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…

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Poland
Picturesque cities such as Kraków and Gdańsk vie with energetic Warsaw for your urban attention. Elsewhere, woods, rivers, lakes and hills beckon for some fresh-air fun.
A Thousand Years
Poland’s roots go back to the 10th century, leaving more than a thousand years of twists and turns and kings and castles to explore. WWII history buffs are well served. Tragically, Poland found itself in the middle of that epic fight, and monuments and museums dedicated to these battles – and to Poland’s remarkable survival – can be seen everywhere. There’s a growing appreciation, too, of the country's rich Jewish heritage. Beyond the deeply affecting Holocaust memorials, synagogues are being sensitively restored, and former Jewish centres such as Łódź and Lublin have heritage trails where you can trace this history at your own pace.
Castles to Log Cabins
The former royal capital of Kraków is a living museum of architecture through the ages. Its nearly perfectly preserved Gothic core proudly wears overlays of Renaissance, baroque and art nouveau, a record of tastes that evolved over centuries. Fabulous medieval castles and evocative ruins dot hilltops around the country, and the fantastic red-brick fortresses of the Teutonic Knights stand proudly in the north along the Vistula. Simple but finely crafted wooden churches hide amid the Carpathian hills, and the ample skills of the highlanders are on display at the country's many skansens (open-air ethnographic museums).
Heart-Warming Food
If you’re partial to good home cooking, the way your grandmother used to make it, you’ve come to the right place. Polish food is based largely on local ingredients such as pork, duck, cabbage, mushrooms, beetroot and onion, combined simply and honed to perfection. Regional specialities and accomplished chefs keep things from getting dull. As for sweets, it’s hard to imagine a more accommodating destination. Cream cakes, apple strudel, pancakes, fruit-filled dumplings and a special mania for lody (ice cream) may have you skipping the main course and jumping straight to the main event.
Fresh-Air Pursuits
Away from the big cities, much of Poland feels remote and unspoiled. While large swathes of the country are flat, the southern border is lined with a chain of low-lying but lovely mountains that invite days, if not weeks, of splendid solitude. Well-marked hiking paths criss-cross the country, taking you through dense forest, along broad rivers and through mountain passes. Much of the northeast is covered by interlinked lakes and waterways ideal for kayaking and canoeing – no experience necessary. Local outfitters are happy to set you up for a couple of hours or weeks.
Explore Poland
- Wieliczka Salt Mine
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…
- Museum of WWII
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…
- Wawel Royal Castle
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…
- Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum
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…
- Wilanów Palace
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 & Science
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…
- Royal Castle
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…
- Warsaw Rising Museum
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…
- POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Housed in one of Warsaw's best examples of contemporary architecture, this award-winning museum documents 1000 years of Jewish history in Poland. The…
Latest Stories from Poland
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Poland.
- See
Wieliczka Salt Mine
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…
- See
Museum of WWII
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…
- See
Wawel Royal Castle
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…
- See
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum
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…
- See
Wilanów Palace
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…
- See
Palace of Culture & Science
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…
- See
Royal Castle
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…
- See
Warsaw Rising Museum
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…
- See
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Housed in one of Warsaw's best examples of contemporary architecture, this award-winning museum documents 1000 years of Jewish history in Poland. The…
Guidebooks
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