Top Ten Polish Experiences

My vote for Europe’s most underrated country, Poland is packed with vivid experiences, a rich and proud culture forged by a hard history, and wonderful people. As our brand-new Rick Steves Poland one-hour special premieres on public television, I’ve been thinking about why Poland gets under my skin. I’ve brainstormed this list of 10 definitive Polish experiences, which you can enjoy vicariously on our new TV show… or by going there in person. And, since I had the privilege of working with Rick, producer Simon Griffith, camera operator Karel Bauer, and editor Steve Cammarano to make our new special, I’ve also included a few behind-the-scenes insights.

Listen for the Kraków Bugler

In Kraków — Poland’s finest (and most popular) town — everything converges on the vast and atmospheric Main Market Square, which bustles day and night with locals, tourists, vendors, and the rustle of pigeons. Rising up from one corner of the square are the two steeples of St. Mary’s Church, the taller of which is officially the town’s watchtower. And since anyone can remember, at the top of each hour, a bugler comes to the window and plays a soulful tune called the hejnał… which stops short midway through (recalling the legend of a watchman whose throat was pierced by an arrow while sounding the alarm).

This brief medieval moment fades into the background hubbub… but if you listen for it, you’ll know you’re in Kraków. The national radio station even broadcasts it each day at noon — the Polish answer to the BBC’s “pips.” For our TV show, in addition to filming the hejnał from the square below, we huffed up the spiral stone steps to the top of the tower for the watchman’s-eye-view of the ritual.

Nibble Gingerbread in Toruń

If you tell a Pole that you’ve been to the town of Toruń, they might ask you: “Well, then. Did you bring me some gingerbread?” Toruń is synonymous with gingerbread, and its red-brick streets are lined with shops selling every variation imaginable — from basic bulk cookies to high-end pralines. We filmed one of the many medieval bakeries where costumed guides teach local kids all about the history and traditional preparation of this spicy sweet (which bakes for, as they say, “10 Hail Marys”).

While this seems like a gimmick, it’s rooted in real history: In the Middle Ages, Toruń’s Hanseatic League trading connections gave bakers access to exotic spices — such as ginger, cinnamon, clove, and peppercorn — to aid digestion. And the honey in gingerbread dough was a natural preservative, allowing it to be traded far and wide. All of that said, come for the gingerbread…and stay for an all-around great town, as Toruń (the birthplace of Copernicus) is also simply a delightful place to hang out.

Grapple with a Hard History

Poland is big and broad and flat — the “path of least resistance” between the Germanic lands to the West and the Russian realm of the East. And for that reason, Poland has been invaded, leveled, rebuilt, and leveled again, and again, and again. A powerful dimension of traveling here is coming to better understand Poland’s hard-fought history, from its disappearance from the European map for 123 years following three Partitions; to World War II and the Holocaust (which was carried out by the occupying Nazis largely on Polish land); to our present day, when Ukrainian refugees fleeing Putin’s invasion of their country have boosted and transformed the local population. There are few places with a history as epic, as tragic, and as beautiful as Poland — and the Poles love to tell that story, in stirring monuments, top-of-the-line museums, and everyday conversations that make you realize that in this country, everyone’s a historian.

Enjoy a Chopin Concert — Grand or Intimate

The Poles revere — roughly in this order — Jesus Christ, the Virgin of Częstochowa, St. John Paul II… and Frederick Chopin. In Chopin’s hometown of Warsaw, there are plenty of ways to enjoy a concert of the great composer’s music. Each Sunday through the summer, it feels like the entire city turns out in Łazienki Park for an outdoor performance in front of the giant Chopin statue. Alternatively, head to the Chopin Boutique Hotel, where owner Jarek Chołodecki opens up his drawing room each evening for an old-fashioned salon concert. There’s something deeply moving about attending a concert in a room (or a park) among Polish people who wipe away their tears at the beautiful music.

Pig Out on Pierogi, Pączki, and More

When it comes to satisfying, nourishing comfort food, few cultures can rival Poland. Whether you have a Polish babcia (as I did), or it’s your first time experiencing this cuisine, Poland’s specialties are delicious and craveable. While the classic pierogi (stuffed dumplings) and pączki (jelly donuts) are cornerstones, there’s also a wide variety of soups (savory, beety borscht and rye-flavored żurek), hearty dishes like gołabki (cabbage rolls) and bigos (flavorful stew), and, of course, vodka.

For our TV show, Rick and our local guide, Tomasz Klimek, dug into a spread of all the Polish classics, offering a delicious primer for anyone Poland-bound. Tomasz also taught Rick how to do a proper Polish vodka toast (na zdrowie!) and gave him a lesson in making pierogi by hand. (Our Best of Poland tour also features that same pierogi-making lesson, in a local home; or you can book the experience as an independent traveler through Kraków Urban Tours.)

Acquire a Taste for Polish Artists

Beyond Poland’s borders, its artists aren’t particularly well-known. But one of the joys of delving into a culture is getting to know talented painters who, through no lack of talent or fault of their own, have been overlooked by the Western European-oriented “art history” canon. I find it hard to pull myself away from the great art museums in places like Kraków and Warsaw, where Jan Matejko’s movie-screen-sized canvases capture epic moments from that rousing Polish story; and serene, gripping, powerful canvases of the Młoda Polska (“Young Poland”) school illustrate how Art Nouveau was a pan-European movement. Go ahead: Stand in front of a work of art with a signature you can’t pronounce — Stanisław Wyspiański, Jacek Malczewski, Olga Boznańska — and let yourself be moved.

On our show, we visited the new Stanisław Wyspiański museum in Kraków, and also featured a non-Polish painting: the stunning Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, on display at Kraków’s Czartoryski Museum. But that’s a whole other story…

Get Caught Up in the Story of Solidarity, in Gdańsk

While today it’s a gorgeous Hanseatic town of skinny gabled town houses, towering red-brick churches, and a thriving food and nightlife scene, not that long ago Gdańsk was famous for something very different: its gritty, rusted shipyards. In the 1980s, these Soviet-built factories became the crucible for the Solidarity movement that marked the beginning of the end of communism in Poland, and ultimately, throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Lech Wałęsa still lives here, and in the place where he led those pivotal trade union strikes, the state-of-the-art European Solidarity Center does a wipe-a-tear-beautiful job of telling the story of the brave shipyard metalworkers, crane operators, and electricians who stood up to a powerful empire… and prevailed. Few sights in Europe leave me with more goosebumps. (We aaalmost got the chance to meet Lech Wałęsa while filming in Gdańsk, but he happened to be out of town while we were there. Next time!)

Get Trendy and Urbane

If you think of Poland as being dated and old-fashioned — toothless grannies wrapped in tattered shawls, sleepy and gray town squares, dreary food — you are outrageously out of date. Especially in its urban centers, Poland feels as fresh, vibrant, experimental, creative, and youthful as anywhere in Europe. For our TV show, we made a point to show off the “post-industrial” trend that’s sweeping Polish cities, where gloomy old red-brick factories are being transformed into glittering old-meets-new megamalls. And we filmed some great foodie experiences, from my favorite trendy Warsaw Polish-fusion restaurant (Bibenda) to the lively food-truck scene in Kraków’s thriving Kazimierz district.

Learn about Jewish Heritage

Speaking of Kazimierz, that’s a neighborhood with two very different personalities: By night, it’s a trendy nightspot, heaving with students out dining well and partying. By day, it’s one of Poland’s most important locations for Jewish heritage, with synagogues, cemeteries, museums, and poignant memorials on seemingly every corner. Thanks to a relatively progressive medieval king (named, you guessed it, Kazimierz) — who invited Jews to settle in his realm, as they were being ejected from so many others — Poland had, for centuries, Europe’s largest and most thriving Jewish population. While that population was decimated by the Holocaust, recently Poland has returned to its Jewish roots and is becoming a major destination for people seeking to better understand their family’s connection to this land (as beautifully depicted in the recent, Oscar-winning film A Real Pain).

Poland has an abundance of memorials, like the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, that are difficult but important to experience. But it also has, increasingly, beautiful celebrations of the Jewish culture that thrived here for centuries — from jovial klezmer music concerts in dusty old libraries to the fantastic Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. We made a point to feature all of these in our new show.

Connect with the Polish People

I’ve been traveling to Poland for more than 25 years. And over thirty-something visits, what sticks with me most of all isn’t any of the above. It’s those beautiful interactions I’ve enjoyed with the Polish people I’ve met along the way: Learning from a dynamic, delightful Polish guide, who has a strong sense of mission about helping outsiders understand her passion for her homeland. Sharing a bag of pretzels with my compartment-mates on a long train ride, transforming gruff frowns into warm smiles. Sensing a tender pride and gentle kindness emanating from people on the street, who remind me of my own Polish ancestors.

When I first started traveling here — in the late 1990s — English was less commonly spoken, and many locals had a hard patina of gruffness, left over from the trauma and paranoia of communism. But today, that baggage is being left in the past. English is widely spoken, the country feels rejuvenated and forward-looking,  the Poles have emerged from their shells…. and they’re excited to meet people who’ve come from so far away, and flattered by your interest in their treasured homeland.

I hope you’ll get a chance to watch our new Rick Steves Poland special. More than that, if Poland hasn’t yet made it to your “wish list” of future travels, I hope this post — and the show — inspire you to give it another look. Poland is a place that really gets under your skin… if only you give it a chance.

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If you’d like to enjoy these experiences from the comfort of your living room, be sure to tune into our brand-new, one-hour Rick Steves Poland special. It’s airing this month at public television stations nationwide (check your local listings) and streaming on PBS Passport.

But why stop there? To visit Poland in person, pick up a copy of our Rick Steves Kraków, Warsaw, and Gdańskguidebook — which covers everything described here, and much more. (Poland is also fully covered in our Rick Steves Central Europe guidebook.)

Or sign up for our Rick Steves Best of Poland in 10 Days tour. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of creating this tour alongside my RSE home office colleague, Robyn Stencil, and our wonderful team of Polish tour guides — some of whom are also featured on our new TV show. I can’t imagine a better way to experience Poland, including every single one of the experiences on this list. While this popular tour is sold out for 2025, seats for 2026 will be released soon… stay tuned!