Warsaw

Emerging like a phoenix from the ashes of WWII, Warsaw is essentially a postwar city. Its handful of historic precincts have been meticulously reconstructed, but most of its urban landscape is modern, from the dull products of the Stalin era to more creative efforts of recent years.

Warsaw’s main north-south boulevard is the Royal Way, running from the Royal Castle to Lazienki Palace, the royal summer residence. This is one of Europe’s grandest stretches of road, with churches, palaces, galleries and museums lining the route.

Great Masurian Lakes

The central part of Masuria has the biggest concentration of lakes in Poland, with over 15% of the area under water. The main lakes, the Śniardwy and the Mamry, are linked by rivers and canals to form an extensive system of waterways. It’s a prime destination for yachting enthusiasts and canoeists.

Towns are dotted around the lakes’ perimeters, with Giżycko and Mikołajki the largest. Mikołajki is the best option for accommodation and gastronomical offerings, but most places close out of season. Cycle touring is a feasible way of seeing the lakes area as public transport is a bit patchy.

Krakow

Kraków came through WWII unscathed; the 20th century’s impact having been confined to acid rain. It has retained a wealth of old architecture from different periods; the tallest structures dominating Kraków’s skyline are the spires of old churches. It’s a city alive with character and soul.

As the royal capital for half a millennium, Kraków absorbed more of Poland’s history than any other city in the country. It then had the good fortune to emerge from WWII unscathed. As a result, it’s not just Poland’s most popular tourist destination, it’s an architectural and cultural gem.

Oswiecim

Hardly an attraction in the normal sparkly sense, Oświęcim is a medium-sized industrial town 60km (37mi) west of Kraków. The Polish name may be unfamiliar but its German rendering, Auschwitz, is tragically resonant. What’s left of the death factories still evokes the magnitude of the holocaust.

Between 1.1 and 1.5 million people, 90% of them Jews, were killed in Auschwitz and the linked complex at nearby Birkenau. Both remain basically as they were when abandoned by the Nazis. The stories which live in the gas chambers, crematoria, barracks and barbed wire make this a haunted and shocking place.

The Tatras

The Tatras are the highest of all the Carpathians and the country’s only alpine range. It’s a region of towering peaks and steep rocky cliffs plunging hundreds of metres into glacial lakes. Winters are long and summers are short and not steamy enough to melt all the snow.

Zakopane is the tourist hub of the Polish Tatras. It’s a pleasant town, especially out of the summer and winter holiday periods, and is a good base for skiing or hiking in the mountains. Come when late spring and early autumn straddle the happy valley, there is good weather and fewer visitors.