Poland, for many people, especially those from outside of Europe, has an impressive selection of fantastic places any traveler would be happy to discover.
The central European nation is still pretty undiscovered for some insanely beautiful mountains, over 500 kilometers of golden coastline, forests covering almost one-third of the country, around 10,000 lakes, and a mini safari desert.
It’s freaking beautiful!
Information from Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international media will enable readers to see how fascinating the places are.
Warsaw. Photo: Decodedmagazine
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Warsaw – start over from scratch: The city rose like a true phoenix from the ruins to become one of the most interesting and fastest growing metropolises of Europe.
Warsaw is inspiring and vibrant, combining the crazy rhythm of the largest business hub of Central Europe with coziness and the welcoming attitude of locals.
It’s also got a dynamic culinary scene, boasting one of the coolest selections of vegetarian eateries in Europe as well as a great variety of street food spots.
Notably, the nightlife has both glamour and grime, and is a lot of fun – expatriates from Paris, Berlin and London are on the record as preferring it to their native cities.
Warsaw is also home to fancy places, including Manufaktura Krolewska in Lazienki Royal Park – the Europe’s only landmark textile plant operating continuously since the 17th century. Fabrics have been produced to order here for fashion houses like Chanel, Dior and Givenchy.
A showpiece for Warsaw today is Polin – the museum of the History of Polish Jews with superb, monumental architecture.
Krakow: Photo: Getty Images
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Krakow – city never sleeps. The ancient Polish royal capital is riddled with things to see and do. The dignified Gothic and Renaissance royal city draws throngs of foreign tourists thirsting for fun and entertainment.
The city is home to mesmerizing Old Town – a maze of narrow medieval streets, a kaleidoscope of cozy cafes and bombastic nightlife, St. Mary’s Basilica, whose towers featuring the superb architecture offer spectacular views, and the grandiose Wawel Castle with Italian Renaissance-inspired courtyard – one of Poland’s most impressive sights.
Being a former capital of Poland, Kracow has always enjoyed vast importance for Polish tradition, culture and memory.
Krakow is also known for the wonderful UNESCO-protected Wieliczka Salt Mine – a truly unique engineering marvel, part tribute to the people who carved out its vast caverns and part work of art in its own right.
Collegium Maius is also worth to visit. The oldest building of the Jagiellonian University has a charming 14th-century courtyard and amazing medieval university halls.
Wawel Castle. Photo: Go-poland
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Wawel Castle first built in the 14th century, the Gothic castle decorated with symbols and floral patterns is home to the only preserved piece of the Polish Crown Jewels, the legendary sword Szczerbiec coronation sword.
Gdansk. Photo: Puzzlemania
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Gdansk – Poland’s principal seaport. The rising tourist destination is the gateway to the north. The old town which has endless rows of colorful houses and numerous medieval churches, city gates and towers is a modern port city confidently looking into the future.
The Museum of the Second World War is a Gdansk highlight (Gdansk is also where WWII began). Occupying an ultra-modern leaning structure that symbolizes a path from the “hell” of war into the bright future of modernity, it sheds light on Poland’s fate in WWII.
Wroclaw. Photo: Inyourpocket
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Wroclaw – city of encounters: The country’s fourth-biggest city and the largest city in western Poland captivates visitors with its boundless and youthful energy and magnificent Gothic Old Town Square with cute little dwarf statues that inhabit the streets, doorways, squares and shop entrances. Meanwhile, Cathedral Island, the oldest part of the town, is worth a visit not least for the panoramic views from the top of St. John the Baptist cathedral.
Wroclaw is also called the city of bridges. It has the most bridges of all cities in Poland and ranks fourth in Europe behind Amsterdam, Venice, and Saint Petersburg.
It’s also worth coming to Wroclaw not just for the tourist sites but festivals and cultural events year-round.
Torun. Photo: UNESCO
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Torun – recognizable by its trademark red-brick Gothic architecture, is a gem of Polish tourism and one of the most beautiful destinations in the country. The city still boasts numerous buildings that date back to the Middle Ages.
This UNESCO-protected city is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer who changed scientific thinking in the 15th century by deciding the Sun rather than the Earth should be considered the center of the Universe.
This city is home to Gingerbread Museum devoted to the history of Torun’s most famous snack, sweets, and baked goods. It’s also known for pierniki, a ginger and cinnamon cookie that’s one of favorite sweets in Poland.
Lublin: Emergingeurope
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Lublin – city of inspirations: It’s a youth capital as every four people living in the city is a university student. Lublin is also known for the city of inspirations as young people flock to music festivals, theater festivals, cinemas and clubs.
Poznan: Go-poland
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Poznan, is long known as an academic center and home to Poland’s third largest university. The city hosts many international events, including the Malta International Theatre Festival that takes place every summer.
Zakopane. Photo: Gettty Images
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Zakopane – Poland’s winter capital serves as a spa with clear sky and pollution-free air. It’s also a cultural center accommodating famous Polish figures.
Lower Silesia: Owwanderer
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Lower Silesia – castles and wine: A region is home to 760 castles and palaces attracting visitors for its old architecture and the knightly customs they maintain. The city is also known for its reviving wine-making tradition.
Olsztyn. Photo: Outsourcingportal
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Olsztyn – eco-city: The city retains a close tie to nature. Unmatched anywhere else in Europe, it has numerous lakes within city limits and an urban forest of over 1,000 hectares, and Poland’s largest inland urban beach. All of this combines with multicultural heritage complex creating an intriguing mixture.
Warmia – enchanting natural environment. It’s a great place for a holiday with untrammeled nature that permanently accommodates city-dwellers. The area has always been famed for its mosaic crops namely a field of cereal grains, rapeseed, vegetable plots and orchards.
Tatra National Park. Photo: Polan MFA
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Tatra National Park, there’s no better place in Poland to admire breathtaking vistas than the High Tatra Mountains on the border with Slovakia. Located in southcentral Poland, the park is mainly forests, meadows and numerous rock formations covering the Tatra Mountains.
Truly magnificent scenery can be seen in the park which also offers more than 30 alpine lakes as well as the Wielka Siklawa waterfall that is 70 meters high. Tatra, the most visited national park in Poland, will delight hikers with its 270 km of trails.
Bialowieza National Park. Photo: Wildpoland
Bialowieza National Park, it’s fascinating to explore the destination whose description includes the words “last remaining.” It’s a UNESCO-protected wilderness representing a unique European primeval forest.
One of the highlights is the chance to spot bison, a giant animal that’s seen as a symbol of Poland. If lucky, other animals could be seen including wild boar, wolves and deer that inhabit the surrounding forests. Seeing them in the wild is like stepping back a thousand years in time.
