Żywiec is a winter sport resort city in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southwest of Kraków and very near to Bielsko-Biała. The most famous Polish beer Żywiec is made there. The city is in the Beskids and this part of the mountain range is named after the city Żywiec Beskid (1725m). There is also a big lake in the town.

Get in

If traveling by car from Katowice take the motorway to Bielsko-Biała and then follow signs south to Żywiec. The road from Bielsko-Biała to Żywiec however is single-carriageway and good views can be had of the surrounding countryside.

The town is also accessible by coach and train from Katowice, the nearest major city. The train fare from Katowice should be about 13/14zł and the journey should take about two hours. The town is also served by the Warsaw-Budapest line, with one train a day going in each direction.

Get around

The town is not particularly big and the historic centre itself is certainly walkable, but a ticket for the town bus service, covering all parts of the town can be bought for 2zł.

See

• City Museum - Old Castle (Muzeum Miejskie - Stary Zamek), ul. Zamkowa 2. 

• Brewery Museum (Muzeum browaru), ul. Browarna 88, ☏ +48 33 861 24 57, rezerwacja@muzeumbrowaru.pl. 10 am to 6 pm; closed Mondays. 30zł for a tour, beer tasting and a bag of souvenirs. 

Do

In summer boats can be hired to swim on the lake.