Zakopane is the winter capital of Poland, and in summer it is the hiking capital too. The town lies at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, the highest range in the Carpathians, with the peak of Giewont, topped by a metal cross, looming above it. Nearly thirty thousand people live here, and many millions visit each year, so the main street, Krupówki, is crowded with souvenir stalls, grill restaurants and walkers. It is lively rather than quiet, but the mountains behind it are real.
The place has its own culture, that of the Górale, the highlanders, who have lived in the Tatra foothills for centuries. Their wooden houses, with steep roofs and carved decoration, formed the basis of the Zakopane style at the end of the nineteenth century, and the music, with fast fiddle tunes, and the costume, with embroidered felt trousers, are still a living tradition. Oscypek, a smoked sheep's cheese, is sold everywhere, grilled and served with cranberry jam, and a glass of hot mulled wine or beer is a good way to warm up in the evening.
The roads around town are narrower than you might hope. Traffic into Zakopane can be heavy at weekends and holidays, with queues on the approach from Nowy Targ, and the surrounding roads are busy with coaches and cars. The route along the foothills toward Kościelisko and Poronin, and further east toward the Slovak border, has long views of the ridge on clear days, with meadows and dark spruce forest. Some sections have bumpy asphalt or ruts left by heavy trucks, and speed limits in villages are enforced. Early mornings give you quiet roads, and the high Tatras in autumn light are very fine.
Zakopane is large enough to offer fuel, repairs and every kind of food, with stations on the main roads in and out. Kościelisko and Poronin have services too. Weather in the mountains can change quickly, with cold rain and mist even in summer, and snow possible from October. The warm föhn wind, the halny, can blow hard at times.
Spend an hour on Gubałówka, the hill north of town, if time allows. The view across the roofs to the whole wall of the Tatras is the best overview of what you have come for.