Warmia-Masuria: Discover Lake Landscapes and Culture

Warmia-Masuria is a region for trips where lakes and nature are just as appealing as architectural and cultural history. The voivodeship has more than 3,000 lakes and other bodies of water, each covering more than 1 hectare. If you’re looking for a hotel, holiday apartment or holiday home, you can start by considering which experiences you want to focus on: lakescapes, cycling and canoeing trips, or historic sites.

Lakes, forests and protected areas

The Masurian Landscape Park lies in the southeast of the voivodeship. Its landscape includes forests, open agricultural land and surface waters; the park extends across three counties and seven municipalities. It encompasses 60 lakes, including Śniardwy, Poland’s largest lake, as well as 11 nature reserves. The Masurian Lake District includes Śniardwy and Mamry, the two largest lakes in the country.

More than 90 percent of the area of the Masurian Landscape Park overlaps with the MAB “Masurian Lakes” Biosphere Reserve. It is the only biosphere reserve of this kind in the Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship. This landscape offers a distinct travel focus alongside the region’s cities and historic buildings: you can plan your trip around bodies of water and nature, or put cultural stops first.

Gothic castles and regional history

In Olsztyn, a castle built in the Gothic style in the 14th century now houses the Museum of Warmia and Masuria. The permanent Copernicus exhibition includes an astronomical table made by Nicolaus Copernicus himself in 1517, which was used to study the equinoxes. A visit therefore brings together the history of the building and a tangible record of Copernicus’s work.

Lidzbark Warmiński is also home to an important castle: the Bishops’ Castle was built in the second half of the 14th century and is one of Poland’s most significant and best-preserved examples of Gothic representative defensive architecture. Its permanent and temporary exhibitions cover topics ranging from archaeology, historic weapons and Gothic art to handicrafts, sculpture, and old and modern painting. Other Gothic brick castles can be found in Olsztyn, Lidzbark Warmiński, Reszel, Nidzica, Kętrzyn and Ostróda. They include Teutonic, chapter and bishops’ castles.

Another architectural destination is the pilgrimage sanctuary of Święta Lipka: a Baroque religious complex comprising the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a cloister surrounding it with corner chapels, and a single-nave monastery building. At the Battle of Grunwald site, a monument, an amphitheatre and a museum opened in 1963 are among the memorial sites. These different highlights can help you shape a trip around religious architecture, castles or history.

Waterways, cycling trips and regional cuisine

The Krutynia is well suited to canoe trips. It flows from Lake Warpuńskie to Lake Bełdany and passes through the Puszcza Piska Forest; it is considered one of Poland’s most picturesque waterways. In addition, PTTK branches in Warmia and Masuria organize orienteering rallies, hiking and cycling rallies, canoe trips, boat trips, regional sightseeing tours, and leisure and sports activities. If you’re planning an active trip, these different options can provide ideas for further research.

The Masurian section of the Green Velo also offers cyclists a clear route to follow: it passes through Węgorzewo and continues via Banie Mazurskie through the hilly Mazury Garbate region to Gołdap.

The culinary heritage of Warmia-Masuria-Powiśle includes food producers and restaurants offering products and dishes made with natural ingredients according to traditional recipes. There are also more than 40 tourist information centres throughout the voivodeship. They provide information about local and regional attractions, accommodation, restaurants, cultural events, hiking and cycling routes, and events. City maps, maps of the surrounding area and regional guidebooks are available in several languages. These information centres can help you plan in more detail and gather the right information for your trip.

Explore regional subpages

To get started with individual parts of the region, find subpages on Pisz County, Olsztyn, Kętrzyn County, Nidzica County, Lidzbark County, Ostróda County, Mrągowo County and Giżycko; as well as Olecko County, Bartoszyce, Elbląg, Braniewo, Ełk, Iława County, Szczytno County and Gołdap; and Węgorzewo County, Działdowo, Nowe Miasto County, Nowe Miasto Lubawskie and Olsztyn County.