Poland is a former communism country and you can still see a few relics from the communist era: some shop assistants in small shops still behave as if they were in communist times. If you are interested in Polish history you should consider visiting Auschwitz and taking the communism tour with a guide in Krakow.
If you are a religious person or you just would like to see places where many people are going to pray you should visit Zielona Góra and Częstochowa.
If you would like to see nature at its best, climbing mountains and walking a lot, go to Zakopane where you can see some of the most beautiful places. One of them is Morskie oko (Sea eye). It takes about 4 hours to get there but the view is really worth it.
Other places to visit are Polish castles and lakes.
Places of interest in Poland
- Kraków for its many cathedrals and Wawel Castle of course;
- The salt mines of Wieliczka;
- Będzin Castle, Olsztyn Castle and Siewierz Castle;
- Castle ruins in Ogrodzieniec;
- Wooden sacral architecture in Małopolska.
Must-see places
- The Tatra Mountains in the south on the border between Poland and Slovakia. A good place to start is the town of Zakopane.
- Gniezno for its ancient Polish history, in particular the legend of the 3 brothers Lech, Czech and Rus;
- Częstochowa, where pilgrims converge to see the Black Madonna;
- Słowiński National Park;
- Białowieski National Park;
- Warsaw, capital of Poland;
- Gdańsk, its shipyard and where the Solidarity Movement started;
- Malbork for its Gothic Castle;
- Wrocław, 4th largest city of Poland, historically the capital of Silesia and only part of Poland since 1945;
- Świdnica for its history and architecture.
Polish waters to explore
- The 2000 lakes of Masuria;
- the Soliński Dam in Solina;
- the turquoise water of Wapnica lake in Międzyzdroje;
- white water canoeing in Rawka river.
Individual trip or organized tour?
An individual tour is better for people who do not like to organise their time because of the timetable; they will be able to visit interesting places by themselves or are just happy to see a few places near by. Some people think also that organized tours are boring because of too talkative guides and being restricted to the group’s pace.
If you are very interested in knowing the real history of Poland and seeing many places a guided tour would be recommended.
A few hints about Poland and Polish people
Poland may be a rather modern country but there are a few things which are still done in the old-fashioned way. Make sure that you have money in your purse as in many places bank cards and any other means of payment apart from hard cash are not accepted! People are rather friendly but few will speak English.
Travelling across Poland
Public transport is quite well-developed so you should be not afraid to take a bus, tram or train but it would take you obviously much more time than if you would travel in your rented car.
Places to stay
You can find very cheap and comfortable apartments which will make you feel at home. It is also popular to rent rooms with self-catered facilities or with breakfast, lunch and dinner included in Zakopane or in cities close to the sea.