Where to stay in Bytom

Bytom is first documented in 1136 but all that remains of its early days are museum pieces and a few baroque church interiors. It industrialised from the 19th century with metal production and coal mining, and this ramped up in the 20th. There was a long-established German-speaking population, who called it Beuthen, and in 1939 it was swiftly occupied by the Nazis. In 1942 its Jewish people transported to Auschwitz. Post-war the communists built more collieries and steelworks wherever they could, while the ground subsided as miners tunneled beneath.

Getting in

Katowice-Pyrzowice airport (KTW) is 24 km north of Bytom. It has domestic and European flights plus holiday destinations around the Med & Red, plus the Gulf States. Take the local bus into Katowice and change, there's no direct transport to Bytom. Kraków John-Paul II Airport (KRK) 80 km east has a far greater range of flights. Take the train or Bus 300 into Kraków and change for Katowice. Train run every hour or so from Katowice, taking 30 min via Chorzów and continuing to Tarnowskie Góry, another 45 min. Change in Katowice for other cities such as Kraków, Warsaw and Częstochowa.

Getting around

ZTM is the transport combine for the entire metropolis. Bus M3 from Katowice runs via Chorzów to Bytom, taking 30 min, and continues to Tarnowskie Góry. It's every 15 min daytime and hourly through the night.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.