Poland holidays

With its fairy-tale castle and beautifully restored Old Town, this Polish city honours its past. But trendy nightlife, edgy museums and colourful street art bring Krakow into the 21st century.

Poland’s under-the-radar capital has been turning heads with its growing arts scene, buzzy restaurants and sprawling urban parks. It’s time to give Warsaw a second look.

You’re never far from the past in Poland’s picturesque port city. Explore its Old Town and medieval gates, then hunt down the best craft beers and dumplings.

Walking the cobbled streets of a picturesque old town is one of the most memorable things to do in Poland. Marvel at the blend of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture in the elegant arcades of Zamość or see the Gothic gates of Toruń. Don’t miss Warsaw and Gdańsk’s pastel-coloured townhouses, which were painstakingly reconstructed after World War II.

From its southern mountain range to its northern lakes, Poland’s landscape is more varied than its central plains suggest. Hike, ski or go river rafting in the Tatra Mountains, which have year-round dramatic views. You can kayak and canoe in the Great Masurian Lake district. Or try sandboarding on the dunes in Słowinski National Park, located on the Baltic coast.

Centuries of royal rule have left a dazzling legacy here. The Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow was once the country’s ultimate seat of power — today, even commoners can wander its magnificent staterooms. Lublin Castle’s fortified walls are home to artistic masterpieces, and Malbork Castle, built by 13th-century knights, is the world’s largest brick building.

Poland’s Baltic coastline is something to behold. Stretches are backed by wildflower-specked dunes, and you’ll find features like the Prussian fortifications at the German border and the 19th-century saltwater spa at Kołobrzeg. The Gulf of Gdańsk is known for the elegant resort of Sopot and the narrow spit of the Hel Peninsula, a prime spot for kitesurfing.

Nearly a third of Poland is publicly owned forest. That includes the Białowieża National Park, home to one of Europe’s last remaining old-growth forests and its only population of wild bison. The mountainous spruce forests of Karkonosze, on the Czech border, bear the marks of the Ice Age, when glaciers shaped the landscape into dramatic cliffs and hollows.

Polish cooking is full of comfort — think silky soups, hearty stews and ‘pierogi’, dumplings that can be filled with cheesy mashed potatoes or juicy blueberries. The restaurants in Poland also offer avant-garde cuisine where you least expect it, like in a former bottling plant in a remote industrial town. Make sure to try ‘zapiekanka’, the mushroom-topped bread and popular street snack, or Toruń’s much-loved gingerbread.

From pinball and posters to Chopin, there are museums in Poland celebrating every aspect of the local culture. Explore 20th-century history at the Warsaw Rising Museum or Gdańsk’s Museum of the Second World War. Trace 1,000 years of Jewish history at POLIN Museum. Head to Łódź, where hundreds of works of street art have turned the city into an open-air gallery.

June to August are the peak summer months, when the Baltic beaches are reliably warm and the cafes are buzzing. In spring and fall, the countryside and national parks are at their most colorful, making it a great time to visit Poland. Temperatures plummet in winter, covering the country in snow — a good time to head to the ski resorts in the Tatra Mountains.

Thanks to the low cost of living, it’s not hard to have a cheap holiday in Poland. An inexpensive meal costs around 40 Polish złotych (zł), and a local beer is about zł14. For hearty helpings, try the former state-sponsored cafeterias known as ‘milk bars’.