Lublin Travel Guide – Visit Lublin – Budget Travel In Poland

Visit Lublin to experience a lively city with a charming old town. Its many universities and academies ensure there is a vibrant nightlife with numerous bars and clubs. Majdanek extermination camp is located just outside the city centre.

Lublin was our first stop off as we made our way from the small town of Lubaczow to Warsawa. We planned to spend new year in the nation’s capital but our journey included a couple of stops in places that are lesser known to your typical tourist.

Where To Stay In Lublin

These are some of the best budget hostels in Lublin, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Hotel Victoria
• Best Hotel Agit Congress & Spa
• Hotel PZMot
• Campanile Lublin
• Hotel Wieniawski
• Hotel Luxor

Hostel Krolewska

We stayed at a place called ‘Hostel Krolewska’ (map). The rooms were basic but the hostel was clean and ideally located at the main gate into Lublin Old Town. A twin room with balcony and shared bathroom was less than £20. It was a decent place from which to explore the city.

Click here to book a stay at Hostel Krolewska.

Things To Do In Lublin

Brama Krakowska

We left the hotel to explore the city. ‘Brama Krakowska’ (map) is the 14th century main gate into Lublin Old Town and was right next to our hostel so we decided to visit the old town first.

As it was just a couple of days after Christmas, the old town felt magical. We got our first glimpse of ‘Lublin Castle’ (map).

We found a restaurant that sold pierogi (not that difficult to find in Poland) and had some food before having an early night. We were tired and had a long day ahead of us the next day.

Majdanek Concentration Camp

The next morning, we took a bus to the ‘Majdanek Concentration Camp’ (map). Google Maps doesn’t seem to know about the buses in Lublin to the camp but our hostel provided us with the information.

We arrived to find the camp covered in snow and completely empty.

The main visitor centre was closed but the camp itself was open. We had the whole place to ourselves. I suppose visiting a concentration camp isn’t most people’s idea of how to spend the Christmas holidays.

Majdanek Concentration Camp Barracks

Some of the old barracks are now part of the museum. I was glad that these were still open. It felt strange having the place to ourselves with no staff anywhere. There were some incredible images in the museum.

Upon liberation of the camp, curious locals were allowed to enter to see the full exxtent of the horrors that took place there. I have the feeling that they must have known what was going on.

The camp was an extermination camp so there would have been endless smoke from cremating the dead.

We made our way around the camp. It was so cold which made us wonder just how cold it would have been for the prisoners with thin striped pyjamas and no shoes.

We came to Block 12 which is where sick prisoners would stay before being sent to the gas chamber. If you found yourself in Block 12, you knew you were going to be killed.

Some of the barracks have been left as they were to give visitors an idea of camp life. Each barrack would hold 500 people. Disease and illness were rife.

Majdanek Concentration Camp Memorial

We reached the rear of the camp. There is a huge memorial with the words “Our fate is your warning”.

Majdanek Concentration Camp Crematorium

From the memorial, we could see the main crematorium.

Inside the crematorium, we came across a table. We learned that this is the table where gold teeth were extracted from the dead before they were placed inside the crematorium.

It was fitting that the crematorium was the final place on our walk around the camp. It is estimated that over 78,000 people died in Majdanek.

Exploring Lublin

We headed back into the old town to try and find a place to eat.

We found a cafe and I managed to order an English breakfast, a Polish breakfast, two large coffees, one with milk entirely in Polish. I was very proud 🙂

We continued our exploration around the old town, taking a closer look at the castle.

We managed to find some street art.

We discovered an underground bar called Central NY so we enjoyed a couple of beers. It is, unfortunately, no longer operational.

After a few more drinks, we made our way back to the hostel as we had yet another early start the next day.

Is Lublin Worth Visiting?

Whilst Lublin is not as well-known with tourists as Krakow or Warswawa, I would definitely recommend you visit Lublin if travelling in Poland. The people are friendly and the old town is charming. History lovers will enjoy exploring the castle and the concentration camp. I would definitely go back to Lublin as I feel there is more to discover.