Chorzów - Silesian Park and Elka Chairlift

Chorzów, located 6 km from Katowice, is home to the enormous Silesian Park - the largest park in Poland and one of the largest in Europe! It is a vast green area with kilometers of asphalt paths for cyclists, rollerbladers, and pedestrians. The park is so big that a chairlift-gondola was built to traverse its length, which is a magnificent attraction! The park also includes a Japanese garden, a rose garden, a zoo, a planetarium, an amusement park called "Legendia," a stadium, and many other attractions. A weekend is definitely not enough to explore the entire park!

• Entrance to the park is free, but there is a fee for additional attractions such as the zoo and the amusement park.
• The park is not closed and is open 24/7.
• You can bring your dog into the park.
• Keep in mind that the park is very extensive, and the distances between attractions can be quite long, especially for little ones.

Getting There: Trams and Buses

• From Katowice, Chorzów, or Bytom: take lines 0, 6, 11, 19, 23, 33 to the "Park Śląski Wejście Główne" stop.
• From Katowice, Bytom, Gliwice, or Tarnowskie Góry: take lines 6, 820, 830, 840 to the "Park Śląski, Śląski Ogród Zoologiczny" stop.

Silesian Park - With Strollers, Bicycles, and Rollerblades

You will find wide asphalt paths with well-maintained vegetation and wild forested areas with narrow, but also asphalt, paths. Due to the vastness of the park, it is perfect for cycling (there is a designated bike route around the park) and rollerblading (there are special tracks for rollerblading). Near the park, there are several places where you can rent city bikes, including children's bikes and tandems.

Silesian Park - Attractions

Elka Chairlift

This chairlift extends throughout the entire length of Silesian Park. The ride takes about 15-20 minutes. You can choose between family chairs (for 4 people, suitable for older children) or enclosed gondolas (which can accommodate strollers). The chairs/gondolas slow down almost to a stop, so you don't have to sit down while they are in motion (unlike some other chairlifts). You can calmly and stress-free get on/off with children, elderly people, or strollers. There is a height limit - children below 125 cm can only ride in the gondolas. The downside of the gondolas is poor ventilation - on sunny (not necessarily hot!) days, the gondola turns into a stuffy greenhouse... It is also not allowed to carry children on your lap in the chairlift. The chairlift is closed on Mondays. You can find more information on the Elka Chairlift website.

Park and Chairlift Map

"Legendia" Amusement Park

This is the Silesian amusement park and the oldest amusement park in Poland. It offers a total of 40 different attractions, including the largest carousel in Poland, which provides a view of the park and its surroundings (the gondolas rise to a height of 45 m). One of the attractions is the Valley of Jagi, where we ride in witch's cauldrons along a rapid river (for children over 100 cm tall). Another attraction is the Basilisk, located in an enclosed building, where we ride through a magical land full of monsters (including the titular Basilisk) in 6-person carriages. Each passenger is equipped with a laser gun to help defeat the monsters.

Chorzów Zoo - Silesian Zoological Garden

The Silesian Zoological Garden is one of the largest and oldest zoos in Poland. Here, you will encounter children's favorites such as elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, camels, and penguins. An additional attraction in Chorzów Zoo is the Dinosaur Valley, featuring concrete models of prehistoric reptiles (apparently the first of its kind in Poland).

Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden is located between the "Kapelusz" hall and the Rose Garden. Its gem is a 50-year-old cherry tree. In the garden, you will find many other plant species straight from Japan!

Electric Motorboat Dock

You can rent an electric motorboat and enjoy a ride on the Small Silesian Pond located within the park (which is not so small after all :).

Planetarium in Chorzów

The reopening of the planetarium, located within the park, is approaching rapidly. After a long renovation, it is scheduled to open on the weekend of June 11-12. It will be quite an event!

Where to Eat in Silesian Park?

For lunch, we went to the restaurant "Nowa Łania" located by the lake. The food was great, and there was a small playground for children and shaded tables. It's a lovely place to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee, or have a warm meal.

Nikiszowiec in Katowice

In nearby Katowice, it's worth visiting Nikiszowiec. This historic, working-class district was built over a century ago for miners and has remained virtually unchanged to this day.

Easy

directions_walk child_friendly

A Walk Through Nikiszowiec

straighten 1.2km

timer 19min

north_east 12m

south_east 14m

PS. We have included this place in the article "10 Ideas for a One-Day Trip around Krakow." Check out the rest of them!

10 ideas for a one-day trip outside Krakow

Looking for an idea for a trip outside the city? Preferably not too far away, so you don't spend a lot of time in the car? Check if you've been here before: ...

and in the article "10 Ideas for a Stroller-Friendly Walk around Krakow":

10 Ideas for a Stroller Walk near Krakow

10 ideas for a stroll or trip with a stroller near Krakow ...

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Author: adelina
Publish Date: 2019-08-11