10 Phenomenal Days in Poland

Poland – one of the best countries we have visited so far! We spent 10 days in Poland in mid April, so the weather was on the chilly side but that did not detract from how amazing this country is. There is so much history to be discovered on a trip here. Poland also has a little bit of something for everyone. Charming cities? Check. Magnificent mountains? Check. Beautiful beaches? Check. Fantastic food? Check. It truly is a country we can’t stop raving about.

During the 10 days we based ourselves in 3 cities – Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk. While we never ran out of things to do in those cities, there is still so much more of the country to explore on our next visit. Continue reading to relive the journey with us!

Some things to know for Poland:

• The currency is not the Euro, it is the Polish Zloty which is generally 4ZL-1USD as of 2024.
• Poles consider themselves more Western than Eastern European (geographically it is in the center!)
• Tipping is not required, though it is greatly appreciated and should be done as a reward for great service
• Ubers are very cheap (so you should tip!) and convenient

Table of Contents:

*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase/booking through a link at no extra cost to you. We hope this information helps you plan your next vacation.

Day 1 – Arrive in Warsaw

We landed in Warsaw in the late afternoon and took a 25 minute Uber to the Jess Hotel and Spa in Old Town Warsaw. This was a wonderful hotel in a perfect location and a fantastic included breakfast. By being on the edge of Old Town we were able to walk to nearly everything in Warsaw that we wanted to see or take a quick 10-15 minute Uber.

On the first day we settled into our hotel and then made our way into the heart of Old Town Warsaw. During WWII Warsaw was razed (more than 95% destroyed) by the German Army as revenge for the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Because of this destruction, the entire city had to be reconstructed so this is one of the more unique cities and Old Towns in Europe.

From the hotel we walked along the Royal Way to Castle Square and Old Town, then meandered around the different streets. Warsaw’s Old Town is relatively small, so it did not take very long to come out the other side where the Warsaw Barbican is located.

These are some things that should not be missed in Warsaw’s Old Town:

• The Warsaw Barbican
• Old Town Observation Tower
• Nowy Swiat – street lined with tons of shops and restaurants. The name changes to Krakoxski Przedmiescie at Copernicus Square
• Castle Square where Old Town begins
• The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
• The Statue of the Little Insurgent

At this point we were tired from travel and wanted to get something to eat and turn in early. We ended up getting dinner at Nem as we were feeling some Asian food. It had a nice cozy atmosphere inside which was a great escape for the cold outside and the food was pretty good too!

Some other food ideas that were highly rated:

• Podwale25 is a great lunch place
• Specjaly Regionalne- Traditional Polish food

Day 2 – Warsaw Food Tour and Uprising Museum

Poland as a whole is full of history, and Warsaw is no exception. Matt was super excited to see the different museums, and we started with the Warsaw Uprising Museum. This museum is dedicated to the residents who rose up and fought against the Nazi Occupation in 1944, only to be abandoned by the advancing Soviets and brutally crushed. Hitler personally ordered the full destruction of the city, and only select towers were left standing to be used by Nazi snipers.

We arrived at the museum at 11:00AM and though it was busy, it was not overwhelming. It is a beautifully done museum that showcases the bravery of the Poles who desperately tried to win their own freedom. Two particular points of interest are the City of Ruins film that shows the aftermath of Hitler’s razing of the city (no sound but truly a moving experience), and the life-size sewers that are a replica of those used by the resistance to keep up the fight.

We are going to use this opportunity to plug the historical fiction novel A Long Way From Warsaw, which is an incredibly good book and captures what life was like for Poles during WWII.

After the Warsaw Uprising Museum we walked over to the Jewish Ghetto Memorial which is dedicated to the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. We then made our way over to the Stalin Tower, originally built by Stalin as the Palace of Culture and Science. It is the second tallest building in Poland and is modeled after several other “Stalin Towers” located throughout the former Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact countries. There is still some controversary over the tower among older Poles due to its reminder of Soviet domination, though younger generations generally do not mind this as much.

We Ubered back (due to the rain) to our hotel and then walked away from Old Town along the Royal Way towards the Copernicus Statue. Along the way we passed many other notable sites including the Church of the Holy Cross, the Presidential Palace, St Anne’s Church, and Warsaw University.

When we passed by Warsaw University they seemed to be having a student fair and the gates were open, so we decided to explore the campus. It is absolutely gorgeous! We were even able to go inside a lecture hall and the architecture was spectacular, truly an incredible campus.

We then got a light lunch at Green Cafe Nero, which is a chain in Poland but is super good. We shared a sandwich and cherry cobbler along with a cappuccino for Emily and a tea for Matt. This was a great little pit stop to rest our feet and get warm.

After warming up for a little bit, we headed to the meeting point for our Walking Food Tour of Warsaw by Delicious Poland at 5:00PM. This tour was amazing and we very highly recommend it! It was one of the best highlights of the trip. Our tour guide not only took us to amazing eateries, he also pointed out many historical buildings of significance along the way.

Our first stop was at a large food hall that has many different little restaurants in it. We tried traditional Polish sausage and fries with beer that was delicious. 

We then walked over to a little hole in the wall called Zapiexy to try their famous Communist pizza. It is pizza that is made out of the food they had available during the Communist period when shelves in grocery stores were often empty of the ingredients to make traditional pizza. Instead, Poles would make pizza with a baguette type of bread, crushed up mushrooms and cheese, and a squirt of tomato sauce or ketchup on top. This was so, so good and was one of Matt’s favorite foods we tried during the trip.

Next we walked to Cukiernia to try a Polish doughnut. Our guide insisted we all try the Roza as it is a flavor that was most popular during the time spent under the Iron Curtain. It is a glazed doughnut filled with a jam that they make out of crushed rose petals as they did not always have fresh fruit to make jam for the doughnut filling. It was delicious and very unique. We highly recommend trying it!

Our next stop was over to Cafe Amatorsks and there we tried very traditional Polish food consisting of beef tartar, pig leg with veggies, and shots of vodka. It was interesting and it was fun to try, but not something we’d really get again.

The last stop of the tour was at Syrena Irena for pierogies and beet soup with a choice of wine or beer. We had two different types of traditional pierogies – one filled with potatoes and cheese, one filled with duck. They were both absolutely delicious and the beet soup was yummy.

After the walking food tour we hopped over to Pijana Wisnia to see what all the hype was about as it was always packed and looked like a really unique place. They are known for cherry flavored liquor that you can basically order in any size you want, though we opted for a smaller glass just to split. Matt liked the cherry liquor, but Emily did not love it. Either way it was cool to try and we’d recommend it as a unique stop on your trip.

Our last stop for the night before we headed back to the hotel was at a Georgian restaurant called Chmeli-Suneil. We tried Georgian dumplings, which are filled with a thin broth soup, and Georgian wine. This was our first time ever trying Georgian food and it was absolutely delicious! If you don’t want Polish food one evening, this is a great place to try.

Day 3 – Warsaw and Life in the People’s Republic Museum

This was a planned free day in Warsaw to see the remaining sites and buy any souvenirs that we hadn’t already. We started the morning by wandering around Old Town before making our way down to the Vistula River, stopping in several beautiful churches along the way.

We took a short Uber ride over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guard. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw has housed a solider who fell during the defense of Lwow in 1925. The tomb is located under the only remaining structure of the Saxon Palace, as the rest was destroyed by the German Army in 1944. The German soldiers refused, however, to destroy the area sheltering the tomb despite orders to completely demolish the building. In 2022, the Polish government announced plans to completely reconstruct the Saxon Palace, with a target completion date of 2030. There are also some beautiful gardens behind the tomb to walk around.

Matt loved the Communist pizza at Zapiexy so much we went back there for lunch on this day as well and then got another Roza doughnut of course. We love doing food tours early in a trip so that we can revisit our favorite places and food!

We then made our way to Wedel Chocolatier to purchase some chocolate to take home.

We then decided to get a coffee and small bite to eat at A.Blikle, a coffee shop that Emily had seen recommended as a great place to go in Poland. It was nice, with a great ambiance and good food and coffee. It is also located very conveniently along the Royal Way.

One other museum we went to in Warsaw was the Museum of Life in the Polish People’s Republic. This was a very interesting museum, not a huge production but simply a presentation of life in the Polish People’s Republic. It featured various old products and items from the time when Poland lived under the crush of Communism. Some of the items included furniture, consumer goods, and even the propaganda used by the Communist Party. It was eye opening in many ways and was a fascinating look at life under the regime.

After the museum we Ubered to the Warsaw Uprising Monument, a very striking memorial to the brave Poles who fought for a free Poland against Nazi occupation in 1944.

For dinner we stopped at Future and Wine which was also very good.

Day 4 – Warsaw – Krakow

This was our last morning in Warsaw. We made our way to the Warsazawa Centralna train station for the 11:41AM train to Krakow. We booked our train tickets in advance, and we’d recommend doing the same on your trip. The train was 2.5 hours and we arrived at Krakow Glowny train station just after 2PM.

Once we arrived we had a 15 minute walk from the train station to our hotel, the Leonardo Boutique Hotel Krakow Old Town. While not in Old Town directly, it was a very short 5-10 minute walk into it. Staying in Old Town was very expensive, so we opted to save a bit here. The hotel was still very nice with an excellent breakfast, though the rooms are a bit tight so we’d recommend trying to get a room with a sitting area for extra space.

Before getting into the rest of the day, here are some restaurant ideas that we didn’t go to but were highly recommended:

• Cyrano de Bergerac- Michelin star
• The Black Duck- Highly rated Polish restaurant 
• Boscaiola and Le Grand Mamma for Italian
• Starka Restaurant
• Cafe Camelot- serves all day breakfast

After checking in we explored the Old Town before our scheduled cooking class that evening. There is a beautiful park that lines the outside of the Old Town. Krakow’s Old Town, in contrast to Warsaw, was left almost unscathed in the aftermath of WWII.

Once we reached the entrance of Old Town on the southern end near Wawel Castle, we began walking north along Grodzka Street, one of the oldest streets in Krakow that makes up part of the Royal Way used by former Polish Kings to reach Wawel Castle.

Along Grodzka Street you will pass the Church of Saints Peter and Paul which is lined with marble statues of 12 of the Apostles (Judas is missing) and St. Andrew’s Church which is one of the oldest buildings in Krakow.

We continued the walk up Grodzka Street until we arrived at the Main Market Square, also known as Rynek Glowny. This square is so beautiful and was humming with activity, especially in and around Cloth Hall which was located directly in the middle of the square.

We highly recommend that you climb up St. Mary’s Basilica Tower for the best view over the main square and Cloth Hall. You must make a reservation in advance to climb the tower. You have to pay a fee to enter the church but it is worth seeing the blue ceiling and the view. We sadly did not get to do this because they were doing some restoration work on the tower at the time we visited.

We entered Cloth Hall and worked our way through all the stalls. The building is gorgeous and the market is definitely worth exploring and even buying some souvenirs as the selection is plentiful.

For lunch we had heard great reviews of Moaburger, a New Zealand burger joint located in Old Town. We decided to try it and it was delicious with unique options and a great burger overall.

At this point it was time to Uber to our Pierogi Cooking Class which was located at a restaurant outside of Old Town and started at 5:00PM. We made a traditional savory and then a sweet fruit pierogi from scratch, including the filling and the dough! It was a really fun class and the pierogies turned out so delicious.

After the cooking class we wandered around Old Town more and then popped in to Dzikie Wino Wine Bar to try some Polish wines. We did not love Polish wine compared to some other European wines, but it was still really fun to try them.

Day 5 – Auschwitz

We’ve always felt that we needed to go to a concentration camp to fully understand the Holocaust, and we knew one day we’d make it to Poland. When booking this trip we knew we’d have to go to Auschwitz.

We booked a full tour of Auschwitz that picked us up at 9:00am and lasted about 7 hours. While you can book your Auschwitz admission on your own, we felt that this tour was more than worth it to take that headache away. There are several tours that include a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, but we did not care to see them so we opted for just the tour of Auschwitz.

We cannot recommend this tour to Auschwitz enough. It is about 1 hour from Krakow, and the tour guide was fantastic. Once you arrive at Auschwitz you begin your tour of the first camp, which was originally an old army barracks before being turned into a concentration camp. The impact of the exhibits, including the stacks of shoes, suitcases, glasses, etc., and the various photographs in the exact location we were standing was profoundly moving.

After seeing this camp, we had a bagged lunch provided by the tour (at additional cost), before being driven to the Birkenau death camp. The sheer size of this camp is hard to comprehend, and seeing just how horrible life was for the prisoners made a deep impact. Going to Auschwitz is an absolute must when visiting Krakow, and we promise it will have a profound impact on your understanding of the Holocaust.

After being dropped off in Krakow we walked back to Wawel Castle and then strolled along the Vistula River from the Castle back to Old Town for a scenic view. Along the river we spotted the Wawel Dragon, a statue that breathes fire every few minutes.

We continued to walk up Florianska Street to Florian’s Gate, a fortified medieval entrance to Krakow’s Old Town at the northern end of Old Town. You can walk the wall of the gate for a small fee, though we opted not to.

After walking around for a bit we decided to sit on the patio of Piano Rouge to get a drink and enjoy the view. This was very enjoyable despite the cold thanks to the heaters and blankets provided by the restaurant. Plus, sitting outside in a town square is one of the best things to do in Europe and something Matt especially always enjoys.

Once the sun set we walked over to Trattoria Degusti to get Italian food for dinner. This restaurant was excellent, so much so that we actually went here twice on our trip. We got the chicken caesar salad, a pizza, and the bufala pasta that were each amazing.

Day 6 – Krakow

We planned this day to be a free day exploring Krakow and seeing the remaining sites we hadn’t yet visited. We began this day by visiting the grounds of Wawel Castle.

It is free to see the grounds and explore the outside of Wawel Castle, but you pay to go inside any of the buildings. The ticket prices seemed a bit pricey, so we decided not to enter any of the exhibits.

We walked down from Wawel Castle to the main square of Old Town. We went back into Cloth Hall and spent a decent amount of time shopping for souvenirs like amber necklaces and earrings (amber is very popular and well known in Poland), and beautiful stained glass ornaments for Christmas. There are so many little shops inside, many selling very unique items, that it is well worth spending some time in the market.

We went to another restaurant in the square called Buffalo for a drink and to once again enjoy the view. This restaurant was in a different corner of the square so it offered slightly different views than Piano Rouge. We also met an Irish couple there who we enjoyed talking to for a while.

Afterwards we made our way to St Mary’s Basilica to pop in for a quick look. The blue ceiling definitely lived up to it’s reputation and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Next we Ubered over to the Oskar Schindler Factory. This was a very interesting museum, though we thought there would be more information on Oskar Schindler himself and how he helped save so many Jewish lives. Instead it was focused mostly on the war in Krakow and how the local area was affected, which was still worth seeing and learning as well. Ultimately we spent about 1 hour and 30 minutes here.

From Oskar Schindler’s Factory, we walked to Ghetto Heroes’ Square and then crossed the Vistula River to enter Kazimierz where Schindler’s List was filmed.

We then Ubered back to the Old Town and got dinner at Piano Rouge, though this time we sat inside. We entered down a set of stairs to a dark, moody interior that was a really fun vibe. We didn’t get to sit in the room with the live pianist, but the room we were in was still really cool. We ordered the tomato soup and shrimp to start, then the Zander fish filet and pierogies for our mains. It was delicious so we would recommend going here not only for a drink but also for dinner.

Day 7 – Zakopane

The next day we booked a day trip to Zakopane, a beautiful town in the Tatras Mountains. The tour started at 9:00AM and was planned to take 10 hours, so arrival back in Krakow would not be until around 7PM.

This was an incredible day trip! The first leg of the trip was a drive about 1 hour from Krakow to a small mountain town where we were able to try freshly made Oscypek cheese, a local cheese renowned for it’s smokey flavor and shape. It is definitely a unique flavor and texture (somewhat rubbery), but it was pretty good with the cranberry sauce. We also were taken to a hut where we sampled different flavors of Polish vodka.

Now full of cheese and vodka, we were bused over to the serene town of Zakopane. We were given 3 hours to spend in Zakopane, including time to get lunch, and that time went by extremely quickly. Included in your tour is a ticket to go up the funicular to an overlook area that has a restaurant and shops. The view from the top was spectacular, the Tatras mountains could not have been more picturesque. We could have stayed up there sipping Aperol Spritz all day. We walked around some of the shops and got potatoes on a stick with paprika.

With time running short we took the funicular back down to walk around downtown Zakopane. It was so cute. It’s bigger than we expected and we easily could have spent a full day here. Next time we come to Poland we plan to stay overnight in Zakopane as we just really loved it.

After leaving Zakopane we traveled 15 minutes to the Chocholowskie Termy thermal baths. This was a really fun stop included in the tour! It is a huge thermal bath complex that has multiple indoor and outdoor pools, some of them with swim up bars. We were given 2 hours to relax and enjoy, so make sure you bring a bathing suit with you on the tour. We then returned to Krakow and were dropped off at 8PM as we were the last to leave the bus.

For dinner we returned to Trattoria Degusti because it was so good the first time and we were craving it once again. We tried a different pizza and pasta and they were both delicious. If you are at all interested in Italian while in Krakow, this has to be at the top of your list to try.

Day 8 – Krakow to Gdansk

This morning we made our way from Krakow to Gdansk. Even though we had our train booked already, finding it was a little difficult as there are multiple entrances and it is located within a mall, so we recommend giving yourself extra time to find the right platform. The train to Gdansk takes 5 hours and goes back through Warsaw. If it’s possible based on where you are coming from, we would recommend starting the trip in either Gdansk or Krakow so you don’t have to backtrack.

There are so many good restaurants in Gdansk! Here are a few:

• Familia Bistro – Best Lithuanian Food
• Wine Bar Literacka- on Mariacka Street
• Drukarnia Cafe for coffee
• Pierogarnia Mandu Centrum – best pierogis (seriously, they are the best!)
• Bar Neptune – milk bar
• Ostro- Italian Pizza – there was always a very long line every time we passed
• Gyozilla- ramen and dumplings

Once we arrived in Gdansk we Ubered to Hotel Hanza. This hotel was just perfect! It’s located right along the Motlawa River, features very good sized rooms, and has a wonderful breakfast. We were super lucky and got “upgraded” to one of only 2 rooms in the hotel with a balcony overlooking the river!

After check in we began to explore Gdansk. There are (currently) 2 ways to cross the Motlawa River. The first is via a pedestrian drawbridge that lowers at specific times for specific intervals that are noted on a sign at the bridge. The other is via a permanent bridge further towards the Old Town of Gdansk. We made our way over the permanent bridge and explored the restaurants and shops on the opposite side of the river.

To pass some time before dinner we stopped for a drink along the water at Slony Spichlerz. We both ordered their Campari Spritz (which was one of the best we’ve had) and enjoyed relaxing outside and people watching. It was a very pleasant experience!

For dinner we had reservations at Goldwasser. This restaurant is truly amazing and was one of the best experiences of the entire trip, and probably one of the best dining experiences we’ve ever had. While somewhat pricey for Poland, the food was absolutely delicious and the setting right along the Motlawa River was incredible. We did the 4 course menu, including steaks that literally had gold flakes on it. We also had their original Goldwasser liqueur that was very good too. Just an overall incredible experience that we can’t stop raving about!

Goldwasser is an absolute must while in Gdansk. Trust us, you will not regret it. We recommend making reservations in advance and asking for a table in the terrace with a view of the water – it will be a magical night.

Day 9 – WWII Museum and Gdansk

We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel before walking over to the Museum of the Second World War.

This was an amazing museum. We bought our tickets upon arrival with no wait or issues. The museum is very well laid out, with exhibits that cover everything in the war in really thought provoking and insightful ways. We spent about 3 hours there and easily could have spent even more time to really digest every single exhibit. If you do any museum in Poland, make sure you do this one.

We unfortunately did not have time for to go to the European Solidarity Museum but heard that it is a great museum as well.

After the museum we walked back to the Old Town and crossed the large drawbridge to the other side to take a picture at the big Gdansk sign.

For lunch we stopped at I Love You Gdansk for a light meal before meandering around Old Town Gdansk, stopping in different shops and churches – specifically St Mary’s Church which is a must see!

We walked to Dobra Paczkarnia for another Polish doughnut. There is something about Polish doughnuts that is so delicious! This time we tried a blueberry filled one and it was fantastic as well.

Earlier in the day we had passed by Dom, a sushi restaurant, and when dinner rolled around we were craving it. Dom is located right along the water and has very delicious food as well.

We ended the evening at Mon Balzac with a nightcap. We are always on the lookout for live pianists or classical instruments, which Mon Balzac has on every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Day 10 – Sopot

On our last full day in Poland we made our way to Sopot, a charming beach town just 15 minutes from Gdansk. Sopot is a lovely day trip from Gdansk, especially when the weather is nice. Once we arrived we walked a few minutes to the beach to see the Baltic Sea for the first time. The beach is an amazing area with many restaurants right on the sand. It was fun to watch people’s adorable dogs run and chase each other all over the beach.

We continued walking to Sopot Pier, the longest wooden pier in Europe – over 1500 feet long! We had to purchase a ticket (really cheap ~ $3 each) in order to walk the full length of the pier, but the views of Sopot and the Baltic from the end are beautiful and there are restaurants on the pier you can visit as well.

If you choose you can also go to the top of the Sopot Lighthouse for additional scenic views, though we opted not to. Instead, we went to Do Brzegu Restaurant and Bar for drinks directly on the beach. It was so pleasant sitting there and enjoying the views (and the dogs!). They also had swings that were fun to sit on with amazing views as well.

After enjoying the view we walked around the port and some of the souvenir shops. Thanks to the nice weather Emily decided to get a Swiderki ice cream – famous for it’s unique taste, texture, and shape – and Matt got another Zapiekanka (Communist pizza).

After meandering around for a while we trained back to Gdansk. We walked over to Mandu for their famous pierogies for a late lunch. Mandu is extremely popular in Gdansk, so even at an odd time we still had to wait for 20 minutes for a table. Once seated we ordered two different pierogies to share – the duck and cheese and potato and onion filled dumplings and their Touch of Luxury Teapot. We emphatically concluded that Mandu is worth the hype and everything was absolutely delicious.

After lunch we wandered around Gdansk before heading to Chleb i Wino for dinner. We had passed this restaurant many times the last few days and it was always packed, often with a short line out of the door! We wanted to check it out for ourselves and see what the hype was about, and it definitely did not disappoint. The food was delicious and the ambiance made for a very pleasant last night in Poland.

The next morning we flew back to the US. Poland was and remains one of our favorite trips and favorite countries we’ve ever visited. There is so much to do, see, taste, and learn that everyone is sure to find something that interests them. We can’t wait to return one day and hope this trip will help you plan your next vacation!