Industrial heritage
Silesia and Katowice
The part of Poland that built the country's industry, now rebuilding itself — and the region I know best, because it's where I'm from.
- Length
- 2–3 days
- Best months
- All year
- Getting there
- Katowice airport, or 1.5 hours from Kraków
Silesia gets skipped by nearly every Poland itinerary, which is exactly why it's worth the two days. Katowice spent a century producing coal and steel, and has spent the last twenty years converting the remains into museums, galleries and one of the better concert halls in central Europe.
The heritage sites are real rather than reconstructed — you go down working shafts, through brick settlements people still live in, and past pit head gear left standing between office towers. There are almost no other visitors, so nothing needs booking months out.
It's also the cheapest of my trips, and the easiest to bolt on to Kraków. If you've already done the Old Town and want the version of Poland that isn't on a postcard, this is it.
Day by day
A sample route
Day 1 — Katowice on foot
Start in the Nikiszowiec district: a red brick workers' settlement from 1908 that still functions as a neighbourhood. Afternoon at the Silesian Museum, built inside a former mine, then the Spodek and the concert hall for the concrete-and-glass contrast.
Day 2 — underground
The Guido mine in Zabrze, descending by cage to the 320-metre level, followed by the Queen Louise adit and its underground boat ride. Evening back in Katowice for Silesian rolada and dumplings in a bar that hasn't changed its interior since 1985.
Day 3 — Pszczyna or Kraków
Either the Pszczyna palace and bison reserve for a green half day, or the ninety-minute train east to Kraków if you're extending the trip before flying home.
Questions
Common questions
Is Katowice worth visiting?
- If you have any interest in industrial history, architecture or live music, yes. It is Poland's post-coal city: mine shafts next to a concert hall, and no tourist crowds anywhere.
How do you get to Silesia from Scotland?
- Katowice airport has direct routes from the UK, and Kraków is ninety minutes away by train, so Silesia works either as its own trip or as a two-day extension.
What is there to do with children?
- The Guido coal mine in Zabrze goes 320 metres underground and is genuinely exciting for older kids, and the Silesian Park has a planetarium and a narrow-gauge railway.