Nowy Sącz is located at the confluence of the Kamienica River and Dunajec, about 20 kilometres north of the Slovak border, in the Sądecka Valley (Kotlina Sądecka) at an altitude of 381 metres. It is surrounded by ranges of the eastern Outer Western Carpathian Mountains: Beskid Sądecki to the south, Beskid Wyspowy to the west, Beskid Niski to the southeast, and the foothills of Pogórze Rożnowskie to the north.