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 (1725 m). 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 S1 motorway from Bielsko-Biała to Żywiec interchanges with road 946 for the city center, and 3 km further south along the motorway there is an interchange for the brewery.

As most larger towns in Poland, the town also houses a 1 Train station and 2 Bus station. The train from Katowice should be about 17zł and the journey should take a little less than two hours and is operated by Koleje Śląskie. If traveling from Bielsko-Biała the journey takes a bit more than half an hour and costs 6 zł.

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 2 zł.

See

• 1 City Museum - Old Castle (Muzeum Miejskie - Stary Zamek), ul. Zamkowa 2.  
• 2 Brewery Museum (Muzeum browaru), ul. Browarna 88, ☏ +48 33 861 24 57, rezerwacja@muzeumbrowaru.pl. Tu-Su 10:00 to 18:00; closed Mondays. 30 zł for a tour, beer tasting and a bag of souvenirs. 
• 3 Town Hall, Rynek 2. (updated Jun 2017)

Do

There is a path for biking, walking and running along the Koszarawa river through town. If you follow it East through the woods you will find several weirs popular for summer sunning and bathing. If you follow the path west and then bending to the north you will end up along the shores of lake Żywiec. In the summer pedal boats and kayaks can be rented to take out on the lake.

Connect

As of April 2024, Żywiec and its approach roads have 4G from Orange and Play, and 5G from Plus and T-Mobile.