Andytravels2015 5 Oct 2014 / #121 years old, American girl taking a 3 week holiday to Poland in February 2015.I've never been before, I have no idea where to start my itinerary!I know it will be cold. But seriously, like it can't be any worse than where I live. Really, our winters are fierce.What are the best cities to visit? What should I do or see while I'm in these cities? What are things to do and see in the middle of winter?Best food? Best places for shopping?Most efficient way to travel?Any cultural things I should know before I go?I believe I am flying into Cracow. So that's where I'll be first.Xoxo,Andrea
sylvio 5 Oct 2014 / #2I would travel by trains marked in RED on Railway staition timetables.They are fast trains. Cost a bit more, but you will be in safer company. Itinerary, apart from Krakow and Gdansk , I would put Torun and Gniezo. The former being the home town of Kopernik, and the latter being the oldest city of Poland.
jon357 73 | 22613 5 Oct 2014 / #3Warsaw the capital is a must, Gdansk is amazing and Kraków is intersting if very very touristy and in my opinion overrated, especially compared to Warsaw and Gdansk. Torun is worth a visit. Gniezno is nice but nothing special - just a small town with an old cathedral. You might like Bialowieza forest and Hajnowka with lovely wooden houses and onion domed churches. Małbork castle (conveniently between Gdansk and Torun/Warsaw) is spectacular.Sylvio is right, trains are best and use the intercity ones which are more comfortable though still relatively cheap.
sylvio 5 Oct 2014 / #5Hey jon357,"...Gniezno nothing special"...Ouch!I was born 10 miles from there!...;(Right as you are, though, one gets a good flavour of a regional market town, relatively unspoilt by PRL architecture, and just small enough for a walk, without the racket of trams, or multi-lane motorways.;)
jon357 73 | 22613 6 Oct 2014 / #6It's a nice enough place but only really worth a look if it doesn't involve a detour. Torun is good though and Poznań has good architecture. Everybody hates £ódź but that has charm and a visitor from the U.S. might find it interesting.