The article presents the Polish reception of the biography and work of a traveler Ida Pfeiffer, one of the first women, who travelled around the world. She came from Vienna, but for some time she related to Lviv (her husband was a lawyer there), she also visited Cracow. Polish press mentioned her journeys and in 1860 her work Dwie podróże na około [!] świata przez niewiastę odbyte was released in Warsaw in the Polish translation by Juliusz Schedling. The article analyses the biography and role of Pfeiffer in Poland as an independent woman, who breaks gender stereotypes, a travelling woman. Her style of travelling differed from that of men. When setting off on a distant journey, Pfeiffer could count only on herself. She was not supported by governments or geographical associations (which were dominated by men), she organized and financed her expeditions. As a travelling woman, she astonished people with her courage, physical and mental endurance, at the same time facing the restrictions imposed on women by contemporary European culture.