Must-see attractions in Poland

  • Medieval Malbork Castle, Marienburg Fortress of Mary, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pomerania, Poland, Europe

    Malbork Castle

    Gdańsk & Pomerania

    Malbork’s blockbuster attraction is its show-stoppingly massive castle sitting on the banks of the sluggish Nogat River, an eastern arm of the Vistula…

  • Wieliczka Salt Mine

    Wieliczka Salt Mine

    Kraków

    Some 14km southeast of Kraków, the Wieliczka (vyeh-leech-kah) salt mine has been welcoming tourists since 1722 and today is one of Poland's most popular…

  • 2F5XA5T Gdansk, Poland - Sept 9, 2020: The Museum of Second World War, Gdansk, Poland

Museum of WWII

    Museum of WWII

    Gdańsk

    Opened in 2016, this striking piece of modern architecture is a bold addition to the northern end of Gdańsk's waterfront. It has rapidly become one of…

  • The Wawel Royal Cathedral (Polish: Katedra Wawelska, na Wawelu) by night in Krakow, Poland, city landmark dating back to the 11th century.

    Wawel Royal Castle

    Kraków

    As the political and cultural heart of Poland through the 16th century, Wawel Royal Castle is a potent symbol of national identity. It's now a museum…

  • Gates to Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp, Poland; Shutterstock ID 135123005; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiT Destination Page Images

    Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum

    Oświęcim

    Auschwitz-Birkenau is synonymous with the Holocaust. More than a million Jews, and many Poles and Roma, were murdered here by German Nazis during WWII…

  • Wilanow Palace, summer residence of King John III Sobieski (17th century), Wilanow, Warsaw, Poland

    Wilanów Palace

    Warsaw

    Warsaw’s top palace, 10km south of the city centre, was commissioned by King Jan III Sobieski in 1677. It has changed hands several times over the…

  • Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw

    Palace of Culture & Science

    Warsaw

    For over 60 years this socialist realist palace has dominated central Warsaw. A ‘gift of friendship’ from the Soviet Union, it was completed in 1955 and…

  • Castle Square in Warsaw

    Royal Castle

    Warsaw

    This remarkable copy of the original castle blown up by the Germans in WWII is filled with authentic period furniture and original works of art…

  • Memorial, Warsaw Uprising.

    Warsaw Rising Museum

    Warsaw

    This exceptional museum, housed in a former tram power station and its surrounding grounds, traces the history of the city's heroic but doomed uprising…

  • Krakau August 20th 2017: Tourists waiting to enter the former Schindler Factory
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    Schindler's Factory

    Podgórze

    Despite the name, this museum covers more than the story of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi German industrialist who famously saved the lives of members of his…

  • Auschwitz I

    Oświęcim

    Auschwitz I was only partially destroyed by the fleeing Germans, and many of the original brick buildings stand to this day as a bleak testament to the…

  • Birkenau (Auschwitz II)

    Oświęcim

    Though much of Birkenau was destroyed by the retreating Germans, the size of the place, fenced off with long lines of barbed wire and watchtowers…

  • Copernicus Science Centre

    Warsaw

    The fully interactive, push-the-buttons-and-see-what-happens Copernicus Science Centre pulls off that tricky feat of being both hugely fun and educational…

  • Gniezno Cathedral. Gniezno, Greater Poland, Poland

    Gniezno Cathedral

    Wielkopolska

    Gniezno’s history and character are inextricably intertwined with its cathedral, an imposing, double-towered brick Gothic structure. The present church…

  •  Wolf's Lair ( Wolfsschanze, Wolfschanze, Wilczy Szaniec), Adolf Hitler' military headquarters in World War II. Gierloz near Ketrzyn, Poland. The attempted assassination of Hitler took place here.; Shutterstock ID 674053669; Your name (First / Last): Gemma Graham; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiT Destination Page Images

    Wolf's Lair

    The Great Masurian Lakes

    Hidden in thick forest near the hamlet of Gierłoż, 8km east of Kętrzyn, is one of Poland’s eeriest historical relics – 18 overgrown hectares of huge,…

  • Wawel Cathedral, Wawel Hill.

    Wawel Cathedral

    Kraków

    Wawel Cathedral has witnessed many coronations, funerals and burials of Poland’s monarchs and nobles. The present cathedral is basically a Gothic, but…

  • View Of The Ceiling At The Basilica Of The Holy Cross And The Nativity Of The Virgin Mary At The Jasna Gora Monastery

    Paulite Monastery of Jasna Góra

    The Kraków−Częstochowa Upland

    Poland’s spiritual capital began with the arrival of the Paulite order from Hungary in 1382, who named the 293m hill in the western part of the city …

  • Wałbrzych, Poland - September 8, 2020: Beautiful architecture of the Książ Castle in Lower Silesia, Poland.; Shutterstock ID 1828256156; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Książ Castle

    Lower Silesia

    This impossibly photogenic castle, the largest in Silesia, commands a thickly wooded prominence in Książ. Following the destruction of an earlier…

  • St. Mary's Church on Market Square in Krakow.

    St Mary's Basilica

    Kraków

    This striking brick church, best known simply as St Mary’s, is dominated by two towers of different heights. The first church here was built in the 1220s…

  • Treblinka Memorial

    Treblinka

    In a remote clearing, hidden in a Mazovian pine forest, stands a granite monolith; around it is a small field of 17,000 jagged, upright stones, many…

  • Belzec, Poland - June 12, 2020: Belzec Nazi German extermination camp(official name SS-Sonderkommando Belzec or Dienststelle Belzec der Waffen SS).; Shutterstock ID 1780037492; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Bełżec Memorial

    Bełżec

    This subdued memorial and museum bears witness to the 600,000 Jews killed here in 1942 by the Nazis as part of their ‘Operation Reinhard’, the German plan…

  • A hallway located in a fortress in K?odzko. Many windows with arches create beautiful shadows

    Kłodzko Fortress

    Sudetes Mountains

    This mighty fortification, begun under Austrian rule in the mid-17th century on the site of former strongholds dating to the 10th century, was extended…

  • Wall spelling out the Solidarity logo in Polish, composed of small red and white pieces of card.

    European Solidarity Centre

    Gdańsk

    Opened in 2014, and housed in a truly awful example of 21st-century architecture (its rusty steel plates were designed to evoke ships under construction),…

  • Collegium Maius

    Collegium Maius

    Kraków

    The Collegium Maius, part of Jagiellonian University, is the oldest surviving university building in Poland, and one of the finest examples of 15th…

  • Poland, St Mary's Church Largest Brick Church In World

    St Mary's Church

    Gdańsk

    Dominating the heart of the Old Town, St Mary’s is often cited as the largest brick church in the world, its massive 78m-high tower dominating the Gdańsk…

  • Monument of Frederick Chopin

    Łazienki Park

    Warsaw

    Pronounced wah-zhen-kee, this beautiful park includes manicured gardens, an ornamental lake, wooded glades and strutting peacocks. Once a hunting ground,…

  • Jewish Cemetery

    Łódź

    Łódź's Jewish cemetery was founded in 1892 and today is a haunting destination. The largest Jewish graveyard in Europe, it contains around 68,000…

  • Pharmacy under the Eagle, Plac Bohaterow Getta 18, Podgorz.

    Museum of Pharmacy

    Kraków

    The name of this museum doesn’t sound that exciting, but the Jagiellonian University Medical School’s Museum of Pharmacy is one of the largest museums of…

  • Majdanek

    Lublin

    Majdanek concentration camp, where tens of thousands of people, mainly Jews, were murdered by the Germans during WWII, lies on the outskirts of Lublin –…

  • Church of SS Peter & Paul

    Church of SS Peter & Paul

    Kraków

    The Jesuits erected this church, the first baroque building in Kraków, after they had been brought to the city in 1583 to do battle with supporters of the…

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    City Museum of Łódź

    Łódź

    Adjacent to the Manufaktura mall, this museum is housed in the impressive palace of 19th-century textile baron Izrael Kalmanowicz Poznański. The opulent…

  • Muzeum Fryderika Chopin

    Fryderyk Chopin Museum

    Warsaw

    This multimedia museum within the baroque Ostrogski Palace showcases the work of Poland’s most famous composer. You’re encouraged to take your time…

  • European bison, wisent (Bison bonasus), herd in forest, Bialowieza Forest National Park, Poland.

    Białowieźa National Park

    Mazovia & Podlasie

    Once a centre for hunting and timber-felling, Białowieża (Byah-wo-vyeh-zhah) is now Poland's oldest national park. Its significance is underlined by…

  • Kosciuszko Mound Hill and fortification, Krakow, Poland

    Kościuszko Mound

    Kraków

    This mound, dedicated to Polish (and American) military hero Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746–1817), was erected between 1820 and 1823. It stands 34m high and…

  • The underground trail In the Footsteps of Krakow European Identity under the Krakow Main Market Square introduces the atmosphere of the medieval city.; Shutterstock ID 248121478; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Rynek Underground

    Kraków

    This fascinating attraction beneath the market square consists of an underground route through medieval market stalls and other long-forgotten chambers…

  • Galicia Jewish Museum

    Galicia Jewish Museum

    Kraków

    This museum both commemorates Jewish victims of the Holocaust and celebrates the Jewish culture and history of the former Austro-Hungarian region of…

  • Góry Stołowe National Park

    Sudetes Mountains

    The Góry Stołowe (goo-ri sto-wo-veh; Table Mountains) are among the most spectacular ranges of the Sudetes, as they’re topped by a plateau punctuated by…

  • Basilica of St Francis

    Basilica of St Francis

    Kraków

    Duck into the dark basilica on a sunny day to admire the artistry of Stanisław Wyspiański, who designed the fantastic art nouveau stained-glass windows…

  • Panorama of Racławice

    Wrocław

    Wrocław’s pride and joy is this giant painting of the battle for Polish independence fought at Racławice on 4 April 1794, between the Polish army led by…

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