Poland travel guide
Chic medieval hot spots such as Kraków and Gdańsk vie with energetic Warsaw for your urban attention. Outside the cities, woods, rivers, lakes and hills beckon for some fresh-air fun.
Covers: Warsaw, Mazovia and Podlasie, Krakow, Malopolska, the Carpathian Mountains, Silesia, Wielkopolska, Gdansk and Pomerania, Warmia and Masuria, and more
Choose a chapter
Plan your trip (5.811Mb)
Coverage includes: Welcome to Poland, Poland’s Top 17, Need to Know, If You Like: Castles, Museums, Communist Architecture, Hiking, Nightlife or Folk Culture, Month by Month, Itineraries, Outdoor Activities, Eat & Drink Like a Local and Regions at a Glance.
Warsaw (2.914Mb)
Warsaw is home to excellent museums which interpret the city’s complex history, from the joys of Chopin’s music to the tragedy of the Jewish ghetto. It’s not all about the past, however. Warsaw’s restaurant and entertainment scene is the best in Poland.
- take in Warsaw and beyond from the Palace of Culture & Science
- listen to first-hand accounts of WWII at Warsaw Rising Museum
- learn about Poland’s long Jewish history at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Coverage includes: Sights, Courses, Tours, Festivals & Events, Sleeping, Eating, Drinking & Nightlife, Entertainment, Shopping, History, Warsaw & Around.
Mazovia & Podlasie (2.133Mb)
Amidst a rolling landscape, Mazovia, once a duchy, is dotted with castles, cathedrals and palaces plus a mix of gritty industrial and restored architecture. Aside from a few urban centres, the Podlasie region is a paradise of farmland, forest and lakes.
- marvel at the industrial heritage and movie magic of Łódź
- hark back to a time of romance at Arkadia & Nieborów
- wonder how Płock got hold of so many Art Nouveau treasures
Coverage includes: Mazovia & Around, Łódź, Łowicz, Płock, Pułtusk, Southern Podlasie, Białystok, Tykocin, Biebrza National Park, Narew National Park, Kruszyniany, Bohoniki, Białowieża National Park, Augustów-Suwałki Region, Augustów, Suwałki & Around.
Krakow (1.786Mb)
Kraków is a harmonious blend of past and present, with attractive streets and squares, soaring churches and impressive museums. Throughout Kamirez and the Old Town are hundreds of restaurants, bars and clubs, plus don’t miss Europe’s largest market square, Rynek Główny.
- immerse yourself in Polish history at the multiple museums within the grand Wawel Castle
- head beneath the vast Rynek Główny to experience the multimedia Rynek Underground exhibition
- learn about WWII history in the magnificent museum inside Schindler’s Factory
Malopolska (2.152Mb)
While Małopolska lacks truly world-class sights, the region is rich in cultural diversity and natural beauty, with rolling hills and several national parks. Sandomierz, an ancient Gothic town on a bluff overlooking the Vistula River, is one of Poland’s prettiest places.
join throngs of Black Madonna pilgrims in Częstochowa
appreciate the perfection of 16th-century town planning in Zamość
blush as portraits peer down at you in Kielce’s Kraków Bishops’ Palace
Coverage includes: The Kraków−Częstochowa Upland, Ojców National Park, Częstochowa, The Małopolska Upland, Kielce, Świętokrzyski National Park, The Sandomierz Valley, Sandomierz, The Radom Plain, Radom, The Lublin Upland, Lublin, Kazimierz Dolny, Chełm, Zamość, Zwierzyniec and Roztocze National Park.
Carpathian Mountains (1.828Mb)
The wooded hills and peaks of the Carpathian Mountains are a beacon for hikers, cyclists and skiers in season. And because of the region’s remoteness, this ‘forgotten corner’ has been able to preserve its traditional folkways better than other parts of the country.
- view the natural beauty of the Bieszczady up close in Ustrzyki Górne
- enjoy a papal cream cake in Wadowice, the town where Pope John Paul II was born
- marvel at the colours and patterns of the painted houses of Zalipie
Coverage includes: Tatras, Zakopane, Carpathian Foothills, Wadowice, Tarnów, Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Bieszczady, Sanok, Lesko, Ustrzyki Dolne, Ustrzyki Górne, Wetlina, Cisna, Beskid Niski, Krosno, Biecz, Beskid Sądecki, Nowy Sącz, Krynica, Muszyna, Pieniny, Szczawnica, Dunajec Gorge and Niedzica.
Silesia (2.12Mb)
Silesia boasts a rich history, with architecture ranging from medieval fortresses to Baroque cathedrals, a diverse collection of attractive cities, industrial centres and mountain scenery. The mountains are home to idyllic resort towns popular with hikers, bikers and spa fans alike.
- marvel at the enormous Panorama of Racławice in Wrocław
- learn the lessons of history at the former German extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum in Oświęcim
- enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of spa town Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój in the outskirts of Jelenia Góra.
Coverage includes: Wrocław & Around, Trzebnica, Sobótka, Mt Ślęża, Lower Silesia, Zielona Góra, Świdnica, Książ, Sudetes Mountains, Jelenia Góra, Karkonosze National Park, Szklarska Poręba, Karpacz, Kłodzko, Kudowa-Zdrój, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Upper Silesia, Nysa, Opole, Katowice, Pszczyna and Oświęcim.
Wielkopolska (1.696Mb)
The city of Poznań exudes a lively character and has plenty of sights. Beyond, the Wielkopolska countryside offers a selection of charming towns and rural scenery, castles, steam trains, palaces, churches, nature reserves and a memorable Iron Age settlement.
learn about Poland’s earliest history on the Poznań island Ostrów Tumski and at the Porta Posnania
- Interactive Heritage Centre
- encounter meteorite craters at Morasko
- view the intriguing 1920s architecture of central Kalisz
Coverage includes: Sights, Activities, Festivals & Events, Sleeping, Eating, Drinking & Nightlife, Entertainment, History, Poznań & Around, Eastern Wielkopolska, Southeastern Wielkopolska.
Gdansk & Pomerania (1.932Mb)
Gdańsk, northern Poland’s metropolis, is a forward-looking city with a photogenic historical centre, while Pomerania is awash with cream-hued beaches, wind-crafted dunes vivid against leaden skies, and stern, red-brick medieval churches and castles.
- admire the architecture of Gdańsk’s Długi Targ, one of Poland’s grandest thoroughfares
- boogie on the beach at one of Sopot’s many nightclubs
- wander the halls, corridors and chapels of the castle at Malbork, Europe’s biggest medieval fortress
Coverage includes: Sights & Activities, Sleeping, Eating, Drinking & Nightlife, Festivals & Events, Entertainment, Shopping, History, Gdańsk & Around, Lower Vistula, Northern Pomerania and Western Pomerania.
Warmia & Masuria (1.085Mb)
A water lover’s utopia, sailors, windsurfers and kayakers come to make a splash in the Great Masurian Lakes, which dominate the landscape. Off the water, you’ll find red-brick architecture left by the Warmian Bishops plus the Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s wartime hideout.
- do a spot of cobblestone-surfing in Olsztyn’s Old Town
- wonder at the spectacle of boats travelling over dry land on the Elbląg-Ostróda Canal
- explore the halls of Lidzbark Warmiński’s mammoth Gothic Castle, the architectural highlight of the region
Coverage includes: The Olsztyn Region, Olsztyn, Olsztynek, Grunwald, Ostróda, Elbląg-Ostróda Canal, Lidzbark Warmiński, Święta Lipka, The Great Masurian Lakes, Kętrzyn, Węgorzewo, Giżycko, Mikołajki and Łuknajno Reserve.
Coverage includes: Poland Today, History: Before the Poles, Slavic Origins & the Plast Dynasty, Poland’s Golden Age, Royal Republic, Poland Under Partition, WWI & the ‘Second Republic’, WWII, Communist Poland, Solidarity & the Collapse of Communism, the Rise & Fall of Lech Wałęsa and the Disaster of Smolensk, Jewish Heritage: Early Days, the Enlightened Kazlmierz, Pogroms & Partition, WWII & the Holocaust, Disillusionment & Emigration and Jewish Revival, The Arts: Literature, Cinema, Music, Painting, Theatre and Folk Arts, Landscape & Wildlife: a Varied Landscape, Water, Water Everywhere, Wildlife and Conservation Areas in Poland, Directory A–Z, Transport, and Language.
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