Poland may only be fully appreciated when you leave your prejudice and preconceptions behind. Approach it with an open mind, avoid comparing it to others, and be sure the country will unfold its most precious aspects in front of you, teaching you perhaps to enjoy simple things and redefine your notions of beauty. Here Gothic castles, old market squares and historical tenements mingle with glossy business centers, posh restaurants, free-spirited artistic scene as well as the mostly unwanted, derelict remnants of the communist era. At the same time the countryside remains rustic and romantic, giving vent to the world-famous hospitality and appeasing a troubled mind with its unpretentious ambiance and soothing beauty. Poland is a kaleidoscope of vistas and amalgamation of traditions that altogether form a living, changing organism - imperfect, but highly fascinating.
Following some research into the preferences and opinions posted by users of various social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as own resources and reviews by the most popular travel sites, Open Travel has compiled a list of top 25 things to see or do on your Poland Vacations. This selection provides an adequate portrayal of the country's cultural and natural diversity, the indestructible spirit of its people, and the adamant pursuit of the New-World sophistication that makes Poland an equal partner on the broadly-defined European scene. Poland is a country you
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Location: Poland
Photo by Leafnode
With its headquarters in the bustling town of Zakopane, Tatra National Park is where the most precious, natural Polish riches find tranquil refuge. Embracing the only mountains of alpine type, which rise steeply from a high plateau and extend for approximately 64 km along the Slovakian-Polish bo...
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Photo by laslandes
Feeling like exploring something? If yes, head for Wieliczka, the famed Polish salt mine. Not less magnificent than the Egyptian pyramids they say, the mine opens its subterranean realm of labyrinthine passages, underground lakes and enormous caverns right in front of your eyes. Let yourself mar...
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Photo by lostajy
No sooner had the Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen decided to move the Teutonic Order's headquarters to Malbork in 1309 than it became obvious the castle did not measure up to its new role. Since then, it was continually rebuilt and enlarged to end up as the most impressive brick castle in...
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Photo by Diether
Citizens or foreigners, everybody loves Krakow, and its Old Town in particular. The flower sellers, the myriad buskers, the quaint pubs, and the maze of cobblestoned streets seem to exist in age-old harmony. Even the crowds are not much of a nuisance. As you push your way through Sukiennice (Clot...
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Photo by Marek and Ewa Wojciechowscy
Once you've had a good look around the Royal Castle and before you get drawn into the lively atmosphere of Warsaw's Old Town, make sure you spare enough time for Łazienki Park. Spread over 74 hectares, it is a favorite Sunday refuge for the capital's residents and an all-year tourist attraction...
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Location: Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by julita_blady
Arguably one of the most enticing tourist areas in Poland, the Mazurian Lake District is a place where one can experience the extremes. Cut off from land, subject to the power of water and wind, you find meaning in silence, solitude and natural hierarchy. But when the night comes and your boat...
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Location: Częstochowa, Poland
Photo by Jaroslaw Jankowski
The Pauline Monastery on the Jasna Góra Hill is undoubtedly one of the three major Roman Catholic pilgrimage center across the world. It enshrines the miraculous icon of the Blessed Mother and Child Jesus, which came to symbolize the spiritual core of the nation and whose holy quality is embra...
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Location: Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Krisstian
Embracing the most pristine part of the Baltic southern coast, its forests, plant cover, miscellaneous fauna and inspiring landscapes, the Słowiński National Park has been drawn on the World List of Biosphere Reserves, and one can hardly wonder why. The park is perhaps most famous for its pictu...
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Location: Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Ausir
Get ready for multiple attractions as the area of Jura abounds in things to do. For those who opt for a little bit of physical workout, the region offers numerous biking trails and rock-climbing spots both for beginners and more experienced climbers. Hiking? No problem! The tracks will take you a...
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Photo by Halibutt
Visitors freeze on hearing the sounds of battle and heart beats emanating from the central highlight of the museum - an ordinary wall that in its mediocrity aptly captures the brute force and the human dimension of the Warsaw Uprising. The undertaking is there to portray the triumph of the Polish...
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Photo by Rjt
A visit to Krakow is not complete without due attention paid to Wawel Royal Castle. The seat of Polish royalty between the 11th and the early 17th century, the complex is an adequate reflection of the city's excellence and image before King Zygmunt III decided to move the Polish capital to Warsaw...
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Photo by Artur Szeja
Gdynia is a relatively young, but quickly developing port city with plenty of modern highlights for tourists to enjoy their time around. Yet the place that lures people of all ages is the Kościuszki square with the ORP Błyskawica destroyer and the Dar Pomorza sailing frigate moored in the docky...
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Photo by Lestat
„Stopped the sun, moved the earth, Polish nation gave him birth". So goes a Polish nursery rhyme dedicated to Nicolas Copernicus. To be precise, the famous astronomer was born in Toruń, a nearly eight-hundred-year-old city designated by UNESCO as the cultural heritage of mankind for its outsta...
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Location: Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Ciacho5
In your search for underground adventures make for the biggest and most spectacular cave in the Sudety Mountains. Discovered by chance during marble exploitation, the cave is commonly regarded as a prime tourist attraction thanks to its water formations that never cease to grow. High chambers, un...
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Książ Castle
Location: Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Drozdp
Perched on the hill top, the Książ Castle impresses with its majesty and amazing structure. Erected in the 13th century and then repeatedly destroyed, rebuilt and reconstructed it is now highly treasured as the Pearl of Lower Silesia. A visit to the interiors is a definite must for the stylishn...
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Location: Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Michał Kaźmierczak
If it's camping or endless hiking that you're looking for, this is the place to be. This largest mountain national park in Poland is part of Europe´s largest primeval beech forest, and a well-groomed network of trails provides splendid opportunities for all sorts of outdoor endeavors. Protecting...
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Location: Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Jerzy Opioła
Undoubtedly, this region is both a feast for your eyes and a place that allows no boredom. Set among limestone cliffs plunging into the water, the river will make you drift leisurely past abundant vegetation, scenic highland views and the Niedzica Castle towering over an enormous water reservoir...
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Location: Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Adam Kumiszcza
The origins of the church in Jawor date back to 1648, when on the basis of the Peace of Westphalia the Lutherans in the Roman Catholic parts of Silesia were allowed to build their Evangelical places of worship. Of course, the construction fell subject to tough restrictions, and the church not onl...
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Location: Białowieża, Poland
Photo by vlod007
One of the last bastions of tranquility in Poland, Białowieża National Park protects a tiny bit of a much bigger forest which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus and is the last remaining part of the extensive primeval forest which once spread across the European Plain. This magnifi...
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Photo by Lihagen
Called the city of one hundred bridges, Wrocław itself should be somewhere on top of both history buffs' and urban revelers' must-do lists. Yet much as it is beautiful and entertaining, it is something else that deserves special attention here. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to the medi...
RATE ITMore about Panorama of Raclawice Battle (Panorama Raclawicka)
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Photo by sollyth
Lined with outstanding Renaissance buildings, outdoor cafes, and shops, the elegant Dluga Street, together with the Long Market, once formed the Royal Route and was inhabited by the city's most prominent figures. Today it is the favorite meeting point of tourists and local residents alike. Reveal...
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Photo by Riclib
This gargantuan tower rising from the center of Warsaw may not be the most attractive monument to see in Poland, but the story behind it makes it an inseparable part of the country's history. The mostly abhorred gift from the USSR to the People's Republic of Poland, the Joseph Stalin Palace of Cu...
RATE ITMore about Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury i Nauki)
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Photo by Allie_Caufield
Kazimierz, the UNESCO World Heritage Jewish Quarter of Krakow, definitely lures with its unique atmosphere of Bohemia artistic life and mouth-watering local dishes. Once an autonomous Jewish town and major European center of the Diaspora, it still echoes the intricacies of Christianity and Judais...
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Location: Masovian Voivodeship, Poland
Photo by Wojsyl
Żelazowa Wola, March 1st, 1810. Little did Mr and Mrs Chopin realize that one day their newborn son would change the shape of music and his name would be known to virtually everyone in the world. The village may not be easy to track, but those who want to find out what lies at the heart of Polis...
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Photo by decafinata
One can hardly call it a tourist attraction. Nor should you go there just because it befits to do it. The 3 million victims of the largest of Nazi Germany's concentration camps don't need high attendance records. What they need is a moment of reflection on what happened and what should be done so...
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Stumble
No Zamosc
I would also add to this list an Old town in Lublin (it's really great plase - in my opinion even better than Cracov or Warsaw), and the Lublin's castle.
Yes, both Zamosc and Lublin are worth mentioning.
and Castel in Iłża
why there is no Bydgoszcz?
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Chorzow?! Are you nuts?! There nothing special in there (except Silesian Football Stadium).
Table Mountains and Krzeszów
u should all see a bus station in Kielce it looks like big space ship ! i tell u folks the truth is out there ! In Kielce.
Łódź town ?! Piotrkowska street
and Manufaktura
http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/index.asp
Sosnowiec biggest and the best city in the world !!!
i'm Polsih and i haven't seen half of these things- nice, huh? But i have to say that in the pictures they look really worth to see
hope i'll do it someday.
Ive seen 80 % of those places before I was 20, and Im not even a big traveler. You should be ashamed mala mi
Please, not the Palace of Sub-Culture. Architectural crap of soviet origin. Go to National Museum or anyplace else... way better.
In Poland worth to see is also definitly chapel made from human bones and skulls
poland is one of the best places