Two Polish Cities

I think Krakow has to be one of the cities. It has a more refined and polite
vibe than Warsaw, imo, and since it is the closest major city to Auschwitz,
definitely a place you'd probably stop in anyways.

In addition to Auschwitz, the Wielizcka Salt Mine is nearby and pretty cool.
Also, Oskar Schindler's factory.

Wow, ask me to pick my favorite child, too! We liked Wroclaw quite a bit, but to pick two, it would have to be Krakow and Gdansk. Krakow reminded me a bit of Prague, and there is a lot to do there. Gdansk has different qualities. Gdansk was one of the hanseatic league cities and the buildings reflect that. The WWII museum and the solidarity center are must see. The old town area and the area along the river are quite picturesque. Both Gdansk and Krakow have many day trip options.

In Krakow, there's the castle, the Jewish area, many beautiful churches, the Schindler museum and the huge and lovely old town.

Two additional cities I really enjoyed were Torun and Bydgoszcz, but both are out of what I'd consider day trip range.

Gdansk and Krakow are quite a distance from each other. Some might suggest picking one of the two and Warsaw to reduce travel time. Auschwitz is an easy day trip from Krakow, so doing Krakow and Warsaw might be a good choice, logistically. We didn't enjoy Warsaw nearly as much as the other three on your list. It is a lively city with a lot of history, but most everyplace is new, being almost completely decimated during WWII. It also is quite a large city, and we tend to enjoy places a bit smaller.

Although Wroclaw is my favorite city in Poland, I think for a first time trip the best would be to combine Warsaw and Krakow, since you want to visit Auschwitz too. Krakow and Warsaw are pretty well connected with a high speed train. Warsaw represents modern Poland, while Krakow showcases medieval Poland.

Both have pretty good day trips too. For Warsaw you can day trip to Torun and Kazimierz Dolny.

From Krakow you have more options, in addition to Auschwitz, you can also visit the Tatra mountains via the spa town of Zakopane. You can also rent a car and do a drive visiting the trail of the eagles nest castles, a string of fortifications in various states of preservation around the Krakow area to protect it from the Czechs.

I made a day trip to the eagles nest castles trail a few years ago here is my report - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/new-daytrip-from-krakow-eagle-s-nest-castle-trail

It's looking like a high-speed train runs from Gdansk to Kracow, about 5 hours duration. So that should also work. Looking like those might be our two cities. Warsaw seems to be less charming and more frenetic than Gdansk.

Warsaw seems to be less charming and more frenetic than Gdansk.

Really depends on what you're interested in, I'd say both Krakow and and Gdansk are good for medieval history, honestly they overlap in a lot of things.

Warsaw is better for 20th century like World War II and Communist era history.

Warsaw seems to be less charming and more frenetic than Gdansk.

Gdansk and Krakow are great for their touristic sites, old towns, etc. But if you're visiting to gain insight into Poland and the Polish people, then I think you really need to see Warsaw to fully appreciate the country - especially its resilience following an extended traumatic period under Nazi Germany and then Stalin.

Warsaw is fast-paced, but the food scene is interesting - you can go for days without eating traditional Polish cuisine. The Soviet Palace of Science and Culture rivals Rome's Vittorio Emanuele Monument for over-the-top flamboyance. World-class mass transit.

I found that Gdansk had more "personality" than Krakow, even though Gdansk has been rebuilt and Krakow is original. And the food scene in Krakow is amazing - with just about every culinary ethnicity represented. Be sure to spend time in Kazimierz - for the food and the atmosphere.

Malbork Castle is an easy day trip from Gdansk.

There's not a bad decision to be made here. Just be aware that Gdansk and Krakow are both very, very touristy. Warsaw is big, but most of the people you'll see will be locals. The tourists are typically confined to the small, rebuilt historic center.

Our trip to Poland was a delight. Both Gdansk and Krakow are beautiful, Gdansk perhaps a touch prettier but Krakow close and with an extra dose of culture. Both cities are touristy, yes, but relatively few of the tourists are American. The World War II Museum really requires multiple days; it's exceptional in both breadth and depth of coverage, with many interactive, audio and video displays.

Warsaw was, frankly, not to my taste nor to my wife's. A day trip from Krakow was enough for us. Others likely will disagree. Another day trip to Oświęcim (Auschwitz) was a can't-miss for us, and although it was sobering it was somehow also uplifting - Poland refuses to allow the world to forget what humans are capable of when under the thrall of an evil leader.

Overall, we both loved Poland. And we found the cities we visited to be almost entirely free of the kind of poverty that plagues US cities. People aren't often rich, but few of them are in desperate straits. In that regard Poland seemed more similar to western Europe than I expected. People should visit!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/four-cities-in-poland-2019

Thanks for reporting back, jphbucks. Any restaurants or hotel recommendations?

Piwnica Rajców in Gdańsk had great beer and food. My wife became a big fan there of sour rye soup, a sausage based soup served in a boule of rye bread; she had it several more times in Poland.

In Krakow, our best meal was at Stodoła 47, though we also had a superb dinner in the cellar at Piwnica pod Złotą Pipą. The latter dates back to the early 1300s, so the history is palpable. Expect nothing more than well-prepared Polish food in any of these places, though.

Unfortunately can't help with hotels, though the Hotel Francuski is located perfectly at the north end of the old town (Stare Miasto) in Krakow and looks beautiful.

Thanks, jphbucks.

I agree to visit Krakow and Gdansk. I enjoyed Warsaw, especially the POLIN museum, but the other two have so much more to offer. I would recommend booking an apartment. Just go to a site like booking.com.

Thanks for reporting back. I enjoyed reading your impressions of the cities visited. I quite enjoyed Warsaw, but I can definitely see how it would not be everyone‘s cup of tea, even more so as a day trip.

Poland is one of our favorite countries to visit. Regarding Warsaw, we did not like it our first 2 days, but as we traveled around the city it grew on us. We only stayed 3 days, but if we had stayed longer we would definitely have liked it better.