Zakopane

This is a mountain town, and the sea is a very long way off. The glacial lakes in the Tatras are cold, and the national park forbids bathing in them. The nearest swimming in summer is the reservoir at Czorsztyn, about an hour's drive away, where there are a few modest bathing spots. In practice, visitors who want to swim go to the outdoor thermal pools around the town, which stay warm all year.

Food here is highland cooking. It is rustic, filling and quite unlike lowland Polish fare. The signature is oscypek, a smoked sheep's cheese pressed in carved moulds. Stalls grill it and serve it with cranberry jam on almost every corner. Timber inns, many with open fires and musicians, serve kwaśnica sauerkraut soup with smoked rib, grilled lamb, potato pancakes, pierogi and big pork dishes. A hot mulled beer or a herbal vodka finishes the day.

The range is narrow. Fine dining and international food are limited, and many places on Krupówki serve the same menu to the same crowds. The best meals come from smaller family inns on the side streets and from cheese bought straight from shepherds' huts in summer.

The town's own heritage is small but distinctive. It is the birthplace of the Zakopane style, an architectural movement drawn from highland carpentry. Its best examples are Villa Koliba, which houses the Museum of Zakopane Style, the wooden chapel at Jaszczurówka and many steep-roofed villas along the quieter streets. The Tatra Museum covers highland life, costume and natural history. Villa Atma, once the composer Karol Szymanowski's home, is a small museum about him.

The Old Church on Kościeliska Street and the Pęksowy Brzyzek cemetery beside it are among the most atmospheric spots in town. The cemetery's carved wooden grave markers commemorate artists and mountaineers. A day covers all of it. The mountains are the real reason to come.

Going out happens mostly on and just off Krupówki, the main street. It has pubs, a few dance clubs and inns where the evening turns rowdy. The liveliest times are winter weekends and the ski season, when groups of friends arrive for après-ski. New Year's Eve here is a big event in Poland. Midweek and out of season the town is much quieter. Hikers who are up before dawn tend to make it an early night anyway.

The town sits at the foot of the Tatras, the only range in the Carpathians with true alpine character: granite peaks, cirques and glacial lakes. The national park begins at the edge of the streets. Gentle valley walks lead through Kościeliska and Chochołowska, where meadows turn purple with crocuses in spring. The easy classic is the long paved road up to Morskie Oko, a glacial lake under sheer granite walls, walked by great crowds. Harder routes climb to Giewont's cross, or go on from Morskie Oko past the dark lake of Czarny Staw to Rysy, Poland's highest summit at 2,499m. Orla Perć, a chained ridge route, is for experienced scramblers.

A cable car lifts walkers from Kuźnice to Kasprowy Wierch at 1,987m, and the Slovak side of the range is close by for more trails. In winter the hills turn to skiing, though the slopes are short by alpine standards, and to ski touring and cross-country routes. In summer there is rafting through the Pieniny gorge on the Dunajec, about an hour away. The popular trails get very crowded in high season, and the weather in the high mountains changes fast.

Kraków is the big outing, about two hours away by road on a busy route, and the Wieliczka salt mine lies on the way. Closer to home, the larch-wood Gothic church at Dębno, about half an hour away, is one of the UNESCO-listed wooden churches of southern Małopolska, its interior covered in painted medieval patterns. Chochołów, nearer still, is not listed but is the best-preserved highland village in the area, a long main street lined with log houses scrubbed pale, most still lived in. The castles of Niedzica and Czorsztyn face each other across the reservoir about an hour east.

Across the Slovak border, Spiš Castle and the walled town of Levoča make a strong heritage day. Kežmarok's wooden church is also within reach. Weekend traffic on the roads out of town can stretch any of these journeys considerably.

The town works well for families who like the outdoors. A funicular climbs Gubałówka hill, with slides, a summer toboggan run and views over the peaks at the top. Flat valley trails such as Kościeliska suit pushchairs and small legs. Winter brings sledging and gentle nursery slopes with ski schools nearby. The thermal water parks in the surrounding villages give a full day of pools and slides whatever the weather.

There is little else built for children, and the steeper hikes are only for older ones. Crowds on Krupówki and traffic jams on long weekends and in the school breaks are the main frustrations.

The centre is small enough to walk, and Krupówki is pedestrianised. Getting to the trailheads is easy without a car, because private minibuses and local buses shuttle between town and Kuźnice, the valley entrances and the Morskie Oko road. The road into town is the weak point. On winter weekends and in the summer peak it jams badly, and the rail line from Kraków winds through the hills, scenic rather than quick. A car helps for the Slovak side and the outlying villages, but parking in the town is hard work.

Shopping is mostly souvenirs, with a real highland craft tradition underneath. The market at the foot of Gubałówka is the place for it. Stalls sell thick sheep's-wool sweaters and socks, sheepskin rugs, felt slippers, carved wooden boxes and walking sticks, and wheels of oscypek cheese. Krupówki adds outdoor-gear and souvenir shops. Look for the sturdy, handmade pieces rather than the mass-produced trinkets.

Prices here are well below those of alpine resorts in Western Europe. Family-run guesthouses, hearty inn meals, minibuses and park entry all cost little by those standards. It is a resort, though, and costs climb at the busiest times: Christmas, New Year, the winter school breaks and long summer weekends. At those times rooms need booking early and cost noticeably more. Spring and autumn are the cheapest seasons.

The town's live culture has deep roots. The Witkacy Theatre, a small, well-regarded company named after the town's most famous artist, plays to local and visiting audiences. Highland string bands, with their sharp fiddles and their own harmonies, play in many inns in the evenings. Every August the International Festival of Mountain Folklore fills the town with dance troupes and parades. Beyond these, classical concerts and touring shows are occasional.

Zakopane began as a mountain health resort, prized for its clean air, and that idea still shapes a stay. Hot geothermal water rises under the Podhale valley. Within half an hour there are several large thermal complexes, in Chochołów, Białka Tatrzańska, Bukowina and Szaflary. Their outdoor pools steam in the snow, with views of the Tatras. A soak after a day of hiking or skiing is part of the routine for many visitors, and plenty of hotels add saunas and spa treatments.

The town centre itself is not calm in high season. The restful version of a stay means a guesthouse on the quieter slopes and mornings in the valleys.