What attracts tourist to Poland?

lef you wrote somewhere in this threat that Oz people tend to visit Bali year in year out because it is cheap, has good beaches and lovely people. But what's so special about that? A lot of places are cheap have good beaches and lovely people. Come to think of it, why go to the Alps? Himalayas are bigger and clearly better. Why visit the Statue of Liberty? It's not that there are no better looking statues in the world. Why eat sushi in Tokyo while you can do the same in Melbourne? Why visit Melbourne if one can drink a warm Foster and watch kangaroos at the local zoo during a hot and dry day? :) Fortunately not everybody follow this odd logic, as there would be only few places on earth visited by tourists.

What has Poland interesting to offer?
Well, lets start with the cities, each with their own unique atmosphere and character. Krakow – the cultural capital city of Poland, Gdańsk – a place where the influences of Polish, German, Flemish, Italian, Scandinavian and Jewish culture cross each other forming a very intriguing blend, Wrocław – the city of hundred bridges, that seems to float on the water, Warsaw – polish phoenix, that emerged from it’s ashes after the tragedy of the Warsaw Uprising during the WWII, never actually regained it’s beauty before the WWII, but stil worth visiting for a sheer fact of watching the socialist architecture, yuck vide The palace of Culture and Science, a gift from our friend uncle Joseph as a sign of the eternal friendship between Russia and Poland :) £ódź – with it’s industrial charm that seems to affect even the likes of David Lynch, and the rest Poznań, Szczecin, Lublin, etc ..and more cameral cities like Toruń, Kazimierz Dolny, Zamość, Przemyśl…

Actually there is so much to see and do in Poland that maybe it will be better if I post some links concerning this issue. Check this out:

poland.gov.pl/With,Backpack,and,Oar,405.html

poland.gov.pl/Treasures,on,the,Trail,406.html

poland.gov.pl/The,Sites,on,the,UNESCO,List,407.html

poland.gov.pl/Food,and,Acommodation,408.html

poland.gov.pl/City,Entertainment,409.html

Still it’s only the peak of the mountain of interesting places here. Poland has an enormous potential that is sadly being unused. For example nobodies doing anything about the Soviet ex-nuclear base placed in Sulęcin (the III WW could have started in this place), or nobody is promoting The Międzyrzecz Fortification Region (one of the largest and the most interesting fortification systems in the world, build by the Nazis between 1934-1938), or the Wilczy Szaniec (“Wolfsschanze”; the ruins of a major Eastern Front military headquarters of Adolf Hitler during World War II where he made many decisions about the future of many nationalities, building of new death camps, etc), vampire graves in Poland (the image of a undead creature that feeds itself with human blood, and all those weapons that were suppose to defend us from them come from the Slavic demonology), culture of Polish nobles, and promotion of one of the best cavalry in the world: “Husaria” (“Hussars" )

PS: Oh, and one more thing, polish cuisine isn’t only about “bigos” and “pierogi”. If you are more of a adventurous and open minded traveler I advise you to try the “Czernina soup”( “Duck blood soup”:), “Flaczki” (“Tripes”:), “Tatar” (main ingredient is raw meat, and this dish came to Poland along with the Tatars; we just slightly improved it :)) and “Świński mózg z jajkiem i cebulką” ( “Pigs brain with an egg and onion” - I never tried that one though :P). Enjoy!

I'll stick to blackpudding thanks :)


No thanks my grand mother used to cook it for my father I can still remember the smell to this day!!!:(


The grass is greener on the other side....

If Poland economy / wages etc. were better people wouldnt leave Poland there would be no need, its purely down to economics...I'm sure things will change in the future

UUUUrgh! Must call travel agent and cancel ticket to Poland.. pronto!

Dad used to come home with half a pigs head and four trotters (pigs feet) to make martadella (?) a type of brawn.

The contents of the pigs brain box was his treat, made as said and fried in butter. Never got to try it myself, We allowed him this selfish act without any complaints.....:)

i think it's one of the best vodkas i've ever tried and i think you can buy it cheaper than 9zloty(5-7 i would say).

No thanks my grand mother used to cook it for my father I can still remember the smell to this day!!!

it smells bad when cooking but tastes good.

I could never bring myself to try it - she used to cook tripe & would always put raw onion on the plate.

Thanks for your input Matyasz, your speaking to the converted, over wise I wouldn't have travelled to Poland so many times.
The name of the exercise is to convince the unconverted and get people to visit Poland.
I don't want to be disrespectful but you speak like my uncle who has never left Poland.
The world is a big place with many attractions, not too many people are interested in spending there holidays visiting concentration camps and old buildings, there is a you have seen one you have seen them all mentality,

Most people want a stress free and cheap break, and I'm certain if things go up, very few people will visit Poland, they will opt for Czech/Romanian/ etc.

From my conversation with non poles, the greatest selling point is the cheapness of the place and the friendly people, good beaches is always a selling point, something poland has not got.

I go to Poland to meet Polish girls, I am obsessed by them. Sorry can't help it! They are much better looking than Ukiranie girls I think.

Actually my admiration of Poland started after my visits abroad. :)


Very interesting logic. So you think that by visiting Paris, you don't have to visit London, Vienna, Amsterdam or Rome, because "once you saw one old building, you saw them all"? Common lef, you don't actually believe what you are saying, do you? :)


Poland is still cheap, so please don't overtake the facts. Bored with swimming, windsurfing, playing volleyball or taking the sunbath with German pensioners at the beach? :) Hire an aqualung and dive down to some of the 24 discovered wrecks that lay at the bottom of the Baltic sea. Due to the low level of salt the wrecks are beautifully preserved. Every month polish costal guards have to intervene as many tresure seekers are interested in the precious cargo of few Prussian ships that were sank at the end of WWII by Russian submarines.

Besides, poland doesn't only consist of beaches. It has a very pictieresque landscape and many beautiful national parks, eight of them - the Słowiński, Białowieża, Kampinos, Babia Góra, Karkonosze, Tatra, Bieszczady, and Polesie - have been entered on the UNESCO list of World Biosphere Reserves. So if you are an ignorant of Polish history, culture, food, liquer, cities and their night life, historical monuments than maybe at least you will appreciate it's mountains. :) I do.

Are you working for the Polish Tourist Board Mr M???

:) No, do you think I should apply for a job there? :)

Wow - they look fantastic pictures!

how well do you actually know poland, lef...?

I've been to most parts of poland, 10 visits, I know the beach at Sopot, a beach is always a beach, just some are better than others.

yeah mate... like a pizza is always a pizza... just that if you live in italy your standards are probably not the same as other... know what im saying...?

Definately Mr M

Don't want to disappoint but I've tried better pizza's in oz, than in italy, the best pizza's are the home made type.

I dont't know what you are getting at, America has excellent beaches, beaches in Poland are just beaches, sorry.

Among the factors attracting foreign toursist to Poland I would point out apart from Polish women comparatively low prices and the fact that Poland has become available for foreign tourists recently.

heheh... with women like Doda and Ewa Sonnet, you make a very strong first point :)

I dont feel so good.

These are the things I like about Poland and the things my husband (English) liked:

Cracow
Wieliczka - it's one of a kind, my husband's jaw nearly touched the floor, he could not believe what he was seeing
For me - Warsaw- my home town, lots of memories etc. I never look at it as grey, I find it interesting and HOMELY - as I said - so many memories

We also went to see Aushwitz
Polish food which is organic and there is more choice than over here
Shopping in Poland!
For me even riding a tram in Warsaw is nice - because I don't get to do it that often anymore.

The south of POland!
I love also looking at Polish people because they are a little different to the British and I think the women dress better, so there is something to learn there

Polish men - spotting the good looking ones

Polish bookshops - always something new to find - this also goes for newsagents - I find the magazines don't have so many trashy ads and more "meaningful" articles, stories etc.

in Poland I party ladedadee.

I like the food, soaks up the cheap vodka. I like the eye candy, i like the nightclubs, I like the forests, the mushrooms:).
I like football violence, I like being able to pay people off. I like not being paranoid. I like feeling safe. its close to Germany, its close to Russia. I like it because the ******* muppets that constantly do Poland down aren't there. They are here, good.

One special word for all foreign tourists to Poland (even when I have never visited Poland): It is such a tremendous waste of money to visit Poland without understanding to some extent Polish history, culture and especially Polish psyche beforehand. The shallower the knowledge of Poland you possess and more easily influenced you are by mainstream Media (i.e. Western), the more likely you will get disappointed with your travel. Poland is not a simple, smiling 'cheap' location that desperately covets your money. Rather, it is among rare places that can potentially offer you a special and unique kind of enlightenment (drawing from its exceptionally complicated experience). Poland demands as much as she can give.

By the way, I detest and abhor all sorts of sex tourists!!!