Lublin
Poland
Eastern Poland’s university city, with an old town on a hill, a castle chapel painted by Orthodox masters, and Majdanek at its edge
Photo by Tomasz Zielonka on Unsplash
Photos by Tomasz Zielonka, Maksym Harbar, Dawid Tkocz and Maksym Harbar on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Poland
May to September — the summer street festivals are the best of it
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 82mm in Jul
Where it is
51.25°N, 22.57°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Visit Majdanek in the morning, by bus or trolleybus; it is open Tuesday to Sunday, and the walk from the gate to the mausoleum is long and exposed
- Give the Grodzka Gate an hour as well — it tells the story of Lublin’s own Jewish town, which Majdanek alone does not
- Book the castle chapel ahead — it is entered in small groups at set times, to protect the paintings
- Walk the old town in the evening, when the student crowd is out
- Eat cebularz warm from a bakery for breakfast
- Use Lublin as a base for Kazimierz Dolny and Zamość rather than seeing either in a rush
Lublin travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Poland
Very cheapZłoty, and cards nearly everywhere. Lublin sees fewer foreign visitors than Kraków, so the kantors are run for locals and their rates are honest; compare two if changing much.
ATMs & cards
PKO BP, Pekao and Santander machines along Krakowskie Przedmieście. Euronet is here too; avoid it and decline any conversion.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- Planet Cash
Use these instead
- PKO BP
- Pekao
- Santander
Decline the conversion, always.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Poland
Very safeVery calm, and the old town is busy and well lit in the evening. Majdanek is not a safety question but it is a heavy one: give it its own morning, and do not plan the rest of the day tightly around it.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Lublin Główny — the station, a long walk south of the old town, late at night; take a bus or an app
- The old town on summer weekend nights, which is loud rather than anything else
Low crime, and a centre small enough to walk..
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Poland visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Poland
Good and affordableRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for forest areas in the east and north-east
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment. Private clinics are inexpensive and much faster than the public queue for anything non-urgent.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodCebularz — a flat wheat bread topped with onion and poppy seed, from Lublin’s Jewish bakers — is protected by name and costs very little at any bakery. Pierogi and soups otherwise, at student prices.
Travel tipsNightlife
A university city with tens of thousands of students, so the old town’s cellars and terraces are busy all term and cheap.
- Lublin Old Town — cellar bars and terraces on Grodzka and around the Rynek
- Krakowskie Przedmieście — the main street, bars and late cafés
Closing: Late at the weekend in term time; quieter in high summer when the students have gone, except during the festivals.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- FREE NOWWorks here
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a street taxi, and far cheaper than one waiting outside a station.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Warsaw — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Poland, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Polish
- HelloDzień dobryjen DOH-bri
- PleaseProszęPRO-sheh
- Thank youDziękujęjen-KOO-yeh
- Yes / NoTak / Nietak / nyeh
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePrzepraszampsheh-PRA-sham
- How much is it?Ile to kosztuje?EE-leh to kosh-TOO-yeh
- The bill, pleaseRachunek, proszęra-HOO-nek
- Cheers!Na zdrowie!na ZDRO-vyeh
Religion
Catholic
One of the most observant countries in Europe, and it shows: churches are full, roadside shrines are everywhere, and religious holidays close everything. Dress modestly in churches.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say dzień dobry on entering shops
- Accept hospitality — refusing food or vodka repeatedly can offend
- Give flowers in odd numbers, and never chrysanthemums, which are for graves
- Dress respectfully at churches and memorial sites
Don't
- Do not say "Polish concentration camps" — they were German camps in occupied Poland, and the phrasing causes real offence
- Do not treat Auschwitz-Birkenau as a sightseeing stop; dress and behave as at a cemetery
- Do not mix vodka or drink it slowly in company; it is taken neat and together
- Do not be loud in churches, which remain in active use
Where to stay in Lublin
No Holistay rentals in Lublin yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Lublin on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Lublin LUZ
20 minfrom the airport· 10 km as the crow flies
Train from the terminal to Lublin Główny, about 15 min.
Also worth pricing: Warsaw Chopin WAW — far more routes; about two and a half hours by train via Warszawa Centralna.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
