Bialystok travel guide

Bialystok, Poland

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Bialystok

Introduction

Białystok is the biggest city in northeastern Poland and serves as the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship, making it the natural base for exploring this corner of the country. It is a densely built city, so you will find its sights and amenities close together rather than spread across a sprawling map.

Getting there

Białystok has no public international airport of its own, so most travellers arrive via Warsaw. Warsaw Chopin Airport, served by major and low-cost airlines, lies roughly 200 km away; from there you can take bus no. 175 into the city centre and continue by train or coach. A coach connection from the airport operated by PlusBus is quicker because it spends less time in Warsaw, but tickets can cost twice as much and must be booked in advance.

By rail, the train from Warsaw is the most affordable option, with frequent daily departures taking about two and a half hours; most are operated by PKP Intercity. There are also direct trains to Gdańsk and Olsztyn and regional connections to Ełk and Suwałki, plus daily services linking Kraków, Warsaw, Białystok and onward to Kaunas and Vilnius. PKS Białystok runs coaches to most major Polish cities and on international routes including London, Brussels and the Baltic countries; coaches take longer and usually cost more than the train, but their timetables can be more convenient. By car, the S8 national road puts Warsaw about two and a half hours away, and Gdańsk and Poznań are also easily reached. If you fly into Kaunas in Lithuania, note that direct trains to Białystok run only at weekends; Hrodna airport, just across the Belarusian border, is another option from the east, though crossing from outside Schengen means a visa and potentially long waits at the border.

Getting around

Białystok is compact and densely built, and most of the sights worth visiting lie in the strict centre, so you can cover the central attractions on foot without relying much on public transport. The main exception is the south-eastern district of Dojlidy, where a couple of palaces are worth the trip and you will need transport to reach them.

Public transit here means buses: an extensive network covers the whole city, with city lines serving the centre and metropolitan lines running out to the surrounding area. You can buy a ticket on board from the machines usually mounted in the wheelchair-accessible section, or in advance from newsagents, convenience stores, supermarkets and designated ticket retail points. You do not show your ticket to the driver, but you must validate it in the perforation devices installed on the buses. Daily, weekly and monthly passes are sold only at the designated ticket retail points. There is no tram or metro.

Where to stay

Białystok has accommodation to suit most budgets, from expensive hotels such as the Gołębiewski, Branicki and Cristal, through mid-range options like the Turkus, down to budget hostels with dorm beds. The upscale and mid-range places are the obvious choice if you want a double room and a central base, while hostels keep costs down for solo travellers and groups.

Food & drink

For an affordable, genuine Polish meal, head to one of Białystok's milk bars. Podlasiak and Słoneczny sit in the city centre, and Słoneczny is unusual in also serving beer; Topolanka lies a little further north of the centre on Wasilkowska street. Expect a decent range of regional cuisine and a very mixed clientèle, from students and families with children to businessmen and occasionally even homeless people.

Around the railway and bus stations and elsewhere in the centre you'll find plenty of kebab, hamburger and zapiekanki stands — the latter being garlic bread topped with tomato sauce, meat, cheese and mushrooms — and some stay open around the clock. For drinking, the centre has many pubs with a decent selection of alcohol. The typical beer sold here is Żubr, named after the bison-like animals that live in Białowieża National Park, while the regional spirit is Żubrówka, a vodka with a leaf of grass inside its bottle; its name literally means "Bison Grass". For a quieter stop, Kawiarnio-Księgarnia "Spółdzielnia" (The Cooperative) on ul. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie is a cafe and bookstore with a modern interior and a large front shopwindow.

What to see and do

Start at Branickis' Palace on Jana Kilińskiego, the city's principal attraction and the former residence of the noble Branicki family who once owned Białystok. The palace took its present shape in the early 18th century and earned grand nicknames reflecting its scale, among them "the Versailles of Podlasie"; badly damaged by German bombs in World War II, it was carefully rebuilt and now houses the Medical University of Białystok. From there, walk Lipowa and Warszawska streets, where rows of unspoiled 19th-century architecture run the length of both.

When to go

Białystok has a continental-influenced climate, so your choice of season shapes the trip considerably. Winters are cold by Polish standards, with little sunshine and weather that swings between damp, cloudy, rainy or snowy spells and occasional cold air arriving from Siberia or the Arctic. Snow lies on the ground for more than half of the season, and temperatures can drop well below freezing, though such extremes are rare. Expect grey skies and short daylight if you visit between December and February.

Summers are warm, sunny and pleasant, occasionally hot, though a little cooler than in most of Poland. This is also the wettest part of the year, so pack for more rain than you would at other times. Spring is when the urban heat island is most noticeable: the city centre feels distinctly warmer than the surrounding villages, especially at night, making it a rewarding time to explore the streets on foot.

Three days in Bialystok

Day one: settle into Białystok and get your bearings in the city centre, using the local buses and the PKS Białystok terminal as your reference points if you arrive by coach. Note that the city sits in Podlaskie Voivodeship, within Schengen, and that onward connections by PKP Intercity reach Warsaw, Gdańsk, Olsztyn, Ełk, Suwałki, Kraków and even Kaunas and Vilnius, while PlusBus and other services link to Warsaw Chopin Airport and further afield to London and Brussels. Spend the evening trying Polish dishes in the centre, where places such as Podlasiak and Słoneczny give you a straightforward introduction to local cooking.

Day two: head for Dojlidy, the city's green and watery edge, and give yourself a slow day outdoors. The weather here swings between warm and humid summers and bitterly cold winters, so plan accordingly. Back in town, the Branicki and Gołębiewski names mark places to eat or stay, and the Cristal and Turkus are useful reference points in the centre. If you want a day trip, the rail network makes Olsztyn, Ełk and Suwałki reachable, and Lithuania is close enough that Kaunas and Vilnius appear on the departure boards.

Day three: use your last day to look outward. Białystok sits near the borders with Lithuania and Belarus, with Hrodna and the Belarusian border within reach, and the Baltic coast is a long but feasible journey via Gdańsk. Closer in, Warsaw is a straightforward trip by PKP Intercity or PlusBus, and Warsaw Chopin Airport handles flights to London and Brussels. Before you leave, return to the centre for a final Polish meal at Podlasiak or Słoneczny and confirm your onward tickets at PKS Białystok.

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