Post-communist Europe's most energetic renaissance — the perfectly restored old town of Krakow, Warsaw's rebuilt Royal Mile, the Auschwitz memorial, and pierogi from a grandmother's kitchen.
- Capital
- Warsaw
- Population
- 37,401,000
- Area
- 312,685 km²
- Languages
- Polish
- Currency
- New Polish Zloty (PLN)
- GDP
- $979,960M
Good to know
Driving side
Right
National dish
Bigos, Pierogi,Kotlet schabowy, Żurek
Annual visitors
88,515,000 (2019)
Safety
Very low (0.8/100k)
Big Mac
$6.25
Avg temp
8.8°C
Religion
Christianity
Coast
Coastal
☎ Police 997 · Ambulance 999 · Fire 998
Travel guide
Poland (Polish: Polska) has an eventful history, and a strong basis for its bourgeoning tourism industry. it offers a fair share of countryside, vibrant urbanity, and a culture in connection to its thousand-year history. Its heritage is reflected in its architecture, museums, galleries and monuments. Its landscape is varied, and extends from the Baltic Sea coast in the north to the Tatra Mountains in the south. In between, lush primeval forests are home to fascinating species of animals including bison in Białowieża; beautiful lakes and rivers for various water-sports, the best known of which are in Warmińsko-Mazurskie; rolling hills; flat plains; and deserts. Among Poland's cities you can find the perfectly preserved Gothic old town of Toruń, Hanseatic heritage in Gdańsk and evidence of the 19th-century industrial boom in Łódź. Creative and enterprising, Poles continually come up with various ideas for events and festivals, and new buildings and institutions spring up almost before your eyes, so that every time you come back, you are bound to discover something new.
© Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA)
Explore Poland
Best time to visit
May–September is the best period. Krakow and Gdansk are most pleasant June–September. Christmas markets in Krakow (December) are world-class. Winters are cold but atmospheric for castle visits.
Visa
EU/EEA citizens enter freely. US, UK, Canada, Australia and most Western nationalities get 90 days Schengen visa-free.
Public holidays
UNESCO World Heritage Sites (17)
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Major cities
Warsaw
Poland's capital, heroically rebuilt after WWII with a UNESCO old town, world-class food scene, and vibrant nightlife.
Krakow
Poland's former royal capital with a magnificent central square, Wawel Castle, and the sobering Auschwitz memorial nearby.
Gdansk
Poland's Baltic port where WWII began and Solidarity was born — a beautifully rebuilt Hanseatic city of amber and brick Gothic.
Wroclaw
The city of bridges and dwarfs — a former German city that is now Poland's most charming university town on the Oder River.