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Poland — hero

Europe

Poland

Central Europe's most rewarding surprise. Fairytale old towns, moving history, primeval forests and brilliant food, all with easy connections and superb value.

Currency
Polish Złoty (PLN)
Language
Polish
Best time
May, June and September for warm, walkable city breaks; December for Christmas markets; December to March for skiing in the Tatras
Visa
UK passport holders can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180 (Schengen rules); the passport must be issued under 10 years before arrival and valid 3 months after you leave. The EU Entry/Exit System applies at the border, and ETIAS is not yet in operation.

The FCDO has no advisory against travel to Poland.

Still current at: 13 November 2026 Updated: 11 November 2026

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — the definitive source. Check it close to your travel dates.

Flight cancelled or delayed because of this? Your rights under UK261 / EU261 →

Why visit

Why Poland

Central Europe's most rewarding surprise. Fairytale old towns, moving history, primeval forests and brilliant food, all with easy connections and superb value.

  • Kraków's Main Market Square and Wawel Hill
  • Wieliczka Salt Mine
  • Gdańsk Main Town
  • Warsaw's rebuilt old town
  • Malbork Castle
  • Tatra National Park
  • Białowieża Forest
  • Christmas markets and winter city breaks
Read more

Poland is the large, well-connected country that many UK visitors still skip on the way to Prague, Vienna or Venice. It has a medieval royal city in Kraków, a Baltic coast of rebuilt merchant towns, real mountains and an ancient forest, all at a city-break price level that sits well below much of western Europe. We'd treat it as a calmer, better-value way to do central Europe.

Plan it. See what is on in events, compare stays and look up flights. Start with our Kraków guide, then add Warsaw, Toruń or Zamość.

Where to go

The regions of Poland

Regions and cities

  • Kraków and Małopolska. The old royal capital, with a huge medieval square, a castle hill and the Kazimierz quarter. It is also the base for the Wieliczka salt mine and the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial. See our Kraków guide.
  • Warsaw. The capital, rebuilt after the Second World War, with a reconstructed old town on the UNESCO list. See Warsaw.
  • Gdańsk and the Baltic coast. A Hanseatic port city with a rebuilt Main Town, a shipyard history and beaches within reach, with Malbork's brick castle nearby.
  • Toruń and Zamość. Two smaller UNESCO towns: Gothic brick and gingerbread in Toruń, a Renaissance planned town in Zamość.
  • The Tatras and the north-east. Zakopane and the Tatra National Park for walking and winter sport, and Białowieża Forest for bison and old woodland.

Swap it: Kraków or Gdańsk for Prague or Venice. You get an intact old centre or a working waterfront, lower prices and thinner crowds on most days; you give up the instant name recognition and, in Venice's case, the canals themselves.

Kraków guide →

A pillar, not a footnote

Eat your way through Poland

The single reason many travellers come back — the food culture worth reshaping a trip around, and the dishes to seek out region by region.

Poland

Hearty Slavic comfort food — pierogi, sour soups and smoked mountain cheese, with a shot of vodka.

Slide your tray along the counter of a bar mleczny, the no-frills 'milk bar' where a plate of pierogi still costs a few złoty, and you've found the beating heart of Polish eating: generous, unpretentious and built for a cold climate. The dumplings are the national obsession — half-moons pinched around cottage cheese and potato, minced meat, or sweet wild forest berries in summer — boiled soft or fried crisp at the edges and slicked with butter and onion.

Beyond them the table runs deep and soulful. Bigos, the hunter's stew, simmers cabbage and half a butcher's counter of meats for days until it tastes of everything; żurek, a tart soup of soured rye, comes with sausage and a halved egg, sometimes poured into a hollowed loaf. Up in the Tatra mountains they grill oscypek, a hard smoked sheep's cheese, and serve it hot with cranberry. Chase it all, as Poles do, with an icy żubrówka, vodka scented with wild bison grass.

Dishes to seek out
  • pierogi (stuffed dumplings)
  • bigos (hunter's stew)
  • żurek (sour rye soup)
  • kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet)
  • gołąbki (cabbage rolls)
  • oscypek (smoked sheep's cheese)
  • pączki (rose-jam doughnuts)
Places to go

Cities and regions worth your time

4 destinations in Poland — pick a base or link them into a route.

Browse by type

Tap a type to filter the list and the map — tap it again or “All” to see everything.

© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn
Things to do

Nature, culture and the outdoors

Plan your own trip to Poland
Guides

All our Poland guides

Plan

Getting there, getting around and where to stay

Getting there from the UK

Flying is the simplest route. Kraków Airport lists British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, LOT and Ryanair among its airlines, and its flight schedule includes London Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted, plus Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. Routes change by season, so check the live schedule, and check airline timetables for UK links to Warsaw, Gdańsk or Wrocław.

From Kraków Airport, a Koleje Małopolskie train runs to Kraków Główny in roughly 20 minutes.

Getting around

Poland is easy by train. PKP Intercity runs the fast long-distance services, and the Warsaw to Kraków run takes roughly two and a half hours on its quickest trains. Advance fares are cheaper than walk-up tickets. Regional trains and buses cover shorter hops.

Validate your ticket at the start of each journey, because FCDO warns that inspectors fine unvalidated tickets. If you drive, FCDO says a UK photocard licence is accepted for up to six months. Use official taxis with a company name and rate card.

Where to stay

By area

In Kraków, the Old Town is the most convenient base, and Kazimierz is livelier in the evening and usually better value. In Warsaw, stay in the central Śródmieście district, near the old town and the main station. In Gdańsk, the Main Town puts you on the waterfront. For the mountains, Zakopane is the usual base and gives easy access to the Tatra trails.

When to go

Weather & timing in Poland Right now RIGHT NOW 4°C cloudy

Best May, Jul, Sep · Shoulder April and October, with cooler days and fewer visitors; early December for Christmas markets

Units

Next 7 days

Forecast · Met Office · Powered by Met Office data

Typical · climate data

Best time to visit

May, June and September for warm, walkable city breaks; December for Christmas markets; December to March for skiing in the Tatras

Best for
  • Old Towns
  • History
  • Vodka Trail
  • Tatra Mountains
At a glance
Sunshine 7.7 hr/day
Rainfall 59 mm/mo
Wettest August · 89.1mm
Driest March · 29.6mm
Part of Central & Eastern Europe →
By season

Units

Spring (Mar–May)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 14°C with overnight lows near 4°C.

What's best — Cold, then Cool & crisp, then Mild. May is among the best months here (mild, sun and cloud).

Summer (Jun–Aug)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 25°C with overnight lows near 15°C — the wettest stretch of the year.

What's best — Warm. Jun, Jul and Aug are among the best months here (warm, sun and cloud).

Autumn (Sep–Nov)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 14°C with overnight lows near 7°C.

What's best — Warm, then Cool & crisp, then Cold. Sep is among the best months here (warm, sunny).

Winter (Dec–Feb)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 4°C with overnight lows near -1°C.

What's best — Cold, then Winter.

Live forecast map · Windy.com · temperature with wind, °C and km/h

Heat, rain and the best months, region by region

We'd go in May, June or September. Our climate data puts average daytime highs at about 19 °C in May, 24 °C in June and 21 °C in September, which is comfortable for walking all day. July and August are warmer, around 25 to 26 °C on average, so we don't flag heat as a problem, but they are the busiest months and, in our data, June and August are the wettest. April and October are cooler and quieter, with highs of about 13 to 15 °C.

Winter is a real option for a city break. Daytime highs hover around 3 °C in December and January, but Christmas markets run in Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk, and the Tatras have ski slopes. Visit Kraków's planning dates for the 2026/27 market are 27 November to 6 January, and the city says they may change. IMGW, Poland's meteorological institute, records January as Kraków's coldest month and July as its warmest.

Average daily high (°C) by month. Measured 2020–2024.
AreaJFMAMJJASOND
Warsaw 3591319242625211573

Colours as on the month tiles above. Bold: hot, 32°C or more (go early or late in the day). Outlined: very hot, 35°C or more. Wet: 150 mm of rain or more.

A little context

A little history

To read what you're looking at — the empires and eras that shaped Poland's food, art and streets.

A great medieval commonwealth with Lithuania was once one of Europe's largest states
partitioned off the map entirely by Russia, Prussia and Austria for 123 years until 1918
Kraków's old town and Wawel Castle survived the wars that flattened Warsaw, later rebuilt brick by brick
the Solidarity movement and the 1989 fall of communism began here, unravelling the Soviet bloc
Culture

Culture and etiquette

A polite dzień dobry (good day) when you walk into a shop or restaurant is a small effort that we'd recommend. Cover your shoulders and knees in churches. Memorial sites such as Auschwitz-Birkenau call for quiet and respectful dress. The Auschwitz Memorial says entry to the grounds is free but individual visitors need an entry pass reserved online, so book ahead.

Jaywalking is fined. Carry ID: FCDO says a printed copy of your passport photo page is acceptable. Same-sex activity is legal, but FCDO notes that small towns and rural areas can be less tolerant than larger cities.

Food and drink

Polish food is hearty and made for cold weather. Pierogi, the stuffed dumplings, come savoury or sweet. Bigos is a long-cooked cabbage and meat stew, żurek a sour rye soup, and gołąbki are stuffed cabbage rolls. In the mountains look for oscypek, a smoked sheep's cheese.

The cheapest and most characteristic meal is at a bar mleczny, a "milk bar" canteen with a short menu and home-style plates. Be aware that drinking alcohol in public places is illegal, and FCDO says police can fine or detain people who are drunk in public.

Local events

What's on in Poland

See all Poland events →
Practical

Entry, money and health

Entry and visas (British passport holders)

Entry. Poland is in the Schengen area. FCDO says UK passport holders can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180. Your passport must be issued less than 10 years before arrival and valid for at least three months after you leave. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) applies in Poland: on a first visit you may register fingerprints and a photo at the border, free of charge, so allow extra time. ETIAS, the EU's travel authorisation, is not yet in operation, and the official ETIAS website says the EU will announce the start date several months before launch.

Money

Money. Poland uses the złoty (PLN), not the euro. The National Bank of Poland states that złoty banknotes and coins are the country's legal tender. Pay in złoty by card where possible, and if a terminal offers to charge you in pounds, choose złoty. Meals, museums and local transport are generally well below UK prices.

Health

Health. A GHIC or EHIC gives access to medically necessary state healthcare, but it is not a substitute for travel insurance, which should cover repatriation and private care. The emergency number is 112.

UK government travel advice

The FCDO travel advice for Poland was last updated on 11 August 2026 and does not advise against travel. It says Russian strikes in Ukraine have landed within 20 km of the Polish border and that access to the border is restricted. It also warns that terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out, that demonstrations are common, and that pickpocketing, unofficial taxis and drink spiking are the usual risks. Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. Check the live page before you travel.

Sources · last checked 28 October 2026

We write this guide from official sources only: GOV.UK, national immigration portals, tourism boards, airports and operators, central banks and met services. Rules change, so check the linked pages before you book.

Before you book

Know before you go

The practical back-matter — safety, drones and the essentials, in one place.

Safety

No FCDO advisory against travel FCDO advice →

Official UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance is the definitive source — check it close to your travel dates.

Drone rules (sub-250g)

  • Poland
    Register free online as an operator with the Polish CAA (needed for a camera drone even under 250g, and non-EU visitors can register on arrival) and fly the Open category in sight up to 120m — no insurance is required at this weight. ⚠ Check the PANSA DroneRadar map before flying; national parks generally ban drones without permission, central Warsaw's government zone needs State Protection Service approval, and Warsaw's airport airspace is off-limits. Rules checked: Jul 2026

National parks, protected sites and religious/heritage venues often have their own rules and permits — always check the specific site before you fly.

The essentials

Plug & voltage Type C/E · 230V
Daily budget Budget-friendly
Region Eastern Europe