Destination: Poland

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Best of Poland

TWO WEEKS / GDANSK TO KRAKÓW

This 1250km route can be fitted comfortably into a two-week visit if you have a car, three weeks if using public transport. If you’re pushed for time, do the southern half only, from Warsaw on, which can be squeezed into a week or 10 days.



Poland’s top attractions offer an appealing blend of town and country, a mix of indoor and outdoor pursuits. This north–south tour takes in the country’s main highlights.

Begin with a day’s sightseeing in the grand old port city of Gdansk, then head east to the Great Masurian Lakes for a day or two of water-based exploration (or relaxation), possibly stopping at Malbork on the way for a look at the castle.

From here, it’s not too long a drive to Bialowieza National Park, where you can ride a horse-drawn cart through primeval forest to see the bison herds, before heading to Warsaw. Spend at least two days discovering the capital city, then turn south to Poland’s ‘other capital’, Kraków, which merits at least another two days of exploration.

Kraków makes a convenient base for day trips to two more top sights – the strange, subterranean world of the Wieliczka Salt Mine on the edge of the city, and the chilling Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz, 60km to the west.
Finally, head south again for two or three days of hiking amid the stunning scenery of the Tatra National Park.