Best Places to Eat

¨Warszawa Wschodnia (p288)

¨Glonojad (p293)

¨ Kardamon (p296)

¨Drukarnia (p303)

¨ Tawerna Mestwin (p306)

Best Places to Stay

¨Hotel Rialto (p287)

¨Mundo Hostel (p292)

¨Hotel Piast (p300)

¨Hotel Stare Miasto (p302)

¨Hotel Petite Fleur (p308)

When to Go

May–Jun Stately Kraków returns to life after a long winter.

Jul–Aug A brief but hot summer is good for swim-ming in the Baltic Sea or hiking in the mountains.

Sep–Oct Warm and sunny enough for an active city break to Warsaw.

F DNOSAJJMAMJ

Warsaw°C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm

0

10/250

4/100

6/150

8/200

2/50

0/32

-10/14

-20/-4

20/68

30/86

10/50

PolandWhy Go?If they were handing out prizes for ‘most eventful history’, Poland would score a gold medal. The nation has spent cen-turies at the pointy end of history, grappling with war and invasion. Nothing, however, has succeeded in suppressing Poles’ strong sense of nationhood and cultural identity. As a result, bustling centres like Warsaw and Kraków exude a sophisticated energy that’s a heady mix of old and new.

Away from the cities, Poland is surprisingly diverse, from its northern beaches to a long chain of mountains on its southern border. In between, towns and cities are dotted with ruined castles, picturesque market squares and histor-ic churches.

Although prices have steadily risen in the postcommunist era, Poland is still good value. As the Poles continue to rec-oncile their distinctive national identity with their location at the heart of Europe, it’s a fascinating time to pay a visit.

Includes ¨Warsaw . . . . . . . . . . . . 283Kraków . . . . . . . . . . . . 289Lublin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Carpathian Mountains . . . . . . . . . .297Wrocław . . . . . . . . . . . 299Gdańsk . . . . . . . . . . . . 304Toruń . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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Once you’ve travelled around Poland, you re-alise this: Warsaw is different. Rather than being centred on an old market square, the capital is spread across a broad area with di-verse architecture: restored Gothic, commu-nist concrete, modern glass and steel.

This jumble is a sign of the city’s tumul-tuous past. Warsaw has suffered the worst

history could throw at it, including virtual destruction at the end of World War II – and survived. As a result, it’s a fascinating collec-tion of neighbourhoods, landmarks and fine museums charting its culture and history.

It’s not all about the past, however, as Warsaw’s restaurant and entertainment scene is the best in Poland. This gritty city knows how to have fun.

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UKRAINE

SLOVAKIA

CZECHREPUBLIC

BELARUS

GERMANY

RUSSIA

Gulf ofGdańsk

LakeŚniardwy

Lake Mamry

Labe River

Odra

Warta Bug

Vist

ula

Malbork

Łeba

JeleniaGóra

Szczecin

Konin

Gdynia

Ostrołęka

Puławy

Kutno

Łomza

Przemyśl

Częstochowa

Ełk

Siedlce

NowySącz

Zamość

Piła

ZielonaGóra

Opole

PiotrkówTrybunalski

Chełm

Suwałki

Terespol

Tarnobrzeg

Gniezno

Leszno

Wieluń

Słupsk

Tarnów

Kielce

Olsztyn

Bydgoszcz

Karpacz

SzklarskaPoręba

Katowice

ToruńGorzówWielkopolski

Koszalin

Białystok

Radom

Kalisz

Legnica Lublin

Bielsko-Biała

Płock

Włocławek

Rzeszów

Łódź

Poznań

Jakuszyce

Kaliningrad

Grudziądz

Majdanek

Hajnówka

Osowiec-Twierdza

Ostróda

Iława

UstkaDarłowo

Kołobrzeg

MiędzyzdrojeŚwinoujście

Hel

Sejny

Polańczyk

Elbląg

Sopot

Brno

Ostrava

Jarosław

TatraMountains

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#1 Kraków

BiałowieżaNational Park

Auschwitz-Birkenau#3

Gdańsk #4

Zakopane#5

Warsaw#6

0 100 km0 50 miles#e

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#2 Wrocław

1 Kraków (p289) Experiencing the beauty and history of the Old Town.

2 Wrocław (p299) Enjoying the city’s student-fuelled party vibe.

3 Auschwitz-Birkenau (p295) remembering the victims of the Nazi German genocide.

4 European Solidarity Centre (p306) reliving Poland’s inspirational anticommunist struggle in Gdańsk.

5 Zakopane (p297) Skiing or hiking the Tatra mountains from this alpine resort.

6 Museum of the History of Polish Jews (p285) Being dazzled by the museum in Warsaw.

Poland Highlights