Shopping & Groceries in Zakopane

Whether you are cooking in your apartment, buying snacks for a day in the mountains or looking for a souvenir, shopping in Zakopane is easy - as long as you remember the Sunday rule. This guide covers the types of shops you will find and a few practical habits that save time.

Sunday: plan ahead

Since 2018, most shops in Poland are closed on most Sundays. There are about eight "trading Sundays" a year: the last Sunday of some months, the Sunday before Easter and several Sundays before Christmas. On other Sundays, only some small shops, shops at petrol stations and a few others open, and pharmacies follow their own rota. Do your main grocery shopping on Saturday, and check whether the day before a public holiday has shorter hours.

Check before you travel: the list of trading Sundays is set each year.

Groceries

• Supermarkets: there are several in and around the centre, and larger ones on the roads leading out of town, which are easier to reach by car.
• Small grocery shops ("sklep spożywczy"): useful for bread, milk, water and snacks close to where you stay.
• Bakeries open early in the morning - fresh bread and pastries for breakfast.
• Bottled water is sold everywhere; "niegazowana" is still, "gazowana" is sparkling.

Halal products

The choice of halal meat and products in Zakopane is limited. Supermarkets sometimes stock individual items with a halal mark on the packaging; a label from a recognised certifying body on the product itself is what counts. We do not list shops as halal unless their information has been checked. If halal meat matters to you, ask your host before arrival, or plan to buy it in a larger city on the way. Read labels for "wieprzowina" (pork), "żelatyna" (gelatine) and "smalec" (lard).

Pharmacies

Pharmacies ("Apteka", with a green cross) are common in the centre and sell basic medicines, baby products and sun cream. Many medicines that you can buy freely at home need a prescription in Poland. At night and on Sundays, a pharmacy on duty is open in rotation - the address is posted on every pharmacy door.

Baby products

Nappies, baby food and formula are sold in supermarkets, pharmacies and drugstores. If your child needs a specific brand of formula, bring enough for the first days.

Local products and souvenirs

• Oscypek: smoked sheep's cheese in decorative shapes, the symbol of the region. The protected name applies only to cheese made from sheep's milk between May and September, when the sheep are on the mountain pastures. Outside the season, similar cheeses are sold under other names.
• Wool: sweaters, socks, hats and slippers from local sheep wool.
• Leather and sheepskin: slippers, gloves and jackets.
• Wooden crafts with highlander patterns, and folk-art ornaments.
• Honey, herbal teas and preserves.

The market at the end of the main street, near the lower station of the funicular, is the classic place for all of these. Quality varies, so compare a few stalls. Some goods are imported rather than local.

Shopping centres

Zakopane has a few small shopping centres and many outdoor-equipment shops, where you can buy or replace warm clothing, waterproof jackets, gloves and proper shoes. Large malls are in Kraków.

Practical tips

• Cards and contactless are accepted almost everywhere. Keep some cash in złoty for market stalls.
• Carry a bag - plastic bags at the till cost extra.
• Most plastic bottles and cans carry a small deposit, which you get back by returning them to a shop with a collection point.
• Typical hours for supermarkets are early morning to late evening on weekdays and Saturdays, shorter in small shops and on the day before holidays. Check hours for the shop nearest to you.
• For money, SIM and eSIM cards and other everyday details, see Practical Information for Your Stay.