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New places to see in Poland

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We are finally returning to Poland in the spring. I would like your advice on great places to see mostly outside these cities. One of my greatest desires is to see the skansen in Sanok and the one in Biskupin. As older adults, we don't want to rent a car but would like to travel by train, bus, or even a driver for the day.

We will be centering our visit in Krakow, Rzeszow (to visit relatives in a village an hour away), and then in Warsaw. Can you recommend practical ways of getting to these skansens? Also, do you have any recommendations for cultural and history buffs of places we have not visited?

Here if what we have already seen: * indicates we will return to this place
Krakow: Rynek, Schindler's Factory, The Planty, Cloth Hall, St. Mary's Church, Wawel Castle and Cathedral, Old Jewish cemetery and synagogues in Kaziermz, Pharmacy under the Eagle, AK Museum, Zakopane, Auschwitz, Barbican, Stary Klepartz, the Salt Mines, and the Skansen nearby.

Warsaw: Chopin Museum, Old Town. The new places we will visit this time will be POLIN, the Warsaw Rising Museum, and possibly the National Museum.

Rzeszow: Rzeszow Museum and Lancut.

We have been to Gdansk and Malbork and are not returning in 2013.

We will be arriving in Krakow from Budapest. We are considering a short trip to Zawoja where my husband's family is from. Our 2014 trip there indicated no remaining family. It is a beautiful resort area.

Thank you for all of your help. BTW- I am a historical researcher who has written extensively about Poland, esp WWII. I'm just not very good at how to get around and we don't speak Polish.

Posted by
8440 posts

dgawell, a couple of places roughly between Krakow and Warsaw I've been recommending for awhile: Sandomierz and Kazimerz Dolny - lovely towns to visit and popular with local tourists. A cultural center is Czestochowa with the shrine of the Black Madonna, of cultural and historic interest. You can't get more Polish than that.

Some places to the east I have not been but have been considering: the picturesque painted village of Zalipie; the Bielowieza National Forest, where the last remaining European bison can be found; the historic fortress city of Zamosc; the Biesczady mountains in the very SE corner; the memorial sites of several notorious concentration camps including Treblinka and Sobibor.

The only open air museum (skansen?) I've heard of is the one in Sanok. I understand that whole area is full of distinct wooden orthodox churches (cerkwi).

I can recommend a couple of custom tour providers if you're interested. I understand the further east you get, the harder it is to find English speakers.

Posted by
5581 posts

Stan, Carlos, you and others know a lot more about Poland than I do, but I thought I'd throw out a few things.

We spent over 3 weeks in Poland last year. We exclusively used the trains and were quite impressed with the infrastructure. BTW, 60+ gets a 30% discount.

Here is a link to our trip report
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/poland-trip-report

A place that some people miss that we thought was amazing was Bydgoszcz. If you go do not miss the old town (tourism office has a walking tour) AND the cathedral which is quite unusual and AMAZING!

Lastly, Stan mentioned Zalipie. I really wanted to go there but couldn't find a public transportation option. It sounds like you are open to a private driver. If you go, please do a trip report!

Posted by
2315 posts

"I am a historical researcher who has written extensively about Poland"

So you most certainly would know about Poznan, though you haven't mentioned it. I also like Wroclaw and Bydgoszcz.

Posted by
5581 posts

Yes, absolutely go to Wroclaw if you haven't been, and if you go to Poznan, you should go to Gniezno.

I posted a few weeks ago about a fabulous show on PBS, Flavors of Poland. The host uses half the show to explore a certain area/city. Then the rest is tasting and cooking. There are quite a few episodes. I find them on PBS passport, but others have found the episodes on the web.

Posted by
170 posts

We have decided to travel to Plock because that is where my husband's grandfather came from. We will also go to Sanok because that is as close as we can get to the little village near L'viv, which is where his wife came from.

I realize these places aren't the most esteemed places to visit, but we have spent a lot of time visiting my found cousins in Niwiska, so my husband needs to get to see where his family came from.

We decided to skip Krakow since we've been there twice to spend more time in Prague and Vienna.

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