PARTYING IN ZAKOPANE

If you are looking for a holiday where you can play all day and party all night, or just party all the time then Zakopane can definitely keep you entertained. There are a number of nightclubs in the centre of town and numerous bars and pubs; Zakopane can cater to almost everyone’s tastes. The bars and pubs vary greatly in style with everything from small local bars that do not have too much to offer in the way of fancy décor but will provide the drinks to extravagant American style country bars where girls in hot pants and small t-shirts will serve you. There are a few bars in Zakopane that are solely just bars in that they only serve drinks, however being a tourist town there are a lot of restaurants in the town centre with bars inside. People will not mind if you go into a restaurant just to sit and drink, in fact there are a couple of restaurants that are the only places in town where you can get your hands on a litre flagon of beer.

As in most holiday destinations nightlife varies according to the day of the week and time of year. You cannot expect to go out on a Monday night out of season and find a club full of people. However, you will find the clubs are busy almost every weekend in Zakopane as people from Krakow and further North in Poland regularly stay in Zakopane for the weekend. During holiday periods Zakopane is not only a popular tourist destination with people from abroad but also with people from all around Poland leading to clubs being packed out everyday of the week. Bars and Pubs are open from early in the day until around midnight, with the clubs staying open until around 4 o’clock depending on how busy they are.

The following guide to the bars and nightclubs should help you choose a few places to go and give a rough guide as to what you can expect to find in Zakopane. There are so many places to squeeze onto a small map so the town centre has been divided into 4 coloured areas on the map, the bars and clubs on the list below have the names written in the same colour as the area of town they can be found in. The centre of town is effortless to find your way around so finding a place to party is simple.

NIGHTCLUBS

FINLANDIA - A reasonably sized local disco nightclub, tends to be used more by local people, however you will be made to feel welcome and can enjoy dancing the night away with a mixed age range of people. The music is usually commercial, playing current chart songs.

VA VA VOOM – One of the smarter clubs in Zakopane, Va Va Voom has two floors, a bar area downstairs and upstairs another bar with a dance floor. There are often live DJ’s playing the music, usually funky house and the odd Polish celebrity can be seen strolling around.

ROCKUS – Mostly a rock and roll nightclub, Rockus does have different music style nights but at the weekend it sticks to its original Rock and Roll style. During busy times of the year Rockus is a popular venue for live bands to perform, keep an eye out for posters on the walls around town.

GENESIS – Genesis is one of Zakopane’s larger nightclubs. Playing a variety of music styles through the night, it is popular with visitors from Northern Poland as the owners are originally from Warsaw and have set the club up in a similar style to nightclubs found further North in Poland. It has a large dance floor surrounded by comfy seating areas and a large bar.

MORSKIE OKO – Quite a busy nightclub playing a mix of commercial and techno music, could do with a bigger dance floor. However, it is a good place to just sit and enjoy the atmosphere if you are not a dancer as there is a large comfy seating area.

BLUE STAR – The newest club in Zakopane, Blue Star is a well sized European style nightclub with sofas, televisions and a long bar. Blue Star is also Zakopane’s only non-smoking venue.

WIERCHY – Wierchy is a large commercial nightclub, which attracts most of the younger people in Zakopane. However, unless town is really busy it can often feel way too big for Zakopane and the club loses its atmosphere. There is a huge seating area and dance floor downstairs and a large bar and seating area upstairs, it can be fun if there are plenty of people in town.

PRESTIGE – A small underground nightclub, Prestige is able to keep a good friendly atmosphere even when there are a lot of people in town. It has a small dance floor complete with a pole and plenty of seating areas all around the club including a private VIP room compete with flat screen TV for any special occasions.

BARS AND PUBS

GLOBUS – Globus is as close as you will find to an English pub in Zakopane in that not only does it have seats and serves beer but there are a few games to be played as well, such as table football. Not many bars/pubs in Zakopane have games tables inside.

ANTRAKT – This is a local bar situated in a loft, which overlooks the town’s main street, the Krupowki. It has become a popular venue with local fashion designers to make shows and has a warm welcoming feel to it.

ROOSTERS – Based on the American Hooters, Roosters is set out as an American Diner serving burgers, pizzas and pastas. However, it is also a popular bar with sport on the TV, music playing, live bands and waitresses dressed in hot pants and tight t-shirts.

PAPARAZZI – A stylish cocktail bar with a relaxed friendly atmosphere, Paparazzi is part of a chain of cocktail bars across Poland, which explains why it is just as popular with Poland’s celebrities as it is with Zakopane’s many tourists.

PUB NIETOTA – A simple locally owned bar, has everything you need to sit and drink.

SEAGRAMS – Zakopane’s only Irish bar, Seagram’s has a friendly atmosphere and is very popular with British tourists, a good place to find a few friends to party with.

ANEMON – One of Zakopane’s smaller bars, however, Anemon has everything you really need from a bar, a large choice of drinks.

LITWOR HOTEL – The Litwor is a 4* hotel with a stylish bar open to the public, one of few places in Zakopane with professional bar tenders.

LEGENDA NIETOPERZA – The newest bar in Zakopane, Legenda is a modern, well-decorated underground café bar. It is a nice place to go if you are looking for a quieter place to sit and drink. As well as the usual alcoholic drinks they serve a variety of hot drinks.

PIANO – More popular with the local people, Piano is a chic little bar with swings at the bar instead of bar stools. It is only small but has a true local atmosphere.

ANTIDOTUM – A simple underground bar, Antidotum is a good spot for a last drink before heading to one of 3 nightclubs across the road.

SANACJA – Again a simple underground bar, Sanacja is a good spot for a last drink before heading to one of 3 nightclubs across the road