Poland a new family - holiday destination? Part one - Lublin

Poland a new family – holiday destination? Part one – Lublin

Poland is a great holiday destination because it has it all: history, nature, delicious food, friendly people, a lot to see and do. Poland means unlimited places for relaxation in the mountains, at the sea, at the lakes or national parks. And it is only 800 km away by car from the Netherlands.

But is Poland really a child-friendly destination? Can it become a new family – holiday destination? This is what I tried to test this summer holiday with my family and the answer is undoubtedly:

YES!

Ready, steady, go. We are taking off in the eastern part of Poland: Lublin.

It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of around 349,000 (March 2011). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River and the ninth largest in Poland. It is situated 170 km away from the capital city of Poland -Warsaw.

In Lublin there are many theatres, galleries, three museums, quite a few festivals are held here and it has many great bars and restaurants. In Lublin there are six schools of higher education, including Maria Curie-Sklodowska University (UMCS) and John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (JPII CUL).

What to see, what to do?

There are a lot of interesting places to visit with your kids and I would mention only a few:

The Lublin Castle (Polish: Zamek Lubelski) is a medieval castle just next to the Old Town. Impressive building and impressive location: http://muzeumlubelskie.pl/

Lublin Old Town. You get to the old town through the Kraków Gate with remains of defensive fortifications from the 14th century. Lublin Old town is an official historic monument (Pomnik historii). It is impressive, authentic, vibrant and unforgettable.

The Fortuna Cellar located at located in Rynek 8. There are 10 rooms to visit. In nine out of ten you can see multi – media exhibitions about the history of Lublin and the 10th one is an original former winery covered with unique polichrome. http://www.piwnica.lublin.eu/en/article/o-piwnicy. The multi- media presentations were very engaging for the kids, especially the one showing the train connection from Lublin to Warsaw. Kids did not want to leave this room.

The Lublin Open Air Village Museum. As this site mentions: http://openairmuseum.pl/skansen/lublin ‘’ Today, seven sections of the collection are available, presenting various aspects of the regions that constitute the Lublin voivodeship (in its shape predating the administrational reform of 1975), as well as the life in a gentry manor and a small town. Architectural monuments represent the regions of Podlachia, the Lublin Polesia, the Vistula Region, Roztocze, the Lublin Upland and Lublin Land. The museum has been in operation for over three decades and it is constantly enlarging its collection and improving its facilities.’’

Where to stay?

There are quite a few hotels in Lublin but we have chosen the glamorous Europa hotel which is a replica of Warsaw Europejski hotel. http://www.hoteleuropa.pl/

It is located in the heart of the Old Town with its own parking space. The hotel has baby cribs and offers a great breakfast to suit all tastes. It also has a children corner to play. The staff is extremely friendly and professional. The staff at the restaurant moved the children corner especially for us to our table to make it as convenient as possible for our kids.

Where to eat?

Children loved the ice cream that you could buy at the stands in the city. Especially the chewing gum flavour was the winner.

ĄKA restaurant: a great place for kids and parents. Food as if my grandmother cooked, delicious, honest, healthy. A big choice of meals for kids. They have a great child corner to play at and they have a garden with a swing where they kids loved to sit and wait for their delicious meal. It was the most reasonable priced restaurant that we have encountered during our holiday. Definitely a place to visit when you are in Lublin: http://www.ąka.pl/

Czarcia Lapa, situated in the Old Town in Lublin, is one of the best Italian restaurants that we have ever been to. Delicious. Both kids and parents loved the food here.The kids when they enter the restaurant get a balloon and the parents are reassured that when this balloon gets broken their kids will get a new one immediately. Important! And I guess only the parents will understand me how important it is!The kids –if parents wish- can get their food earlier so that the parents can enjoy the dinner while the kids are playing.And one more important information, Mr Lukasz the waiter is really great. He is extremely professional, friendly, driven and he exactly knows what the kids and parents want. You want the proof? He brought the water for our daughters and the lemon separately on the board saying, probably one of your daughters likes the water with the lemon and the other without. How he knew it I do not have the slightest idea but I want to get back to this place definitely again. With my kids! He broght quite a few napkins for the kids since he knows that the Bolognese sauce on the new dress, no matter how delicious the sauce is, is not the nice sight. In the weekend the nanny is present who takes cares of the guests’ kids. PARADISE for parents and kids! The restaurant has a fantastic child-corner to play at. And the place is one of the most child-friendly restaurants we have ever been to. www.czarcia.com

Lublin checked and approved. A real family holiday place.

Strong points:

Lots of interesting and beautiful places to see including: Lublin Old town, Fortuna Cellar, The Lublin Open Air Village Museum.
Great ice-cream at the street stands
Fantastic, child-friendly restaurants: ĄKA i Czarcia Lapa
Very friendly people and sphere

More information:

Invitation of the Mayor of Lublin to visit his city: https://www.communications-unlimited.nl/mayor-of-the-city-of-lublin-invites-you-to-visit-his-city/

Partners:

Municipality of Lublin: http://www.um.lublin.eu/en/index.php?t=200&id=18284

Polish Tourist Office : http://www.polen.travel/nl/

Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Trade and Investment Promotion Section: https://haga.trade.gov.pl/en

Stone-Harbour : www.stoneharbour.nl

Medical Centre Vita-Glob : www.vita-glob.com.pl

Historic countryhouse: www.biebrza.eu

Miss Poland Benelux: http://www.misspoland.nl/

Zuyd University of Applied Sciences : www.zuyd.nl