Neighbor of 7 different countries, in the eastern part of central Europe, Poland is authentic and welcoming with whomever decides to visit it. Poland is home to illustrious people of all time such as Nicholas Copernicus, the composer Chopin, the scientist Marie Curie-Sklodowska and even the birthplace of a saint of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II.
The history of Poland is vibrant and shocking at the same time. It was literally destroyed after World War II, a victim of the Nazi occupation and the horrors of extermination in the unspeakable Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and, later, a satellite country of communism dictated by the Soviet Union.
However, Poland has managed to maintain a firm and dignified hand and infuse the Poles with a welcoming character, which has already become a “seal of quality” of this nation. And it is that Poland has a lot to do. From extensive sand dunes facing the Baltic Sea to the majestic lakes of the Mazury and Pomerania regions, without forgetting the imposing presence of the Carpathian Mountains, in the southern part of the country. Our tourist proposal includes 7 cities in Poland that you should not miss on your trip :
1. Warsaw
Capital of the country, the city of Warsaw is the living example of the reconstruction of Poland. Scene of the historic Warsaw Uprising, in 1944, against the Nazi occupation, the city center, known as “Old Town”, was declared a World Heritage Site. Not surprisingly, it was built almost entirely at the end of World War II. For this reason, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument is worth a visit. But you cannot miss visiting the New Town, the Palace of Culture, the Prague District, the Wilanów Palace, the Lazienki Park or the modern National Stadium in Warsaw.
2. Krakow
Former capital of the country, the city of Krakow is considered by many Poles to be the true heart of Poland and is its most visited city. In the case of Krakow, the obligatory stops are multiplied: the historic center -also a World Heritage Site- and its beautiful Market Square with the Cloth Hall Building and the Town Hall Tower; Wawel Castle and Cathedral; the Jewish Quarter, known as “Kazimierz”, and the Podgórze district that housed the Jewish ghetto and the factory of industrialist Oskar Schindler, immortalized by Steven Spielberg in his Oscar-winning film Schindler’s List.
Krakow, considered by many to be the most charming city in Poland.
3. Gdansk
Gdansk is the largest port city in Poland. The former free city of Danzig, its name in German, is part of the Tricity (Trójmiasto) together with Gdynia and Sopot. We can start touring Gdansk from the statue of Neptune, a symbol of the city located next to the Town Hall, and from there let ourselves be amazed by the charm of its historic center. The Royal Route starts from the intersection of Dluga Street and Boguslawskiego Street and reaches the pier, perpendicular to the Motlawa River. Other must-see places in Gdansk include the Amber Museum, St. Mary’s Church, and the shipyards where Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarnosc union, worked as an electrician and where the fall of communism began to take shape.
Gdańsk.
4. Wroclaw (Wroclaw)
Known as Wroclaw in Polish and Breslau in German, Wroclaw is one of the most beautiful cities in Poland. Located in the southwest of the country and bathed by the Oder River, Wroclaw has 700 years of history as a German city. Capital of Lower Silesia, the German Breslau would become the Polish Wroclaw in 1945, as a result of the Potsdam Conference that ended the Second World War and officially declared Hitler’s Germany defeated.
With this historical baggage, Wroclaw is an irresistible city for tourists, who can visit the Market Square or Rynek, in the center of the medieval city, which also include the Town Hall building, the church of Santa Isabel and the Plaza de la Sal –where we find the building of the Old Stock Exchange-. Another must-see is the University building, built in the 18th century during Prussian rule. The famous Most Tumski bridge connects the secluded Sand Island in the middle of the Oder with the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist.
Breslavia.
5. Poznan
Poznan is the birthplace of the Polish state in the 10th century, when Duke Mieszko I chose this city as one of the capitals of his dukedom. Today, Poznań is a prominent business center and home to numerous fairs and congresses, but also today a city with a marked cultural and academic character. The Old Market Square (Stare Rynek), the Cathedral, the Town Hall and its churches and castles are some of the most representative places in Poznan.
Poznan.
6. Lodz
Lodz competes with Krakow for the second place among the cities with the largest population in Poland, a long way off (close to a million inhabitants) from Warsaw. Lodz is an industrial city that does not dazzle at first sight as other cities in Poland do, but it also has its charm thanks to its Art Nouveau buildings, its museums, the Lagiewniki park or Piotrkowska street, one of the shopping streets longest in the world.
Lodz.
7. Lublin
The Krakow Gate is the symbol of the welcoming city of Lublin and the last vestige of the wall that protected the city in the 14th century. The cathedral, the castle and its square, the old and the new town hall, the Grodzka Gate and the Market Square with the Royal Court are among the most representative places in Lublin, the last of the 7 most beautiful cities in Poland that we have visited in this article.
