Saturday day trips are some of my favourite things to do. I usually explore the UK, but recently, I had a chance to go on a day trip close to my hometown in Poland. I spent the Easter period with my family and on my final day back home, we decided to go on a little trip. We visited two castles, in Mirów and Bobolice – part of the Trail of the Eagles’ Nests in the south of Poland, which includes 25 medieval castles between Częstochowa and Kraków.

Getting to Mirów

In the UK, I don’t have a car and always plan my trips around public transport connections. It’s good for the planet, I suppose, but it does limit my options. This time, in Poland, my family was able to drive to Mirów.

I’m sure there are some local buses that go there from larger towns nearby, but I wouldn’t count on a generous timetable. It’s probably best to drive to Mirów.

If you plan to visit both castles, I highly recommend starting in Mirów, then walking to Bobolice and back. There are a few car parks in Mirów, including a couple of free ones. As far as I know, the car park in Bobolice is paid.

Recent restoration of Mirów and Bobolice Castles

Both medieval castles were in a horrible state for years, falling apart, with no one looking after them. Then, in 2006, a local millionaire purchased both castles and later also the land between them. Restoration works started to improve the condition of the castles.

Bobolice Castle was renovated first. You can enter the castle now – there’s a small museum there, and a viewing terrace with a lovely view. The castle featured in some Polish films and TV series, and it was the filming location for the a music video for a song from Disney’s Brave animation.

Mirów castle, as of 2025, is still being worked on. You can’t enter it, but you can see it from the outside.

There have been controversies around the castles’ restoration, with some experts calling out the lack of authenticity and design mistakes. I’m no expert myself, but considering that the castles were literally falling apart, it’s probably a good thing to have them looked after.

According to Google reviews, some visitors call the castles’ owners “greedy”. A standard ticket, including entrance to Bobolice Castle and both castles’ grounds is 40 PLN (~£8 or $10).  It’s quite a lot for Polish standards. But, on the other hand, I fully understand that the private owner has the right to set their own prices as they please.

Mirów Castle

After leaving the car at one of the free car parks in Mirów, we walked to Mirów Castle. We purchased entrance tickets and entered the castle grounds.

Mirów Castle can’t be accessed, it appeared to be a construction site. We were able to see it from the outside and walk around it, it’s fairly small. There is no estimated timeline for the restoration works, and I expect it might take a few years. It didn’t seem like much was going on.

There are no tourist facilities at Mirów Castle.

Walking to Bobolice

After walking around the Mirów Castle and taking some photos, we walked towards Bobolice. It’s a nice, short countryside walk. There terrain between the castles is a small hill with some steep, rocky walls on the side. It’s a popular location for rock climbers, and we saw some people climbing there. The wall isn’t tall, but apparently it’s quite tricky to climb. Even very experienced climbers train there.

We walked on a regular path though, and after less than 20 minutes, we could see the second castle.

Bobolice Castle

Bobolice Castle, renovated in 2011, is now open to visitors. It’s fairly small, with a few rooms filled with old furniture and hunters’ trophies. The highlight of the castle, to me, was the view from the top floors.

Lunchtime

There are a hotel and a restaurant next to Bobolice Castle and we decided to have lunch there. I chose a pork chop with fried potatoes and a salad. It was tasty, but – being completely honest – I was still hungry afterwards. The slice of meat was thick, but the potato slices combined came up to a total of maybe one small potato. I would have appreciated a slightly bigger portion.

Walking back to Mirów

After lunch, we headed back to Mirów, which again took less than 20 minutes. We left the castle grounds, walked to our car and drove back home.

If you happen to be in the area, Mirów and Bobolice can make a nice, chilled day trip. They aren’t a hugely popular tourist attraction, but we still had to wait around 10 minutes to get a table at the restaurant where we had lunch. The distance between the two castles is short and doesn’t require great stamina to walk it, though it’s worth noting that the path is rocky and not accessible for wheelchairs and prams.

Overall, it was a fun day, and it was nice to visit a new place, just an hour away from my hometown!

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