Top Poland hotels
Wawel Castle Krakow
362 Reviews Most likely the best know feature of Wawel Castle is its fire breathing dragon which sits below the castle walls along the edge of the Visla River and in front of its dragon CAVE. If you want to know...
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Old Town Warsaw
164 Reviews Now when I say get out on the streets of the town, I did not mean lay down in the street, but rather wander the streets with no set plan or according to a map, just let your feet take you where they...
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Auschwitz Krakow
117 Reviews If you are well aware of what happened under the Nazi regime in the countries invaded by Germany you might opt for an individual visit. Just buy a small booklet with the maps of the blocks-barracks...
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Lazienki Park and Chopin's Monument Warsaw
123 Reviews This was such a wonderful place to talk a leisurely stroll through with lots of things to see along the way. Inside the park, which is free to enter and spend the day in, are several buildings of...
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Wieliczka Salt Mine Krakow
78 Reviews "The salt was worth more than silver" Legend says that when the Hungarian Princess Kinga (Kunegunda in Hungarian ) went to marry with the ruler of Krakow, she wanted to give the Poles something...
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Monuments Warsaw
101 Reviews Another powerful memorial to the people of Warsaw! This memorial takes the shape of a train wagon and is placed on the former train tracks where the people boarded these wagons. The train car is full...
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The Market Square (Rynek Glowny) Krakow
176 Reviews Adam Mickiewicz is generally regarded as the greatest Polish Romantic poet. There are statues and monuments to honour him all over Poland as well as over the Slavic and Baltic states. Even streets are...
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Churches Warsaw
127 Reviews Yes, A church, forgot to find out the name of this small but quite nice church in Warsaw old town. Unusual double entrance doors under a multi arch with some very interesting glyphs on the doors such...
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The Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) Krakow
150 Reviews The Jewish population of Krakow was once an important part of Polish society, that is until Hitler's Nazi got there. The entire Jewish population of this city was systematically destroyed. Today...
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Warsaw Uprising Warsaw
106 Reviews In 1944, the people of Warsaw rose up against their oppressors and fought for their city. They built barricades in the roads, traveled through the sewers, and basically doing anything to try to...
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Churches in Krakow Krakow
205 Reviews It was the first church built in the district of Kazimierz on the fourteenth century that later during the siege by the Swedes in Krakow it was used as the headquarters of King Gustav. The building...
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Palace of Culture and Science Warsaw
74 Reviews The Palace of Culture and Science is the highest building in Poland and has more than 3,000 rooms. When I arrived in Warsaw, I saw it immediately upon leaving the train station. It was a beautiful...
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St. Mary's Church Krakow
129 Reviews If you want to know everything about the Hejnal read "Krakow in your pocket" under history "the Hejnal". You will learn that: The 7 firemen chosen to play are on call for a 24 hour rotation and stay...
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Museums Warsaw
74 Reviews Two time Nobel Prize winner Marie Skłodowska-Curie, famous for her work in radioactivity, was born in the New Town but very near the Old Town of Warsaw in 1867. Marie Curie left Warsaw in 1924...
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St. Florian's Gate and the Barbican Krakow
124 Reviews Krakow, like any sizeable and respectable old city, has its city walls and gates. The Florianska Gate, near the Barbican, and the streets approaching it are the best preserved in Krakow. We always...
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Ghetto and Jewish Life Warsaw
83 Reviews The Umschlagplatz marks the spot where more than 300,000 Jewish people from the Warsaw Ghetto and elsewhere were put onto cattle cars and sent to extermination camps. It is a moving memorial,...
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The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) Krakow
89 Reviews Here we are at the center of Market Square where it may be one of the oldest malls in the world. Krakow was a strategic location for trade between the East and the rest of Europe, here came exotic...
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Royal Castle Warsaw
69 Reviews The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a castle residency and was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. In its long...
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Old Town Streets Krakow
91 Reviews The old town is extensive and wonderful to walk around. Its focal point is the wide open Rynek Glowny (Market Place) in the center. On the outskirts you can find the remains of the old city wall,...
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Wilanow Warsaw
44 Reviews The palace at Wilanow is often referred to as the 'Polish Versailles'. If you go first thing in the morning why join the queue of students & visitors only to follow them around the palace. Instead go...
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Museums Krakow
59 Reviews Special Exhibition (Sept 2011)- on loan from the Spanish Royal Family. There was an excellent exhibition of various treasures from the Spanish royal family including furniture, paintings, personal...
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Sightseeing - All tips in one Warsaw
22 Reviews I read many informations about Warsaw, but finally found a flyer in our hostel about www.warsaw4u.com and i decided to contact them. And I was satisfied. They're cool cause each day they go two...
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Jagiellonian University Krakow
37 Reviews The Residence Hall is the oldest building and the most famous of Jagiellonian University , that is one of the oldest in Europe In the courtyard you can see at 11 and at 13 h the figures of the clock...
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Syrenka - Mermaid Warsaw
24 Reviews According to a legend, the mermaid Szawa (or Sava) from the Wisla river was in love with a prince called War or (Varu). This legend explains the founding and the naming of the city of Warsaw...
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The Town Hall (Ratusz) Krakow
42 Reviews While we did not visit the tower itself, we did use it as a point of reference and rallying point during our VT meet there. Don't look for the Town Hall that the Tower should be near because the Town...
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Krakow was capital of poland until 1609 but it still claims to be the inoffical capital. It was mostly spared the bombings of the Second World War and offers today an almost fully intact Baroque and Renaissance city centre. It attracts with dozens of churches, narrow old streets and architectural gems. No wonder why the city centre has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Send Picture as a PostCard. map by virtualtourist.com Katowice (Kattowitz) was capital of Upper Silesia and was founded in the 19th century when coal mining set in in this region. The city has grown rapidely to a centre of trading, communication and heavy industry. Especially between 1914 and 1918 the city expereinced its golden time in the metallurgy sector for weapons for the German army. After the war the city passed to Poland and became heart of the most industrialized region of the country.Today the city has a number of banks, stock-exchanges, self-governing institutions and several high schools.
If there is one place on earth that stands as an enduring symbol of evil, then this is it. The horrors of this place are well-documented, and known to everyone. The camp is well-preserved, and guided tours remind visitors of what happened here. Please be mindful that this was a place of great suffering and tragedy, and act accordingly.Whoever stole the infamous "Werk macht frei" (work makes one free) sign at the gate, please return it. This is a part of history, and belongs here, NOT in someone's home. To keep that symbol of evil is to desecrate the memory of those who suffered and perished here.
There is yet another legend about the sculpture of the Madonna. A young man accused of murder carved it in a single night. The magistrates were so impressed by its beauty that they pardoned him on what would have been his execution day.There was a lot to see in St. Mary's Church. When we were finished we then went down St. Mary's Street. The street goes from the church to St. Mary's Gate.Next to this huge church is the spired Royal Chapel. It is the only Baroque church in Gdansk/
We caught up with Lucus, our tour guide after an hour. He took us to St. Mary's church. St. Mary's Gate opens onto a narrow street of the same name which leads to the Church of our Lady. This church is the largest church in Poland and the largest brick church in the world. It was built from 1343-1502 and took 159 years to build. It started as a Catholic Church and became a Lutheran Church during the Reformation and in 1945 it became Catholic again. The floor has 500 + tombstones so there is a huge graveyard under the church. Maybe 5000 to 10,000 people are buried here. It's painted white inside but now they are finding some pictures under the white paint. Lucus explained many of the chapels. One had a nice display of angels. There was an organ in the church that was destroyed duruing the war and the angels were the only things left. We saw the huge 4 meter sculpture of Jesus on the cross...
When we finished the Amber Tour the bus brought us to the city. We had about an hour to walk around by ourselves. All the buildings have been restored from the Soviet and German bombings in WWII. Most of the houses in town have a Flemish style facade There is a pretty white house with gold trim that is called the Golden House. Four statues were on top and it is owned by Speiman family. In front of the town hall we saw the Neptune Fountain in front of the townhall. The town hall tower is the tallest tower. This is all on "The Long Street" . The bells chimed at 10AM. We enjoyed seeing some mimes. They are common in Europe. There were lots of people in town when we were there.
The company that put on this exhibit is Styl Gallery. They are a maker and exporter of amber and silver jewelry. It's always interesting to look at amber; some of the pieces have pieces of petrified bugs in them. Some of the bugs can be quite large and dramatic. Amber can be found in many of the Baltic Countries.
We were driven out in the countryside to a fortress and monument almost 500 years old from the 16th Century - The Tower of Wisloujscie. When it was constructed it was close enough to the sea that waves slapped up on it and a fire burned inside to provide a light to ships, so it was a lighthouse. On the drive, we saw lots of white birch trees. There are 250 different colors of amber but that does not affect its quality. Amber jewelry has been made here for 6000 years. There was a very good display of amber jewelry and a display of the history of amber in this area. It was a temporary exhibit. It was nice to drive outside a city and see the white birch trees and the farmland around the fortress. This place is now being restored and is not open to the public at this time.
Hej,As I was reading your post few music festivals in Poland came to my mind.I have also found also some others on the internetThe most relevant- meets all or most of your conditions (choral, sacred, in churches) are:Misteria Paschalia in Krakow (Holly Week) Mainly baroque music.Most of the concerts are in churches.http://www.misteriapaschalia.pl/enIt has always really good reviews.Orthodox Church Music Days in Hajnowka in May (but some concerts also in Krakow)http://www.festiwal.cerkiew.pl/home.php?id=144It's a bit in the midlle of nowhere place (from an ordinary tourist point of view, but still close to some unique places)That is really something extraordinary on our continetal penisula but not only European music (Koptian or Syrian etc. can happen as well).Song of our roots festival in Jaroslaw (August)http://www.festiwal.jaroslaw.pl/eng/index.htmlThis festival has a bit more relaxing...
Don't miss a concert featuring Chopin's beautiful music. There are young people going around with flyers about how to get to one. Tickets can be purchased at the door. I thoroughly enjoyed the entrancing performance.
Sheraton Krakow Hotel Krakow
7 Reviews and 517 Opinions I had a very pleasant stay at this hotel. I was part of a tour group, but would recommend it to the...
Intercontinental Warszawa Warsaw
4 Reviews and 653 Opinions Intercontinental Warswawa is one of the 5***** hotel in warsaw but it is different from the others...
Mercure Hevelius Gdansk
7 Reviews and 221 Opinions Great view from my 9th floor room. [ half way up ]. The room is just what you expect for 450 zloty...
Reviews and photos of Poland attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Poland sightseeing.
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Q: Hello everyone, My name is Gloria from Rome and I'm coming to Poland soon for a pilgrimage following the history of your...
A: Hi Gloria! From Krakow, I'd recommend that you pay a visit to Wadowice, the home town of Pope John Paul 11 - visit the cathedral where he served - then the house where he...
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