Best Places to Visit in Poland, Top Attractions

If you love picturesque architecture, medieval cities, forests and quaint European town squares, great food and good value, Poland has you covered. The country is large and diverse, with plenty to offer visitors. It is also one of our favourite places to visit! Poland has a history that dates back almost a thousand years, with stunning medieval architecture, remnants of WWII and its devastation, and castles and palaces in every corner of the country. But this ancient country is also home to expansive national parks, mountains, and lakes, with seemingly endless trails cutting through virgin nature waiting to be explored. No matter why you're heading to Poland, discover the most stunning destinations with our list of the best places to visit in Poland. It is a famous European destination for its picturesque landscapes, rich history, vibrant culture and historical places to visit in Poland. You can enjoy the sea, the mountains and various other outdoor landscapes in Poland. The delicious cuisine and Jewish heritage are a few of other popular Poland tourist attractions. As there are so many places to visit in Poland, it can be overwhelming at times. Poland has a plethora of hidden gems that most people are unaware of or have yet to discover. Poland has it all, from resorts to museums to adventure parks to escape rooms to a plethora of monuments and historic sites. Whatever place you visit in Poland, whether it's Lublin or Lodz, each place has something unique to offer. There are a long list of top-rated Poland tourist places, but if you only have a short vacation in Poland, there are many locations to visit without staying too long, such as coastal resorts, mountain resorts, camps like Auschwitz - Birkenau camps, historic towns and cities like lodz, old aristocratic castles like Malbork as well as wawel Royal castle and stunning nature reserves on the coast, in woods, or on the mountains. The capital of Poland, Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk are among the best places to visit in Poland. Cities with a long history dating back to the Middle Ages can be found here making it all the more fascinating. Poland is also one of the world's safest countries which makes visiting the place all the more worthwhile.

#1- Leba
The tiny village of Leba is one of Poland's best destinations for beach life. Though busy and filled with visitors in summer, Leba retains its lazy vibe, with the rolling sand dunes and the soft waves at the center of the attractions here. For those wanting more things to do than just sit back and enjoy the sun, there's horseback riding and over 140 kilometers of hiking trails in the area.

#2- Karpacz
This mountain spa town gets its share of visitors in winter, who come here to enjoy skiing on popular Mount Śnieżka. Often referred to as the "winter capital of Poland," Karpacz also offers great ski jumping, snowboarding, and winter hiking. In warmer months, nearby Karkonosze National Park offers lots of trails.

#3- Bialystok
Make sure to walk around Kościuszko Market Square, surrounded by beautifully ornate townhouses, plenty of cozy cafés, and the Podlachian Museum, mostly dedicated to Polish paintings and art. On a sunny day, take a walk down Lipowa street, too, which was almost completely destroyed during WWII and has been restored to become a great place to spot boutique shops and restored historical buildings. A branch of the Podlachian Museum, the Historical Museum is an interesting stop to see what a wealthy 19th-century bourgeois home would've looked like — complete with original furniture and objects of the time.

#4- Isle of Usedom
Soft white beaches, seaside resorts, and plenty of summer sports and activities are the main attractions, but the island is also home to a private botanical garden (open only during the warm months), the remnants of the Karnin Lift railway bridge (now designated as a Historic Symbol of Engineering in Germany), and the Dannenfeldt Mausoleum and cemetery.

#5- Torun
One of the oldest cities in Poland, Torun's history dates back to the 8th century. Because Torun wasn't bombed or destroyed during WWII, the city's medieval Central Marketplace and its many Gothic houses and wood-beam 16th-century buildings are still standing. One of these houses is the birthplace of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, which has been converted into a museum about the scientist's life and work. The other must-see museum in town is Muzeum Piernika, dedicated to a type of gingerbread unique to Poland, where visitors can try hands-on baking.

#6- Zalipie Village
The tiny village of Zalipie is best known for the folksy flower paintings that adorn almost every building in the area. This tradition started over one hundred years ago, when local women used a mix of powdered dye and milk to cover dirty surfaces with colorful designs. Today, almost every cottage, barn, fence, and even Saint Joseph's church is painted this way – and so are many indoor spaces, including walls and furniture.

#7- Krakow
One of the oldest cities in Poland, Krakow was already inhabited back in the 7th century. Because the city escaped most of the WWII destruction that fell on other Polish cities, Krakow's Old Town center still retains its stunning medieval architecture. The Wavel Castle and the historic district of Kazimierz – also known as the Old Jewish Quarter – in the area are both designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Krakow is home to around 40 urban parks, including 19th-century Planty Park, which covers an area of 21 hectares and forms a green ring around the city center, and the Lasek Wolski forest, which offers hiking and biking trails in a large woodland area just minutes from the city center.

#8- Warsaw
Poland's capital was left in ruins after WWII – almost 85 percent of its buildings had been turned to ash or systematically razed by Nazi forces. As soon as the war ended, the city embarked on a massive effort to reconstruct its historic center using original plans. As a result, the Baroque and Renaissance merchant houses you see today are perfect replicas of the originals.

#9- Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains and National Park form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, though most of the mountain range falls into Slovakia. Because there are no borders between EU countries anymore, it's now possible to hike between countries easily. The Polish side of the park has over 270 kilometers of hiking trails.

#10- Wroclaw
The city of Wroclaw hasn't always been Polish – over the centuries, it has belonged to everything from the Kingdom of Bohemia to Prussia to Germany. Wroclaw has only officially been part of Poland since 1945, after the end of WWII changed some of the border lines in Europe. The Lubomirski Museum is a good place to visit to learn more about the history of the city

#11- Bialowieza Forest Reserve
Europe's largest remaining section of the primeval forest that once covered much of the continent, the Bialowieza Forest Reserve has definitely earned its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The forest sits on the border between Poland and Belarus – a border crossing for hikers is actually located within the forest itself – and covers an area of over 1,400 square kilometers. Bialowieza is a bird-watcher's paradise, and aficionados can join bird-watching tours headed by local ornithologists, but the forest is also home to bison and other large species.