Old town
First-timersThe hilltop old town and Market Square.
Lublin city guide
Things To Do In Lublin
The largest city in eastern Poland: a hilltop old town, a castle chapel painted by Byzantine artists, the memory of a great Jewish community, and Majdanek on its edge.
2
Hostels in the city
7.9
Average, from 50 reviews
1569
The Union of Lublin
1418
The chapel frescoes
4 km
To Majdanek
Where east meets west
Lublin sits in eastern Poland, and it has always stood between Catholic and Orthodox, Polish and Ruthenian, Christian and Jewish. The Union of Lublin, signed here in 1569, joined Poland and Lithuania into one of the largest states in Europe.
For centuries it was one of the great centres of Jewish learning. Almost all of its Jewish population was murdered in the Holocaust, and the Nazi concentration camp of Majdanek, on the edge of the city, is one of the best preserved in Europe.
Today Lublin is a big university city with a lively, affordable old town and very few foreign visitors. Two days is right, with Zamość and Kazimierz Dolny as day trips.
Where to stay
The old town is compact and hilly. Stay in or near it.
Krakowskie Przedmieście
Being centralThe main street west of the Kraków Gate.
Castle
HistoryThe castle and the site of the Jewish town below it.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 2 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Lublin
Enter the old town through the Kraków Gate and walk its lanes of painted houses to the Market Square and the Crown Tribunal. The Lublin Underground Route runs through cellars beneath the old town.
Lublin Castle, below the old town, holds the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, painted in 1418 with Russo-Byzantine frescoes commissioned by a Catholic king, a rare meeting of eastern and western art.
The Grodzka Gate, known as the Jewish Gate, houses the Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre centre, which keeps the memory of the Jewish town that once lay below the castle.
Majdanek, about four kilometres from the centre, was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp, and much of it still stands. Entry to the grounds is free. Allow several hours.
Free things
Free things to do in Lublin
The old town and its squares are free.
Entry to the grounds of the Majdanek State Museum is free.
The views from the castle hill are free.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Lublin
Lublin's speciality is the cebularz, a flatbread topped with onion and poppy seed, protected by EU law. Pierogi and milk bars are cheap.
A meal is €7 to €14.
Nightlife
Going out in Lublin
Lublin has a lively student nightlife in the old town, with bars in cellars and courtyards.
A beer is €2.50 to €3.50.
Getting around
Getting around Lublin
The old town is walkable. Trolleybuses and buses cover the rest, and a bus runs to Majdanek.
Lublin Airport is east of the city, with a train to the centre.
Trains reach Warsaw in about two hours. Buses run to Zamość and Kazimierz Dolny.
Costs
What Lublin costs
Lublin is cheap. A careful day is €30 to €40.
The currency is the złoty, not the euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; use a bank ATM and decline the machine's currency conversion.
Safety
Staying safe in Lublin
Lublin is safe, with low crime.
Lublin is close to the borders with Ukraine and Belarus. Restrictions near the eastern border change; check current advice if you plan to travel further east.
Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Lublin
A Renaissance ideal town and a Vistula artists' village.
Zamość
A Renaissance ideal town, planned in the sixteenth century, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kazimierz Dolny
A small town on the Vistula, popular with artists.
What's on
What is on while you are there
The Carnival of Street Performers turns the old town into a stage.
25 October
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook Show celebrates the iconic career of the legendary folk-rock duo through music and a storyline based on the biography…
Hostels
Where to stay in Lublin
The top-rated places to stay in Lublin right now, live from Hostelworld.
When to go
May to September is best. The festival of street performers fills the old town in July.
Jan
Cold
Feb
Quiet
Mar
Thawing
Apr
Spring
May
Good
Jun
Night of Culture
Jul
Street performers
Aug
Jagiellonian Fair
Sep
Good
Oct
Autumn
Nov
Grey
Dec
Christmas
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. The east is colder in winter than the west of Poland.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Prices are in złoty locally; these are euro equivalents.
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- Beds—
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- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Lublin travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Lublin worth visiting?
Yes, for the old town, the castle chapel, its Jewish history, Majdanek and the day trips to Zamość and Kazimierz Dolny.
How do I visit Majdanek?
It is about four kilometres from the centre, by bus. Entry to the grounds is free. Allow several hours.
What is special about the castle chapel?
Its walls are covered in Russo-Byzantine frescoes painted in 1418 for a Catholic king.
How far is Warsaw?
About two hours by train.
How many days do you need?
Two.
Is Lublin near the border?
It is close to Ukraine and Belarus. Check current advice if travelling further east.
When is the best time to visit?
May to September.
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