Poland??

eclectichoney

anyone ever been? what's it like and where's the best place/time to go??
cheers

paulmurphyvec

For me the most beautiful city worth seeing is Krakow. At any time of the year.

schemingbohemia

Is this a new record? over 16 year old zombie thread?

clintondaly

I would agree with Krakow and its close to Auschwitz and Birkenau which everyone should visit once in their life

Wanderer78

schemingbohemia wrote:

Is this a new record? over 16 year old zombie thread?

Surely we could find the first ever thread on boards, this would end this challenge!

shaunr68

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Is this a new record? over 16 year old zombie thread?

It was still behind the Iron Curtain when the thread started. Well, almost...

Been all over, from the slightly tacky seaside resorts on the Baltic to the Masurian Lakes, the Bialoweza national park to the Tatras mountains in the south. To be honest I preferred Warsaw to Krakow. The old town was destroyed during the war but has been carefully rebuilt using original materials and construction techniques.

Auschwitz is sobering, the tour professionally and respectfully delivered.

It would be helpful if the OP said what type of trip they wanted, but I expect they have been by now.

holly8

shaunr68 wrote: »

It was still behind the Iron Curtain when the thread started. Well, almost...

Been all over, from the slightly tacky seaside resorts on the Baltic to the Masurian Lakes, the Bialoweza national park to the Tatras mountains in the south. To be honest I preferred Warsaw to Krakow. The old town was destroyed during the war but has been carefully rebuilt using original materials and construction techniques.

Auschwitz is sobering, the tour professionally and respectfully delivered.

It would be helpful if the OP said what type of trip they wanted, but I expect they have been by now.

I'm going to Warsaw for 3 days next week with my teenage son.

It's a city I've wanted to visit for years, I was living in Berlin back in the day (1991-ish) when East German/Polish borders were fully opened up and there was a huge influx of Polish shoppers into Berlin at the time. I will never forget seeing the busloads of shoppers hauling TV sets, huge boxes of washing detergent and toilet paper onto the old dilapidated Polish buses parked overnight under various underpasses and bridges in Berlin. I never got to Warsaw at that time. I only got to Berlin for the first time since earlier this year.

But finally, now Warsaw. We plan to spend our day wandering about Praga, the Ghetto area, Old Town, Polish Uprising museum, etc .... Any advice or pointers? TIA

spurious

Uprising Museum very well done indeed. Some great street art in Praga.

The Copernicus Science Museum is also very good. Walkable down the river from the Old Town.

Go slightly off the tourist trail for good value re food etc..

I found the Communism tours surprisingly well done. There are a number of them, including ones in old vehicles. I did mine in a cardboard (literally) Trabant.

holly8

spurious wrote: »

Uprising Museum very well done indeed. Some great street art in Praga.

The Copernicus Science Museum is also very good. Walkable down the river from the Old Town.

Go slightly off the tourist trail for good value re food etc..

I found the Communism tours surprisingly well done. There are a number of them, including ones in old vehicles. I did mine in a cardboard (literally) Trabant.

any particular Communism tour that you would recommend? thanks!

spurious

It's a few years since I did mine, and the poor Trabbie was already on its last legs then. I believe the one in the van gets good reviews.
https://www.getyourguide.com/warsaw-l41/communism-tour-in-the-original-socialist-car-t25189/

Apart from the different vehicle, it seems to be the same tour I did. I think maybe all the companies do versions of the same thing.

Even if you don't do one of the tours, a trip to a milk bar is a must. They are old-style cheap canteens, usually with Soviet-style service with a snarl, but very cheap food.

otnomart

I have only been to Gdansk so far and enjoyed it. Solidarity museum, boat trip to Westerplatte, beautiful architecture, friendly atmosphere.

joker@

Lads/gents Poland it's not Tenerife that you can visit by one or two towns. Especially when from one corner to another travel will take you 14-15h. Everything depends what you looking for.

holyhead

I've been to Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk. Recommend all three. Beautiful cities, Krakow probably most beautiful.

MoonshineMonty

I want to visit Krakow this year. Is there any cheap flights?

spurious

MoonshineMonty wrote: »

I want to visit Krakow this year. Is there any cheap flights?

In the summer, unlikely. Watch Ryanair's 'sales' and you might grab a couple of flights slightly cheaper than usual, but you'd need to be fairly flexible on your dates.

grimm2005

MoonshineMonty wrote: »

I want to visit Krakow this year. Is there any cheap flights?

I was just in Krakow for 4 nights in January, it was about €75 return booked in October/November. Great price but usually it's more expensive as Ryanair are the only airline that do direct flights from Dublin (I think their PR nightmare around that time may have contributed to the cheaper price). As spurious pointed out, summer flights will be a good bit pricier. You may want to leave it till later in the year (like October/November) and have flexible dates if you want to get a cheap fare.