Royal castles, rebuilt old towns, salt mines and pierogi, all linked by a fast train.
Here is when to go, how long to give it, and which city to start with.
Most first trips to Poland are a weekend in Krakow, and it is easy to see why. But Warsaw is less than three hours away by train, and the trip that sees both cities gets a far better picture of the country.
We spent a week in Poland over Easter, three nights in Warsaw and three in Krakow, with the train in between. Lucy travelled with two of our grown-up children, one of whom has a severe nut allergy, so the trip was planned around food as well as sights. We walked the Royal Way, went down the Wieliczka Salt Mine, explored Kazimierz and drank our way politely through the Polish Vodka Museum. The most useful thing Poland taught us is that Warsaw and Krakow are very different cities, and they work best together.
In short: the best time to visit Poland for most trips is May, June or September, when the days are long and the weather is mild, or December for the Christmas markets. This page covers when to go, how long to give it and where to start, beginning with Warsaw and Krakow.
We write about the places we have actually been, in the depth we would want if we were planning it ourselves. So far that means two of the best cities to visit in Poland, and we add new places to visit in Poland as we travel.
Poland’s capital was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt from the rubble, so its UNESCO-listed Old Town sits alongside Soviet towers, revamped factories and the most exciting food we found in Poland. It felt safe, spacious and a little bit cool, and it was Lucy’s favourite of the two.
The old royal capital came through the war largely intact, so this is Poland at its prettiest, with Europe’s largest medieval square, Wawel Castle on its hill and the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz. It is compact and walkable, and the easy base for day trips to Wieliczka and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Three nights in each city with a fast train in between is the trip we would recommend to almost anyone on a first visit to Poland. The train takes just under three hours, and our family was split on which city we liked best, which says a lot about how well the two work together.
New places are added as we travel them. Every part of Poland we write up gets its own card and its own guides on this page, and there is plenty more of the country still to explore. The newsletter at the bottom is the way to hear first when a new one lands.
This is the question that decides the trip. Poland has proper seasons, with cold, often snowy winters and warm summers, and what changes through the year is the weather, the light, the crowds and what is on, from summer evenings on the Vistula to the Christmas markets.
For most trips, go in May, June or September. You get long days, mild weather and fewer people than in the peak summer weeks. For the Christmas markets, it has to be December, when Krakow’s Market Square fills with stalls and lights. Spring and autumn are quieter and often better value, as long as you pack for a cold day or two.
We went at Easter, at the turn of March and April, which is early in the season, so we packed warm layers for the cities and for the salt mine. Krakow is busy all year, so the crowds there are more about weekends than seasons, and the south of the country, towards the mountains, is cooler than Warsaw.
Mar to May
When we went. Early spring is cool and can be grey, with Easter markets and quiet museums, and by May the parks are green, the café terraces are out and the days are long. Pack a warm layer and a waterproof.
Jun to Aug
The warmest weather, the longest days and the busiest weeks, with outdoor concerts, river boats and the Vistula Boulevards in Warsaw at their liveliest. Krakow gets very crowded, so book hotels, trains and the big sights early.
Sep to Nov
September is often settled and warm, with the summer crowds gone and the parks turning gold. By November the days are short, cold and grey, and it is a quiet time for city breaks until the Christmas markets open.
Dec to Feb
Properly cold, often below freezing and sometimes snowy, with short days. December brings the Christmas markets in Krakow and Warsaw, and January and February are quiet and good value, as long as you dress for the cold.
The Christmas market on Krakow’s Market Square is one of the best known in Europe, and it is the reason a lot of people visit in winter. Wooden stalls fill the square around the Cloth Hall, selling mulled wine, grilled oscypek cheese, gingerbread and decorations, and it usually opens in late November and runs through the festive season. Check the dates for your year before you book.
We have not been to Krakow at Christmas yet, but we have stood in that square early in the morning at Easter, before the crowds, and it is a beautiful setting for a market. Warsaw has its own Christmas market in the Old Town too, so a December double city break works just as well as one in spring.
This is the trap in a lot of December plans. Polish winters are cold, the days are short, and Krakow’s Market Square is at its busiest on the weekends before Christmas, when flights and hotels fill up. If you can, go midweek, book early, and pack proper winter layers, a hat and gloves.
If you can pick your month, May, June or September. You get mild weather, long evenings and the parks at their best, without the busiest summer weeks. If you want the Christmas markets, go in December and book early.
Whenever you go, pack layers. The weather changes quickly, the salt mine is cool all year round, and comfortable shoes matter most of all, because Polish old towns are made for walking and the cobbles are unforgiving.
Our tip
Get up early for Krakow's Market Square. By mid-morning it is busy with tour groups, and at weekends with stag parties, but first thing it is quiet enough to see it properly and photograph it without people.
Longer than a weekend if you can. Poland is a big country, but the fast trains make the main cities feel close, and each one deserves at least two or three full days.
The mistake is the Krakow weekend that also tries to fit in Auschwitz-Birkenau and the salt mine. Each one takes at least half a day, Auschwitz deserves time to take in, and squeezing them into two days leaves almost nothing for the city itself.
Our Poland trip started with a flight into Warsaw, three nights in a hotel by the central station and an easy train to Krakow, where we stayed close to the Market Square. We flew home from Krakow, with the airport train leaving from the main station. That is the shape of a first trip to Poland that works. Our full guides are below.
The practical things we wish someone had told us.
From the UK, flying is the easy option. There are direct flights from across the UK to Warsaw and Krakow, as well as Gdańsk, Wrocław and other cities, so you can fly into one and home from the other. Check the current routes when you book.
Warsaw Chopin Airport is about 9km south of the centre, with trains into the city in around half an hour, and Krakow airport has a train to the main station in around 20 minutes. If you are travelling from outside the EU, check the entry rules before you book, as they are changing. It is covered in the FAQ below.
Between the two cities, the fast train takes just under three hours, and it is far easier than driving or flying. We sat in a six-seat compartment and watched the forests go by, with coffee and a snack brought round. Book ahead in busy periods. Our Warsaw and Krakow double city break covers the train, and if you only have time for one city, Warsaw or Krakow will help you choose.
For a city break, you do not need a car. Both cities are walkable in the centre, with good trams and buses, and the trains between them are quick. For the countryside and the mountains, a car opens things up, but know the rules before you set off.
One of us lives with a severe nut allergy and came on this trip, so food was planned as carefully as the sights. Poland follows EU rules, so the 14 main allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts and sesame, have to be declared on packaged food, and restaurants and cafés must be able to tell you which allergens are in their dishes.
Walnuts and almonds are the ones to watch in Poland. They turn up in cakes, poppy seed rolls and some pierogi and dessert fillings, and Christmas dishes lean on nuts heavily. The word for nuts is orzechy, which is worth recognising on a menu. As anywhere, tell the restaurant about the allergy when you book, and carry a written card in Polish. Our Polish allergy translation cards cover peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. Our allergy travel resources have more of what we have learnt.
The things worth sorting before you travel, because they sell out. We book through GetYourGuide where it makes sense.
These three were highlights of our trip. In Warsaw, the Polish Vodka Museum tour with tasting was informative and a lot of fun. In Krakow, we went down the Wieliczka Salt Mine on our own by train, but the queues are long, and a Wieliczka Salt Mine fast-track ticket and guided tour gets you in quicker. And as the light faded, we took a boat along the Vistula below Wawel, which you can book as a day or night Vistula river cruise.
Not for a holiday if you hold a UK, US, Canadian or Australian passport. Poland is in the Schengen area, where visitors from those countries can stay for up to 90 days in any 180 days without a visa. The EU Entry/Exit System now records non-EU travellers’ fingerprints and photo at the border the first time they enter, so allow extra time at passport control. An ETIAS travel authorisation is also being introduced, so check the official EU travel website before you book. UK passports must be less than ten years old on the day you arrive and valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave.
The Polish złoty (PLN). Poland is in the EU but has not adopted the euro, and euros are not accepted in shops and restaurants. Cards and contactless are widely accepted, including in small cafés, but carry a little cash for market stalls and the odd small shop. If a card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose złoty instead.
Do both if you can, because they are less than three hours apart by train and they are very different cities. Krakow is prettier and more compact, with the medieval Market Square, Wawel and Kazimierz, and it is the base for the salt mine and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Warsaw is bigger, quieter and more modern, with more variety in its food and a fascinating story of rebuilding after the war. Our family was split on which we liked best.
Poland is on Central European Time, one hour ahead of the UK all year round, because both change their clocks on the same weekends. That puts it six hours ahead of New York and nine hours ahead of Los Angeles for most of the year. The US changes its clocks on different weekends, so for a couple of weeks in spring and autumn the gap shifts by an hour.
Yes, Poland is generally a very safe country to visit, and Warsaw felt safe and spacious to us. The main things to watch are pickpockets in busy squares, on trams and around the main stations, and in Krakow, the Market Square can get rowdy late at night at weekends with stag parties. Use licensed taxis or the ride-hailing apps rather than unofficial taxis. Take the usual care and you are unlikely to have any trouble.
Poland is still good value compared with most of western Europe, especially for eating out, public transport and museums, many of which have a free day each week. Krakow’s Market Square and the hotels around it are the most expensive part of a trip, and prices rise at busy weekends and in December, so stepping a street or two away from the main squares makes a big difference.
Vienna in winter, from the Christmas markets to a self-guided walk around the Old Town.
Dubrovnik’s city walls and Old Town, island boat trips along the Dalmatian coast and five days in Split.
Berlin’s Wall and Bowie’s old haunts, a Hamburg city break and a day trip to medieval Lübeck.
Athens and the Acropolis, a street food tour through Psyrri and how to see the city before your cruise sets sail.
From the Colosseum and the Vatican to the canals of Venice and the trulli of Puglia.
Amsterdam with teenagers, tulip fields in bloom, windmills and the cheese market at Alkmaar.
A winter city break in Tromsø, chasing the northern lights and sailing the fjords in the snow.
