Suwałki - a city of dwarves, murals and blues. What attractions are worth seeing in the Suwałki region?

Suwałki is a beautiful and unique city located in the heart of the Suwałki region. In the Podlaskie Voivodeship, near the eastern border of Poland, on the Czarna Hańcza River. It is a land of green hills and lakes, and in the central part there is a small but very interesting city full of contrasts. It is such a cultural and religious melting pot, where additionally the new is mixed with the old.

Experiences in Suwałki

The development of the city is completely different from what we know from other cities in Poland. The city, formed as a street car park, received city rights in the 18th century. The greatest flourishing took place in the nineteenth century, hence the Classicist architecture prevails here. And around it you can find natural curiosities. We spent a beautiful, extended weekend in Suwałki, which allowed us to get to know this place better and create a guide to the best attractions of Suwałki!

Boulevards over Czarna Hańcza

Located in the city center, the boulevards are a very pleasant, green asylum for walks and rest. Wooden platforms are waiting here by the river, surrounded by greenery, accompanied by ducks. Boulevards over Czarna Hańcza are also an arena of urban events.
Address: access from Mickiewicza Street or 24 Sierpnia Street

Arkadia Lagoon

Arkadia is a blue eye with a beautiful islet and waterfowl. The reservoir is also close to the city centre. Here you will find a sandy city beach with landings and a water equipment rental operating in summer. Alik's Kitchen with Tatar delicacies is waiting here by the water, because Alik comes from Kruszyniany, a Tatar village in Podlasie.
Address: ul. 24 Sierpnia, ul. Pledge

Maria Konopnicka Museum

This facility totally surprised me with the wonderful scenery and unconventional presentation of the exhibition. Here we penetrate into the mind of the writer, learning about her better and worse moments, and even demons from childhood and maturity. The message here is complicated and even a bit psychedelic. Because her mind is not only simple and fairy-tale, associated with dwarves, but also very liberated for its time and full of dilemmas. I really liked the thread of Helena's daughter.

In front of the museum there is a bench with a figure of a poet. This museum is a branch of the Regional Museum in Suwałki.
Address: ul. Kościuszki 31

District Museum

Here, too, exhibitions encourage you to visit, they are interesting and presented in a very original way. The museum is housed in a beautiful building from the 20th century, offering an exhibition about the city's past from the earliest times. Painting is presented on the first floor.
Address: 81 Kościuszki Street

Tourist trail "Dwarfs are in the world"

An element of memories of the famous writer in the city is the Trail "Dwarfs are in the world", which gathers small heroes. These tiny figurines, which are characters from a fairy tale, can be found in many places. They even have their own names, because they are leprechauns from the fairy tale "About Dwarves and Orphan Marysia" by Konopnicka. On the trail there are:

• Pietrzyk (Aquapark, ul. Jana Pawła II 7)
• Modraczek (JUICE, Jana Pawła II Street)
• Koszałek Opałek (opposite DH Arkadia)
• King of Tinsel and Cat's Eye (Konopnicka Square)
• Podzemek (Chłodna Street)
• Sikorek (May 3 Constitution Park)
• Pakuła and Mikuła (at the museum, Kościuszki Street)
• Żagiewka (football stadium)

Murals in Suwałki

There are quite a lot of murals in the city and they can become a cool walking motif in their footsteps. Here are the most famous of them:

• mural depicting the outstanding painter Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski (ul. Wierusza-Kowalskiego 18), from Suwałki. In the huge painting, he is depicted with wolves, because he liked to paint them, just like horses and snow
• mural with a huge Rex (30 Emilii Plater Street)
• mural Library with taste (Emilii Plater 33 a), appears on the wall of the Public Library
• suwałki for Independence mural (24 Sierpnia Street)
• mural with a suwalczanka by Aleksandra Piłsudska (intersection of Kościuszki and Dwernickiego Streets)
• mural with Marian Piekarski a.k.a. "Ryś" (97 Kościuszki Street)
• suwałki Blues Festival mural (48 Noniewicza Street)
• mural with a girl (81 Noniewicza Street), depicts a little girl in a window in a fairytale world
• the mural with Dr. Teofil Noniewicz (87 Noniewicza Street), presents a Suwałki man - a doctor and social worker, after whom the street in the city was named

Maria Konopnicka Square

It is a large square that plays the role of a specific market in Suwałki. Chłodna Street leads here, and on the square you will find nice buildings, a fountain and a monument to Maria Konopnicka, at which the king of dwarves, Błystek, also stood.

The promenade or Chłodna Street

The name of the promenade, i.e. Chłodna Street, refers to the fact that Suwałki is the Polish cold pole. A pleasant promenade connects the significant artery of the city - Kościuszki Street with Maria Konopnicka Square, treated as a market square.

Seven Denominations Cemetery

It is probably the only such cemetery in Poland, housing as many as 7 different denominations: Orthodox, Old Orthodox, Catholics, Evangelicals (Lutherans and Calvinists), Jews and Muslims. The individual quarters are unfortunately separated by a wall, and the Jewish and Muslim parts are closed. The key to the gate closing the cemetery is available at the City Hall.
Address: ul. Zarzecze

Co-Cathedral of St. Alexander 

A beautiful and impressive temple from the beginning of the 19th century. It is distinguished by two towers and a colonnade in the facade. The towers were blown up by the Nazis, but were rebuilt in the 1950s

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Suwałki

Another impressive temple in the city is the former Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The building dates back to the 19th century. It stands by the parking lot, and behind it you can find the Tourist Information Centre.

Suwałki Blues Festival

If you like the blues or just having fun, I have good news for you. In July, Suwałki hosts the largest outdoor blues festival in Poland - the Suwałki Blues Festival!

Fairytale Trail

The Fairytale Trail in the Suwałki Region is a unique route leading through the picturesque corners of the region, including the Czarna Hańcza, Rospuda and Szeszupa valleys. On its route, there are 7 stops, called Fairy Tale Villages. Each of these villages is a place dedicated to leisure, education and recreation, referring to the rich work of Maria Konopnicka, who was associated with Suwałki.

To make it easier to visit the Trail, Wander Cards were created - Small, which leads through individual villages, and Large, covering the entire route. Obtaining stamps on the card from subsequent points of the trail is an additional, attractive souvenir from the trip.

Stops on the Fairy Tale Trail include: Dwarf Alley in Suwałki, Village of Merry Wanderers in Nowa Wieś, Village of Forest Gifts on the Mound, Village of Two Masters in Puńsk, Village of Forgotten Warriors in Bakałarzewo, Adventure Valley on Szeszupa in Rutka-Tartak and Secret Streets Town in Sejny.

Experience map

We also upload a map with marked attractions, dwarves and murals. There were also our restaurant and hotel suggestions. I'm sure it'll come in handy.

Suwałki Landscape Park

North of Suwałki stretches an unspeakably beautiful land of hills, hills, valleys and deep gutters, usually filled with water. Surrounded by luscious greenery, these ponds create a very idyllic and romantic landscape. As there are few forests here, mainly fields and meadows, with large boulders dotted with them, it is very nice to see this extremely interesting post-glacial sculpture, with ozos, kems and moraines. It is said that the Suwałki Landscape Park is the most mountainous region in the Polish lowland! Differences of levels reach up to 100 meters here.

SPK experiences:

• Cisowa Mountain, 256 m above sea level - the so-called Suwałki Fujiyama
• Castle Mountain, 228 m above sea level
• Molenna in Wodziłki - temple of Old Believers
• Lookout tower in Turtul
• Lake Hańcza - the deepest lake in Poland, it is over 108 m deep
• A viewpoint in Smolniki, which allows you to admire the beautiful landscape and places where scenes for "Pan Tadeusz" were shot

Lake Wigry

One of the deeper and larger lakes in Poland, formed by a post-glacial gutter. It is located in the Suwałki Lake District, in the Wigry National Park. The Czarna Hańcza River flows through here. On one of the peninsulas you will find the historic Camaldolese monastery in Wigry. Interestingly,  the lake is S-shaped. Hence  its name, because Wigry from the Yatwinian word "wingris" means "winding", "writhing".

Wigry National Park

A few kilometers east of Suwałki, there is the magnificent Wigry National Park. Within its borders, you can find over 40 natural water reservoirs, but the heart of the Park is the vast Lake Wigry. One of the better ways to get to know the national park is to cross the green trail leading around the reservoir. It is about 46 km long and allows you to get to know the natural charms of this place. We covered this route with electric bicycles, rented at Green Bike Service in nearby Burdeniska.

WPN experiences:

• Wigry Museum in Stary Folwark
• Footbridges in Cimochowiźno
• Footbridges over Czarna Hańcza
• Wigry Narrow Gauge Railway, with stops: Binduga, Bartny Dół, Powały, Krusznik
• Installation with a cross in the Red Cross (Binduga), commemorates the liquidation of the entire village by the Nazis
• Observation tower in Krusznik
• Post-Kamedul monastery in Wigry

Film report from the bicycle loop

I encourage you to see our film account of the loop around Lake Wigry.

Other attractions in Suwałki

• Avenue of Blues Stars - the avenue was built on the promenade
• Orthodox Church of All Saints
• Town Hall and Odach - buildings standing on the Market Square, dating from the 19th century (Plac Konopnickiej)
• Aquapark in Suwałki (ul. Papieża Św. Jana Pawła II 7)
• Bicycle paths

Famous figures from Suwałki

Maria Konopnicka, a well-known writer, whose memory was honored here in many ways, was born in Suwałki. This is also where the famous director Andrzej Wajda and Lechosław Marszałek - director and screenwriter of animated films for children, author of, among others, a series about the adventures of the dog Reksia - come from. To commemorate him, a mural with Rex was created in the city, as well as for Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski, a famous painter also from here.

Where to eat in Suwałki?

Several restaurants definitely deserve to be recommended in this city. One of them is the Northern Brewery located in the center - one of the best pubs in the city, as well as a craft brewery with cool local names. You can eat regional dishes here, such as  potato purée or kartacze. There are also, for example, classics of Georgian cuisine. And what beer do I recommend? Of the several homely flavors, I liked the dark Jaćwing the most. 

We also liked Alik's. This is an interesting tartar cuisine on the Arkadia Lagoon, where we tasted a tartar board. We received characteristic delicacies of Tatar cuisine, which settled centuries ago in Kruszyniany in Podlasie. This is where Alik comes from, and now he has settled in Suwałki and feeds guests with the flavors of his childhood.

Accommodation in Suwałki

In Suwałki, we slept in the Szyszko Hotel. It is a very pleasant place to relax, located 2 km from the city center, at the Science and Technology Park Poland – East. The hotel offers 140 beds in air-conditioned rooms. In addition to a large, comfortable bed and bathroom, we had a TV, a fridge and a kettle with coffee and tea at our disposal. We were captivated by the very varied breakfasts, served in the form of a buffet, offering additional fruit and sweet snacks. You can use the gym for free around the clock, there is a playroom for children, and you can relax in the SPA area for an additional fee.

Here you will find a wide selection of accommodations. By booking your stay on Booking.com through our link, you support the development of our blog — and we thank you in advance! It helps us reach many interesting places that we later love to show you and share our experiences and information with you.

Suwałki in our social media

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Our video about Suwałki

We invite you to watch our film about Suwałki and the Suwałki region. The moving image is a great complement to the text and photos!

We visited Suwałki at the invitation of the Suwałki City Hall. Thank you!

Rent a car

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What's worth seeing in the area?

You don't have to travel far to find more interesting places. Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are many attractions waiting for you that will certainly enrich your stay Your trip with additional memories.

• Wigry National Park, distance: 10.9  km
• Gołdap, distance: 46.3  km
• Podlasie, distance: 69.1  km
• National parks in Poland, distance: 70.5  km
• Biebrza National Park, distance: 72.1  km
• Masuria, distance: 91.2  km
• Mikołajki, distance: 95  km
• Tykocin Castle, distance: 99.3  km
• Tycocin, distance: 99.9  km