Best Views in Zakopane: Hills, Cable Cars and Ski Jump
The best views in Zakopane, from Kasprowy Wierch and Gubałówka to Antałówka, Równia Krupowa and the Wielka Krokiew ski jump, with routes to each.
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The best views in Zakopane come from two places: the top of Kasprowy Wierch, reached by cable car from Kuźnice, and Gubałówka, which rises directly above the town centre and has a funicular station there. Everything else on this list is a smaller, faster or cheaper option for days when cloud sits on the high tops or you have only an afternoon. The picks below are grouped roughly from the biggest effort to the least.
Zakopane sits in a valley beneath the Tatra Mountains, so almost every viewpoint looks up at the range rather than down on it. That shapes the choice: go high for the fullest panorama, stay low for the town-and-peaks combination, or settle for a café window when the weather closes in. Distances and approach routes matter more here than ticket prices, so start with our guide to things to do in Zakopane if you are still building the trip around one big outing.
Kasprowy Wierch: the high panorama above Kuźnice
A cable car runs from Kuźnice, in upper Zakopane, to the summit station on Kasprowy Wierch, and the top station has a restaurant, a souvenir shop and toilets. That makes it the one summit viewpoint where you can eat and shelter without descending. It is also the most weather-dependent: on a clear day the range opens up in every direction, and on a cloudy one you ride up into grey.
If you are fit and the weather is holding, walk from the top station to Mt Beskid, at 2,012 m the easiest accessible 2,000 m peak in the Polish Tatras. That extra hour or so of ridge walking turns a cable-car ride into a proper mountain outing, but it is exposed ground and not a stroll. Build the day around the cable car first, then decide at the top whether the walk is on; the wider options around Kuźnice and the national park are set out in our Tatra National Park guide.
Gubałówka: the classic view over the town
Gubałówka gives you the Tatra Mountains and Zakopane in one frame, which is why it is the default first viewpoint for most visitors. You can reach the top on foot, by funicular railway from the centre, or by the Szymoszkowa or Butorowy chairlifts. Each route lands you at a slightly different point on the ridge, so the walk down can be planned to end wherever suits you.
In high season, go up early in the morning for the panoramic view in quiet. Later in the day the ridge fills with people and the light flattens, so the trade-off is an alarm clock against a crowd. If you would rather combine the climb with the streets and wooden architecture below, our Zakopane walking tour covers the town at ground level.
Antałówka Hill: a viewpoint with nothing commercial on it
Antałówka is the honest local option: a hill with no commercial attractions on top, just the view. You can drive to the end of Antałówka na Wierch street, take a horse-drawn carriage, or walk up on the yellow marked trail from the crossroads of Jagiellońska and Bulwary Słowackiego. The walk is the point rather than the destination, so arrive without expecting a café, ticket desk or anything to buy.
It doubles as a favourite walking spot for residents, which tells you what kind of place it is: benches, dogs and open ground rather than visitor infrastructure. Come here when you want a view without queueing, and accept that facilities are in town, not on the hill.
Równia Krupowa: the flat, free view in the middle of town
Równia Krupowa is the residents' strolling green, running between Sienkiewicza Street and Aleje 2 Maja and parallel to Krupówki. It has numerous benches and large wooden deck chairs, plus two playgrounds and an outdoor gym. For a view you barely have to climb for, this is the lowest-effort option in Zakopane.
At the Kościuszki Street end stands a large wooden ZAKOPANE sign, a favourite spot for souvenir photographs. Step off Krupówki for twenty minutes and you get sky, peaks and space instead of shopfronts. It is also the obvious picnic stop before or after browsing the shops on the main street.
Szymoszkowa chairlift: the quick ride up and down
The Szymoszkowa chairlift sits on Polana Szymoszkowa, about 15 minutes on foot from Krupówki Street, and riders going down get a panoramic view of the Tatra Mountains and Zakopane. It runs nearly all year round, with breaks before and after the winter season, so those shoulder-season gaps can catch people out.
If you only want the panorama, tell the staff you want to ride straight back down instead of getting off at the top station. It is a small request that saves a walk and a wait, and it suits anyone treating the chairlift as a viewpoint rather than transport.
Wielka Krokiew: the view from the ski jump
The Wielka Krokiew ski jump on Czecha 1 Street is one of the largest and oldest natural ski jumps in the world, and a chairlift carries you to the top. Standing on the take-off platform is the attraction: the town drops away and the landing slope looks far steeper than it does from below. Children and adults tend to enjoy it equally.
It works as a short stop rather than a half-day, which makes it a good fit for a mixed itinerary of town and mountains. Combine it with a wander through the centre, or see what else pairs well nearby in our Zakopane Attractions: 7 Visitor Guides.
Bachledzki Wierch: the walk with four ways up
Bachledzki Wierch is a hill of about 900 m with views of the Polish and Slovak Tatras, Zakopane and Gubałówka. There are several approach routes: from the centre via Chyców Potok Street, from the Ustup district via Wojdyły Street, from the Olcza district via Podhalańska Street, and from the Pardalówka district via Antałówka Street. Pick the one closest to where you are staying and the walk becomes a natural extension of the day.
The route stays pleasant in winter, but avoid it after rain because of mud. That single caveat decides a lot: it is a better choice on a dry, crisp morning than on a wet afternoon, and grippy footwear matters more than any ticket.
Two café viewpoints for when the tops are clouded in
Two cafés sit on the upper floors of small shopping centres in the very centre of Zakopane, both reachable by lift. Café Tygodnik is at Kościuszki 3 St., and STRH Bistro Art Cafe is at Krupówki 4a St. Neither is a mountain viewpoint, but a window seat here beats a wasted cable-car fare when the peaks vanish into cloud.
Treat them as the wet-weather substitute rather than the headline. They also put you within easy reach of the town's food, from grilled oscypek to mountain-style soups, which is covered in our Zakopane food guide. For more low-cost ways to fill a cloudy day, see free things to do in Zakopane.
Matching the viewpoint to your day
Think in three tiers. Kasprowy Wierch and Gubałówka are the summit-class panoramas and need the clearest hours of your trip. Antałówka, Równia Krupowa, the Szymoszkowa chairlift and the Wielka Krokiew are short, flexible outings that slot around other plans. Bachledzki Wierch and the café rooftops fill the gaps when weather or time rules out the big two.
When the high tops are clouded in, do not force the cable car. Stay low on Równia Krupowa, take the ski-jump chairlift for a town-level view, or settle into a first-floor café and wait. Save the summit for the best morning of the trip and the rest of the list absorbs the other days.
Which viewpoint should you pick first?
Pick Kasprowy Wierch or Gubałówka for your clearest morning and treat everything else as backup. If you have one afternoon only, ride the Gubałówka funicular from the centre and walk down; if the cloud is low, the Wielka Krokiew chairlift and a café window deliver more than a wasted summit fare.
Book nothing around fixed lift times until you have seen the morning sky over the Tatras, and keep one flexible day in a two-day trip for the viewpoint that suits the weather. Use the town-level options to break up the walking and market browsing between mountain outings.
Explore more Zakopane guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Is two days enough for Zakopane's viewpoints?
Two days is enough to do one summit-class panorama and three or four of the smaller viewpoints. Give your clearest morning to Kasprowy Wierch or Gubałówka, then use the second day for Antałówka, Równia Krupowa and the Wielka Krokiew chairlift, with a café as the wet-weather fallback.
Can you reach any of the viewpoints without a cable car or funicular?
Yes. Antałówka can be reached on foot on the yellow marked trail from Jagiellońska and Bulwary Słowackiego, Równia Krupowa is flat ground in the centre, Gubałówka can be climbed on foot, and Bachledzki Wierch has four marked approach streets from different districts. These are walking routes rather than attractions, so wear suitable shoes and avoid Bachledzki Wierch after rain.
Sources
Notes for your next Polish city break
Optional updates to our Poland guides.
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