I’ve often travelled with Lonely Planet guides and they can really make life easier. If yes – congratulations! I mean, I went off to the lesser known city of Olsztyn in northeastern Poland to see its castle and found more than I expected.

Krakow is now a tourist hotspot, so it can get busy, although if you time your trip correctly you’ll miss the huge crowds. Even though Poland’s Baltic sea coast isn’t that far away, come summer the lakes here draw in plenty of holidaymakers. Areas like the main square and islands of Ostrow Tumski have plenty of historical landmarks to admire.

Pity that you left Świdnica behind with it’s amazing Unesco heritage Church of Peace. For travellers who adore quirky or kitsch attractions however, you’ll be thoroughly satisfied by Wroclaw’s dwarfs, a collection of small bronze gnome statues throughout the city that are now a modern hallmark of the city. In total, the area is home to more than 2,000 individual lakes, with bodies like Śniardwy (the largest lake in Poland) and Lake Mamry drawing in the lion’s share of the crowds.

Back to Warsaw, the capital of Poland; what a capital it is!

Latest: However the biggest presence you’ll notice is that of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus who is the city’s favourite son.

6. Rzeszow is undoubtedly a pretty city, but also one that feels smaller and more intimate than it actually is. But it left me with a strong desire to one day see this city and the country of Poland at large. Gdansk is another very well known city in Poland that sees millions of tourists and holidaymakers every single year.

There are also some beautiful rivers open for exploration, along with a number of charming towns, like Giżycko, Elk and Mikołajki.

Bialystok may lack name recognition, but it’s got more than enough going on to draw you in. One thing I love about London is the fact that it is so culturally diverse, with people from all over the planet living there and living in perfect harmony. The former coal mine now hosts the Silesian Museum, which all sorts of parts of life in the region. This city is situated on the banks of the Odra River, and it is therefore hugely popular in the summer. It still has a number of historical landmarks to its name, but many of its most important ones like the Chrobry Embankment, the Monument to the Polish Endeavour and Town Hall are more recent additions.

People don’t always think to explore their own country as it’s often more exciting to see other places when/if you get the chance for a holiday. 1.

Walking through the historical centre of Toulouse, High above Marseille at the Basilique Notre-Dame d, Walking the streets of the popular Le Panier neigh, The Incomplete Europe Public Transport Guide – 1.0. Winter in Owl Mountains | © Veli Plan/Flickr, From dense fir forests concealing quaint timber towns to moving sand dunes that shift like waves in the Baltic breeze, this list of, Just poking their way into the extreme south of Poland, the boundaries of the, A must-see branch of the great Sudetes Mountains can be found within the confines of the, A pretty patchwork of pine trees, peat swamps and rolling sand dunes moving out into the swells of the, © Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland/Flickr, © Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland/Flickr, 1 Kuźnice, Zakopane, Małopolskie, 34-500, Poland, 23 Chałubińskiego, Jelenia Góra, Dolnośląskie, 58-570, Poland, 1A Bohaterów Warszawy, Smołdzino, Pomorskie, 76-214, Poland. It’s this complex collage of history and identity that makes Szczecin worth visiting.

Creatives, in particular, are drawn to this city, so expect plenty of crafts fairs, live music, exhibitions, and other events during the peak seasons.

Not only can you wander the streets of its Old Town and admire all the landmarks about its Main Square, but beyond you’ll find the Jewish Quarter and mighty Wawel Castle too. Watched over by the nearby Krkonoše mountain range, this pleasant destination manages to have many hallmarks of great Polish cities despite its size. But beyond the vibrancy of the city’s central square, there’s plenty more going on. Poznan likes to have it both ways, preserving its grand past with places like the Jesuit College and reinterpreting the past through spots like the Stary Browar Shopping Centre.

Rydzyna, a small and picturesque town in Wielkopolska, was founded by Jan from Czernina, whose powerful family would later call themselves Rydzyński, an allusion to the town’s name. Most of us – Poles – haven’t seen as many Polish cities as you’re showing here… Thank you for mentioning Poznan! If you want to see mechanical goats fight, this is the place to be.

As much as I’m a fan of London, and of course, Paris, Warsaw is one which I have had my eyes on for many a year now. Northern Poland’s answer to the regal majesty of southern Kraków comes in the form of historic Gdańsk. You can even visit his childhood home, now an exceedingly old building and see him standing proudly on the city’ main square. No wonder it made Lonely Planet’s 2019 list of value destinations.