Known since the 12th century, Lublin has a rich history and culture. The city is as beautiful and distinctive as Krakow still despite its charm, it remains an undiscovered destination for tourists.

Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland, set on the northern outskirts of the highly picturesque Lublin Upland, in the eastern part of the country, approximately 170 km (106 mi) southeast of Warsaw and 100 km (62 mi) west of Ukraine. It is called "Goat's city" because of the white goat depicted on the coat of arms. 

The Historic Center of Lublin looks attractive. Its market square, a semi-regular grid of streets, parts of the Gothic city walls, and impressive 16th-19th-century burgher houses are well-preserved.

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How to Get to Lublin

Lublin International Airport (IATA: LUZ, ICAO: EPLB ) is located about 10 kilometers east of the central part of Lublin, near the town of Svidnik. As of August 2020, it serves the flights of the following airlines: LOT, Ryanair, Wizzair, EL AL, and Eurowings. An electrified train line connects Lublin Central Train Station with the airport in a 15 min journey time. There are two bus routes as well. 

The train connection with Lublin is excellent. You can reach it by train not only from Warsaw (travel time is 2.3 hours) and other Polish cities, but also from neighboring countries: Czechia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. 

You can get to the city by direct bus route from Warsaw in 3.5 hours. From Eastern European countries, there are also bus routes to Lublin.

Line 151 trolleybus on Lipowa Street

Lublin's public transportation consists of trolleybuses and buses, 30% of which are electric and environmentally friendly. Most of the vehicles have surveillance cameras installed inside for the passengers' safety. On summer Sundays, you can ride several excursion trolleybuses. Marked by different colors, the routes start from the Krakow Gate (Brama Krakowska) and can take from 2 to 4 hours, depending on the excursion subject. 

Top 10 Lublin Attractions

1. Lublin Castle

Southwestern view of Lublin Castle

Lublin Castle, built for Polish Duke Casimir II in the 12th century, is partly one of the oldest surviving residential castles in the country, after a period of 4 centuries, remodeled into a grand royal residence by Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sadly, during the 17th-century wars, the castle was damaged and rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style in the 19th century; only the oldest parts – residential tower and chapel – remained intact. Served as a prison for 128 years, Lublin Castle now is part of the Lublin Museum.

Folk costumes displayed at the Lublin Castle

The museum itself is evocative and intriguing: a lot of history is explained inside with very well kept artifacts. The climb to the top of the tower gives you a great view of Lublin and the countryside. 

2. Holy Trinity Chapel

Byzantine-Ruthenian murals

The Gothic Chapel of the Holy Trinity, located within the courtyard of Lublin Castle, is considered one of the most important medieval buildings in Poland's history. In the chapel, you can see impressive Byzantine-Ruthenian murals, the best-preserved in Poland. They were painted in the 15th century and rediscovered only at the very end of the 19th century. 

3. Lublin Underground Trail

Model of medieval Lublin

The Lublin Underground Trail is a tourist route of approximately 280 m (920 ft), running beneath the Old Town and introducing visitors to nearly 1,000 years of the city's history. The tunnels themselves are clean and safe; they are not original and were built only for touristic purposes. The duration of the tour is about 45 minutes. Note: there are plenty of steps up and down to navigate, so it is not suitable for people with physical disabilities. 

4. Lublin Cathedral

Interior of Lublin Cathedral

Lublin Cathedral is one of the first Baroque churches in Poland. It was built at the beginning of the 17th century to design by the Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. In the interior, the illusionistic murals by the Czech painter Josef Mayer are outstanding. They date back to around 1757 and depict Biblical scenes.

The cathedral crypts

Apart from the rich Baroque interior, the cathedral highlight is its 18th-century sacristy, the crypts, and polychromies in the treasury. Persons interested in art, religion, architecture, and history would enjoy visiting it. 

5. Dominican Abbey

Interior of the basilica

The Dominican monastery with the Basilica of St. Stanislaus is a monument inscribed on the European Heritage List. The religious complex on the site was built in the Late Middle Age and gradually restored in the 17–18th centuries; it has features of the late Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Pictures gallery in the Dominican monastery

The basilica interior is marvelous. The Dominicans also allow you to visit the monastery, where you can see a permanent exhibition presenting a collection of antique liturgical vestments and jewelry and a gallery of paintings. 

6. Trinity Tower

Trinity Tower at night

The Old Town of Lublin has a couple of attractive towers, one of them is Trinity Tower. The imposing 60-meter (196 ft) structure was built to a design by the Italian architect of Antonio Corazzi in 1819. It has an observation deck on top of it, which attracts many tourists – the panoramic view is fantastic. Going up, you can also see a collection of sculptures of Christ and some angels. 

7. Jewish Restaurant Mandragora

Interior of Mandragora restaurant

Built-in the vaulted ground floor of an old building, in Lublin's main square, Mandragora is a charming restaurant offering traditional Jewish food, which is very tasty. The interior design is rich in the cultural tradition of the pre-war Jewish Lublin. You can feel like you went back in time. I strongly recommend visiting this restaurant when in Lublin. 

8. Lublin Plaza

Inside the Lublin Plaza shopping mall

Lublin Plaza is a 3-story shopping and entertainment mall located in the center of the city. A good selection of stores and eating places, spacious. If you like shopping or just looking around to see what they can offer you, this is a place you can easily spend some hours. The mall welcomes 5 million visitors annually. 

9. Lublin History Museum

Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, with Krakow Gate (left) and Trinity Tower (right) in the background

The Krakow Gate – a 14th-century octagonal tower and city's architectural symbol – now houses Lublin History Museum. The collections of the museum illustrate the 16-20th-century history of Lublin. They include archives, archaeological artifacts, also historical and art monuments. The tower offers a beautiful panorama of the city. 

10. Necropolis

Grave sculptures in Lublin Necropolis

The Necropolis at Lipowa Street is the oldest and best-known complex of cemeteries in eastern Poland. The site has a multinational and multi-faith character as it includes a Roman Catholic cemetery, Evangelical-Augsburg cemetery, Orthodox cemetery, and military-municipal cemetery. Created at the beginning of the 18th century, it today looks like an open-air museum, where you can see many tombstones that are valuable works of sculptural art. 

Lublin Map

How to use this map

Click the orange icons on the map to get more information about the places I mention in this post. If you would like to save this map in your own Google Maps for later use, click the star next to the title.

Lublin is cozy, quiet, and inexpensive. I have enjoyed staying in this city for several days. Beautiful Old Town, the variety of architecture, numerous green spaces, delicious food, stylish restaurants, and lots of lovely spots – Lublin has it all! I honestly believe this is one of the best places to visit in Poland.

I hope you enjoyed my Explore Poland: Lublin Travel Guide post. If you like European cities with a unique atmosphere and historical heritage, here are a few more posts that I recommend you read next:

• Explore Croatia: Zagreb Travel Guide
• Explore Slovenia: Lubljana Travel Guide
• Top 10 Attractions in Madrid

What to Buy in Lublin

Honey. Even if this natural bee product is a popular delicacy in your country, it will still be an enjoyable Polish souvenir. The most popular types of this sweet substance in Poland are linden and buckwheat, which you can buy in almost any store in Lublin. 

Krowki Candies. Made from a mixture of milk, cream, sugar, and butter, these "little cows" are well-known Polish sweets. They appeared at the beginning of the 20th century.

Oscypek Cheese. It is a salty smoked dairy product made from sheep's milk with the addition of rennet. To get a golden color and a little creamy inside, smoking this cheese uses spruce or pine wood. This traditional Polish cheese is tasty, with a long shelf life. 

Salt Lamp. The salt lamps act as an air ionizer and reduce harmful radiation from household items (cell phones, computers, microwaves, TVs), restore the nervous system, and allow you to relax. The famous Polish crystalline salt obtains by mining methods in the Wieliczka and Klodawa salt mines, located in southern Poland near Krakow.