Stary Sacz
One of the oldest and best-preserved small towns in Poland, centered on a medieval market square with an intact Gothic convent founded by St. Kinga in 1280. The convent complex with its church, cloisters, and gardens is a pilgrimage site, while the town hosts the annual Stary Sacz Old Music Festival in baroque and medieval repertoire.
Tucked into the foothills of the Beskid Sądecki mountains, this remarkable little town feels like Poland froze in the 13th century and simply forgot to thaw. Just 100 km southeast of Krakow, Stary Sącz rewards curious day-trippers with one of the most authentically medieval streetscapes in the entire country — without the tourist crowds that descend on Kraków's Old Town.
History & Background
Stary Sącz owes its existence to one of Poland's most beloved royal figures: St. Kinga (Kunigunde), a Hungarian princess who married Polish Duke Bolesław V and dedicated her widowhood to founding the Poor Clares Convent here in 1280. That convent — still inhabited by nuns today — remains the town's beating heart and one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in southern Poland. Kinga herself is buried within its walls, and Pope John Paul II visited in 1999, cementing the site's spiritual importance. The medieval market square surrounding the complex survived wars, partitions, and modernisation largely intact, giving the town a coherence that bigger cities lost long ago.
What to Expect
Plan to arrive at the Rynek (market square) first — a perfectly proportioned space ringed by colorful burgher houses that feels genuinely lived-in rather than restored for show. The Convent of the Poor Clares is a short walk away, where a 10 PLN museum entry grants access to the treasury, Gothic church interior, peaceful cloisters, and well-maintained gardens. Budget at least half a day here; the atmosphere is contemplative rather than hectic. If you visit in late June or early July, the town transforms during the Stary Sącz Old Music Festival, when baroque and medieval ensembles perform in the convent courtyard and surrounding historic venues — one of the finest early music events in Central Europe and completely free to wander between.
Insider Tip
Most visitors see the convent and leave, but walk five minutes south toward the Poprad River and you'll find a quiet riverside path with views back toward the town's silhouette and the forested hills beyond — perfect for a picnic lunch. Stop into one of the small café-bakeries just off the Rynek beforehand and pick up oscypek (smoked mountain cheese) and fresh bread from local vendors. It's the kind of meal you'd never Instagram but never forget.
Getting here by train from Kraków Główny takes around 2.5 hours with a change at Nowy Sącz and costs very little — making the car (just 1.5 hours via the S7/DK75 route) the more flexible option if you want to explore the surrounding Sądecki valley en route.