR. You can also see exhibitions at Rondo Sztuki.

Where can you go for an outdoor walk in Katowice?

For a short stroll choose the Murcki Valley with its pond and water garden, or the Park Trail between two parks. For longer walks the Katowice Walking Trail and the Ochojec Trail work well.

Is there anything unusual for couples in Katowice?

Yes: the Gypsy Bridge in the Gniotek forest, Old Timers Garage with vintage cars in a former cinema, and Giszowiec, a mining estate designed like a garden city. These places are hard to mistake for any others.

Which places lie outside the city centre?

Outside Śródmieście lie Giszowiec, Murcki, Podlesie, Piotrowice, Panewniki and Załęże, among others. Plan the journey in advance, because these are separate trips outside the centre.

Do you have to go inside every place on the list?

No. The .KTW Office Buildings, the Superjednostka, the squares and the trails are viewed from outside, while you enter theatres, galleries and the cinema for an event or an exhibition.