Poland for six weeks

I will admit that Łódź is very different from Warsaw, though when I was there it wasn't as industrial as people said it was. However, in some places it does get kinda gritty. There's good day life in the area around Manufaktura; not so sure though for nightlife.

The good thing about Łódź though is that because it's in the center of Poland, many places are easily accessible. Haven't been to Wrocław though, but I also heard it's a nice place. Either way though, I don't think you have much to lose by choosing either city.

Wrocław is beautiful, old and modern at the same time, with great atmosphere, but... if I were you, I'd stick to Poznan, Cracow or - especially - Warsaw, which have better and shorter connections with places you'd probably like to visit.

And what I would really have done is to start in Warsaw, go to Olsztyn and the lakes for a day or two, Malbork castle, Gdansk, Torun/Bydgoszcz, Poznan, Wroclaw, Cracow, Auschwitz (Oswiecim), Cracow (Wieliczka salt mine), Tatra mountains (Zakopane), Nowy Sacz, Przemysl, Lublin, Kazimierz, and back to Warsaw.
Most of them are must-sees for Poland :) And I put them in such an order that it takes appx 3 hours by train to reach from one place to another - see [www.pkp.pl] for timetable, they have it in English and you can buy most of the tickets online if you wish.
If you prefer nature to cities, then again - the sea next to Gdansk, the lakes around Olsztyn, Mazovian castles around Warsaw, beautiful hills near Ojcow (near Cracow), Tatra Mountains (and if you want to go to the wild, try Bieszczady at the border with Ukraine and Slovakia), the Vistula river near Kazimierz...

Lodz is nice... but not for the first time.

There's is no better option except Warsaw. It will be perfect HQ for your trip. Let me explain why:

• variety of things to do on site (parks, museums, art galleries, shopping)
• transport hub and placed almost in the centre of the country
• you can find a reasonable priced hostel as well as luxorious hotel
• lots of foreigners here
• perfect example of country transformation after end of communism
• (matter of taste) beautiful city with lots of green areas

You can find more on WannaGoList.

Mark

Hi,
So I'm on exchange to Poland right now and I've got friends that are placed in both cities. Both cities are wonderful to go to, but if you are worried about Lodz being too industrial then I would definitely go to Worclaw, although I don't think you can really go wrong with either city. Especially if you will be traveling to elsewhere in Poland anyway. While you are here you should check out Krakow and Poznan too :)