Fun Things To Do In Katowice – Seemingly Boring City of Upper Silesia, Poland [Updated 2025]

“Katowice? Come on, it’s nothing interesting. Just coal mines and heavy industry. It’s grey, nothing to look at. The air makes your throat itch, your eyes fill with tears and the dust turns your clothes grey and ugly!” a fellow long-distance bus passenger told me about my home city. I clenched my teeth. I know my city is not the most beautiful one. It’s far from perfect. But this opinion hurt me almost personally. “It’s not that bad, it’s clean, and there is less industry now”, I tried to convince her. “The city is changing…”

“I go to Katowice only when I have to and I will never go there otherwise!” my interlocutor finished the discussion.

It was eight years ago. And back then it was actually my local patriotism that made me defend Katowice.

But I was right – the city did change. And I can proudly boast about Katowice now and I enjoy proving the common opinion about it wrong 🙂

If you’re not Polish, chances are you have never heard of Katowice. Tourists visiting Poland go to see the highlights of Kraków or Wieliczka Salt Mine and are not aware there are other interesting cities within 100 km.

Is Katowice worth visiting?

Definitely! History enthusiasts, partygoers, concert attendees, people who like Poland – everyone will find something to their liking in the Capital of Silesia.

Let me show you the best things to do in Katowice, Poland.

Things to do in Katowice, Upper Silesia, Poland

Hotels in Katowice

There are many nice places to stay in Katowice. I researched some of the best options in the city to make your trip planning easier. They’re all highly rated among guests and each accommodation suits a different budget.

Hostel Katowice Centrum – one of the best hostels in Katowice. Located in the city center, close to the Main Train Station. Guests appreciate cleanliness and comfort, as well as speedy Internet and helpful staff.

KTW Spodek Apartment – located right next to Spodek, close to the city center. The apartment has been recently refurbished. Guests praise the view from the window (10th floor) and quiet area. The apartment is nice and clean and well-equipped.

B&B Hotel Katowice Centrum – one of the most popular hotels in Katowice. Situated close to the Main Square. Guests like the comfortable rooms, friendly staff and tasty buffet breakfast with a wide range of food to choose from.

Moxy Katowice Airport – the perfect option if you’re arriving late at night or your flight is early in the morning. Located within walking distance from the Katowice airport (only 5 minutes!), this hotel is famous for its stylish interior and quiet, comfortable rooms. Guests appreciate also the cleanliness and the restaurant open at night.

Spodek

Spodek (literally “Saucer”) is an arena complex. It looks like a flying saucer which makes it a distinctive point of Katowice. It will be fifty years old soon. Concerts, trade fairs and sports events take place in Spodek – Metallica, Modern Talking, Rammstein, Pearl Jam and many other famous bands played here.

Congress Center

Currently, it’s the biggest congress center in Poland and one of the most interesting buildings in the city. I like to look at it, I think this project turned out outstandingly well 🙂 It relates to the coal mines widely present in the city’s history – it looks like a piece of coal underground. You can climb up the stairs to the viewing platform on the roof.

You can rest there and enjoy the panorama of Katowice, overlook Spodek and the Culture Zone

NOSPR and the Culture Zone

The congress center and the building of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) belong to the so-called Culture Zone. The Culture Zone was built on the area of an old coal mine – at the moment it is a beautiful terrain which will encourage you to take a walk 🙂

You can take a lift up the mineshaft – it is now a viewing platform.

The Culture Zone amazes me every time I am there. A walk there is one of the best things to do in Katowice. I still remember how neglected this place was before – full of teenagers drinking cheap wine (oh, these memories of my first 😉 ). The Culture Zone for me is a symbol of how big and great are the changes in Katowice.

Muzeum Śląskie (Silesian Museum)

Visit the new Silesian Museum, especially the part about the history of the region. You will learn about Silesia from Middle Ages until today. The exhibitions are modern and interesting. In the museum, you can also see an exhibition of Polish and sacral art, an exhibition of theatre costumes and many temporary exhibitions.

Silesian Insurgents’ Monument

Another symbol of Katowice – three eagle wings, symbols of three Silesian uprisings from 1919-1921. Silesia was a part of Germany back then and people fought for the region to become Polish again. Between the wings, there is an eternal fire to commemorate the victims.

You will have a great view of Spodek from the monument. I spent a lot of time by the wings with my friends. There was no better place to talk about boys than there, looking at Spodek and busy traffic on the nearby roundabout 🙂

When you are next to the monument pay attention to the long, grey building on the other side of the street. It’s called Superjednostka” (a super-unit) and it’s one of the biggest residential buildings in Poland.

Things to do in Katowice: In the city center

The Main Square

The Main Square in Katowice has recently changed dramatically. Until 2012 it was an awful asphalt square and its only “attraction” was a tram stop in the middle with awful stands of flower sellers 🙂 Now you can spend time on the Main Square with pleasure and it definitely is one of the things to do in Katowice.

The square is divided into three parts. “Flower square” where you can relax on wooden benches, drink a coffee and – of course, buy flowers from a lovely stand 🙂

The second part is a square for organizing events – food trucks and beer festivals, night markets, French markets, Silesian markets and many more. There is also a building of Aioli restaurant. And a toilet – the city spent over a million PLN (250 000 EUR) on it… 🙂

The last part of the Square is the most beautiful and surprising.

I’ve heard many names for it – California of Katowice, Buenos Aires, Riviera… What is it? An artificial river, a symbol of the river Rawa flowing below the Market Square. You can lie on sunbeds under… palm trees from Gliwice Palm House 🙂 Don’t miss this fun thing to do in Katowice!

Mariacka Street

The Strip or Khao San Road of Katowice 🙂 It’s a perfect place to enjoy your evening beer or a drink. At times I feel like in Temple Bar district in Dublin 😉 You can find all kinds of bars and restaurants along the street – from “all drinks for 1 EUR” to a place brewing their own aromatic beer. In summer the street is full of people enjoying their drinks outside and on a winter Friday night, you need to be lucky to find a place in one of the bars. Highly recommended 🙂

Neo-Gothic building of Mickiewicz high school