The best value in Europe by a distance, and not only because it is cheap. Kraków and Gdańsk are as handsome as anywhere west of them, and a night out costs what a round costs in Amsterdam.
Poland is the country people put on a list because of the prices and come back from talking about something else. Kraków's old town is the largest medieval square in Europe and survived the war intact. Gdańsk rebuilt its Hanseatic waterfront from rubble. Wrocław has hundreds of bronze dwarves hidden around the streets and a market square most countries would build a tourist industry around.
Warsaw is the one that divides people. It was flattened in 1944 and rebuilt twice — the old town as a careful replica, the rest in concrete and then glass — and it is a city about the twentieth century rather than a pretty one. The museums there are among the best in Europe.
A week does Kraków, Warsaw and one more by train. Ten days adds the Tatras at Zakopane or the Baltic coast, and everything is cheap enough that the extra days barely register.
Trains are cheap, fast and comfortable. Kraków to Warsaw is under three hours.
The medieval capital, untouched by the war, and the base for Auschwitz and the salt mines. Most people's favourite.
Krakow is amazing and beautiful, however travelled in a heatwave so couldn't explore the surrounding area as much as I liked. Would deffo love to come back and see more of Poland.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Rebuilt twice and defined by the twentieth century. The best museums in the country and a serious nightlife.
A mixed town of old, post war & modern architecture. Eating out isn’t expensive at all and plenty of options. So much to see and do can easily run out of time!
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Hanseatic waterfront, amber, and the shipyard where Solidarity started. The Baltic coast begins here.
Great place for a weekend away especially if interested in world war history.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
A market square to rival Kraków's, a huge student population and hundreds of bronze dwarves to find.
The city is all walkable and can be covered in a weekend. If staying longer it’s worth going on trips. Very colourful buildings and relaxed atmosphere.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
The Tatra mountains: hiking in summer, skiing in winter, and wooden architecture in between.
beautiful place. the mountains are beyond gorgeous, which so many hike trails. food is amazing as well.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Post-industrial, cheap and increasingly interesting. One of Europe's longest shopping streets.
I was so impressed with Łódź that I will be singing its praises to all my friends and acquaintances for a long time to come. In a packed weekend I didn’t manage to exhaust all of its attractions. But, I did manage an interactive science museum in a former power station, art galleries, a textile museum, magnificent palaces built by industrialists and, my highlight, the cinema museum together with a visit to an Falla aqua park. Litzmannstat ghetto, and in summer, the parks and forests next time.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Between Berlin and Warsaw, with a market square rebuilt after the war and mechanical goats on the town hall at noon.
A Gothic brick city that survived the war intact, Copernicus's birthplace, and famous for gingerbread.
The eastern city: a castle, an old town, and Majdanek concentration camp preserved on the edge of it.
Poland covers city breaks, history and mountains, all at the same low prices.
Three or four days, and cheap enough to add a fourth.
Twentieth-century history told without flinching.
Enormous student populations and drinks at a third of western prices.
One of the cheapest countries in the EU for a traveller.
The Tatras, and lakes in the north nobody outside Poland knows.
Auschwitz-Birkenau is an hour and a half from Kraków and must be booked online in advance: since March 2026 there are no tickets on site. Self-guided entry is free in set time slots, guided tours cost 150 złoty, and both sell out weeks ahead in summer. Allow the whole day, and do not plan anything social for the evening.
Kraków's other attractions are gentler: Wawel Castle, the Cloth Hall in the main square, the Wieliczka salt mine with its underground chapel, and Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter that is now the bar district.
Warsaw's museums are the serious draw — the Rising Museum and POLIN both do difficult history exceptionally well. Gdańsk has the European Solidarity Centre, which explains how the Soviet bloc ended, in the shipyard where it happened.
Milk bars — bar mleczny — are the institution worth knowing. Subsidised canteens from the communist era that still exist, serving pierogi, soup and cutlets for €3 to €5. The queue moves fast, the menu is in Polish, and the food is the real thing.
Beyond them, Polish food is dumplings, soups and pork, done well and heavy. Żurek, a sour rye soup served in a bread bowl, and bigos, hunter's stew, are the ones to try. Zapiekanka — a long open toasted baguette — is the street food, and the round market in Kazimierz sells it until dawn.
Warsaw has a modern restaurant scene that gets no international attention and is extremely good value: tasting menus for what a main course costs in Copenhagen.
Kraków's Kazimierz has the highest density of bars in the country, most of them in old Jewish quarter buildings with courtyards, and drinks at €2.50 to €4. It is the best value night out in Europe and it goes until the sun comes up.
Warsaw is bigger and more varied — Praga across the river has the warehouse clubs, and the city has a serious electronic scene that most visitors miss entirely.
Wrocław and Poznań have the student crowds and the lowest prices of all. Stag parties concentrate in Kraków's main square, which is a good reason to drink two streets away in Kazimierz instead.
PKP Intercity runs fast, comfortable and cheap trains between the big cities — Kraków to Warsaw in two and a half hours for around €15 to €25 booked ahead. The Pendolino services are the fastest; TLK trains are slower and cheaper.
FlixBus and Polski Bus cover the gaps and undercut the trains on many routes. For Zakopane and the mountains, the bus is faster than the train.
City transport is cheap and good: trams in most cities, a single ticket about a euro. Taxis are inexpensive but use Bolt or Uber rather than hailing, which is standard practice here now.
Poland is one of the cheapest countries in the EU for a traveller. Dorms from about €10, a milk bar meal for €4, a beer for €2.50, and an intercity train for the price of a sandwich elsewhere.
A full day — bed, three meals, transport, a couple of drinks and a museum — lands around €35 to €45 without economising. That is roughly half of Spain and a third of the Netherlands.
The currency is the złoty, not the euro. Exchange booths marked kantor are everywhere and rates vary, so avoid the ones at the airport and in the main squares and use a bank ATM instead, declining any conversion offered by the machine.
Poland is a safe country with low violent crime, and the cities feel calm even late at night. The issues visitors run into are concentrated around the drinking economy.
Kraków's main square has strip-club touts who lead people to venues with extraordinary bills, and the taxi scam that goes with it. Ignore anyone handing you a flyer, and book cars through Bolt or Uber.
Vodka is the other one, and it is not a joke. Measures are larger than most visitors expect and rounds go fast. Pickpocketing exists at the usual level around main stations and on busy trams.
Poland is in the Schengen area but not the eurozone. EU citizens need an ID card. UK, US, Canadian and Australian passport holders get 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen zone.
Passports need three months' validity beyond departure and to have been issued within the last ten years. ETIAS has been postponed repeatedly — check the official EU site.
Poland borders Ukraine and Belarus, and the eastern border regions have restrictions that change. If you are travelling near them, check current government advice rather than assuming, and note that Belarus is not a casual border crossing.
Poland has a proper continental climate: hot summers, cold winters and two excellent shoulder seasons. Christmas markets make December worth the cold.
Average highs for Kraków. Winters are properly cold and the Tatras hold snow from December to April.
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, at Polish prices.
Prices are in złoty locally; these are euro equivalents. Intercity trains are €15–25 a leg.
Poland's calendar is packed and cheap. These are the ones worth timing a trip around.
Staff pick
The Gdańsk Christmas Market in Gdańsk, Poland, is a magical holiday destination known for its enchanting illuminations, festive atmosphere, and rich history dating back…
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The Warsaw International Film Festival is a renowned celebration of global cinema that has championed creative storytelling and cultural dialogue for over forty years.…
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Restaurant Week Autumn in Gdańsk, Poland, invites food lovers to explore the city’s culinary scene with specially crafted three-course menus at a fixed, affordable…
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Jazz Jantar Festival in Gdańsk, Poland, is a cornerstone of the European jazz scene, renowned for its adventurous programming and commitment to artistic integrity.…
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The International Book Fair in Krakow, Poland, is a major gathering for book lovers, authors, and publishing professionals. Since its founding in 1997, the…
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Korn is a nu metal band from California known for their Billboard 200 #1 albums like Follow the Leader and Issues. They have sold…
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Jethro Tull has long been hailed as an innovative and highly influential rock group, captivating audiences with their energetic and romantic blend of hard…
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Jethro Tull has long been hailed as an innovative and highly influential rock group, captivating audiences with their energetic and romantic blend of hard…
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