10 Best Cities of Poland 2021

10. Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland, on the Brda and Vistula rivers. With a city population of 350,178 and an urban agglomeration with more than 470,000 inhabitants, Bydgoszcz is the eighth-largest city in Poland. It has been the seat of Bydgoszcz County and the co-capital, with Toru?, of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. Prior to this, between 1947 and 1998, it was the capital of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship, and before that, of the Pomeranian Voivodeship between 1945 and 1947. Located in the historical region of Kuyavia, it is then on the list of 10 Best Cities of Poland Tour. 

The city is part of the Bydgoszcz–Toru? metropolitan area, which totals over 850,000 inhabitants. The beautiful city is the seat of Casimir the Great University, the University of Technology and Life Sciences and a conservatory, as well as the Medical College of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru?. It also hosts the Pomeranian Philharmonic concert hall, the Opera Nova opera house, and Bydgoszcz Airport. Due to its location between the Vistula and Oder rivers, and the watercourse of the Bydgoszcz Canal, the city forms part of a water system connected via the Note?, Warta, and the Elbe with the Rhine and Rotterdam.

9. Lublin

Lubin is one of the 10 best cities on the Poland Tour. It is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 339,682. Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River and is about 170 km to the southeast of Warsaw by road. One of the events that greatly contributed to the city’s development was the Polish-Lithuanian Union of Krewo in 1385. Lublin thrived as a center of trade and commerce due to its strategic location on the route between Vilnius and Kraków; the inhabitants had the privilege of free trade in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 

The Lublin Parliament session of 1569 led to the creation of a real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, thus creating the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lublin witnessed the early stages of the Reformation in the 16th century. A Calvinist congregation was founded and groups of radical Arians appeared in the city, making it an important global center of Arianism. At the turn of the century, Lublin was recognized for hosting a number of outstanding poets, writers, and historians of the epoch.

8. Szczecin

Szczecin is a city on the Oder River in northwest Poland. It’s known for its 19th-century Way Chrobrego, or Chobry Embankment, and the renovated Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle, now a cultural center. The vast St. James Cathedral has a 14th-century triptych, stained-glass windows, and a tower with city views. Nearby is the Gothic Old Town Hall, hosting The National Museum’s exhibitions on Szczecin’s history and culture. Eighth on the list of 10 best cities of Poland tour, there are many beautiful tourist attraction of Szczecin.
The National Museum also displays Pomeranian art in The Museum of Regional Traditions. Modern Polish artwork is housed at the nearby Museum of Contemporary Art. Beneath the train station is the concrete tunnels of Underground Szczecin, a former bomb shelter built in the 1940s, with war-themed tours. The Philharmonic Hall is a spacious, contemporary glass structure meant to resemble ice crystals. West of the city center, the leafy Central Cemetery has a striking central chapel and monuments to victims of WWII.

7. Katowice

Katowice is a city east of Krakow, in the Silesian province of southern Poland. A large dome crowns the Cathedral of Christ the King, built between 1927 and 1955. The adjacent Archdiocesan Museum exhibits Silesian sacred art. The ultramodern Silesian Museum features several glass structures on the site of a former coal mine. It exhibits Polish art and chronicles the history of Upper Silesia. This place is sixth on the list of the 10 best cities in Poland.

The mine’s former hoist shaft tower offers panoramic views of a beautiful city in Europe. Nearby, Spodek is a distinctive 1971 sports and concert venue resembling a flying saucer. Consisting of 3 enormous bronze wings, the Silesian Insurgents’ Monument commemorates 3 uprisings against the German authorities after WWI. The Museum of Katowice History includes original furnishings from its 1908 building, along with exhibits detailing the city’s past. A branch of the museum in nearby Nikiszowiec re-creates the everyday lives of workers who lived in the district. Vast Silesia Park has a planetarium, a zoo, and an ethnographic park with centuries-old buildings.

6. Lodz

Lodz a Beautiful city of Europe is in central Poland, known as a former textile-manufacturing hub. Its Central Museum of Textiles displays 19th-century machinery, fabrics, and handicrafts linked to the trade. Once a factory, the restored Manufaktura complex is now a lively culture and arts center. Nearby is the grand Poznanski Palace, home to the City Museum, with artwork and objects depicting the history of old?.

The long, pedestrianized Piotrkowska Street is lined with shops, restaurants, and monuments to the city’s most prominent citizens. These include a statue of theater director Leon Schiller and the bronze Tuwim Bench, honoring poet Julian Tuwim. Housed in a 19th-century palace, the Museum of Cinematography has multimedia displays and cinema equipment focusing on the history of Polish filmmaking. West of the center is the Botanical Garden, with decorative and medicinal plants, plus a Japanese garden and a palm house. The city is well known among travelers looking for the best cities of Poland tour.

5. Poznan

Poznan is a beautiful city of Europe on the Warta River in western Poland. It’s known for universities as well as its old town, with Renaissance-style buildings in Old Market Square. Pozna? Town Hall houses the Historical Museum of Poznan, with exhibits on the city. The town hall’s clock features mechanical goats that butt heads at noon. The Gothic and baroque Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral is built on an island called Ostrów Tumski. This beautiful European destination has got the fifth position on the list of top 10 best cities of Poland tour.

The cathedral’s Golden Chapel is home to the crypts of Polish rulers Mieszko I and Boleslaw the Brave. Just beyond the town center, the neo-Romanesque Imperial Castle features a throne room and a courtyard with a lion fountain. The nearby Monument to the Victims of June 1956 (Pomnik Ofiar Czerwca 1956) commemorates a Communist workers’ uprising. The art deco Palm House has a greenhouse, tropical plants, and an aquarium. Citadel Park’s slopes mark the last stand of the Nazi stronghold in 1945 and now feature soldier memorials and 2 army museums. Lake Malta is known for the floating Malta Fountain and an indoor ice-skating rink.

4. Wroclaw

Wroclaw is a city on the Oder River in western Poland. The beautiful city of Poland is known for its Market Square, lined with elegant townhouses and featuring a modern fountain. Also on the square is the Gothic Old Town Hall, with its large astronomical clock. Nearby is the Panorama of Raclawice, a painting depicting the 1794 battle for independence. The Centennial Hall auditorium, with its giant dome and tall spire, lies across the river. 

In the city center, the White Stork Synagogue contains a museum detailing the Jewish history of the town. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist has towering twin spires and multiple chapels, including the 18th-century Electoral Chapel. Nearby, the botanical garden is home to greenhouses, an alpine garden, and an arboretum. The Wroclaw Fountain features colorful water displays set to music and lights. Close by is Szczytnicki Park, with its manicured Japanese garden and the wooden St. John of Nepomuk church.

3. Gdansk

Gdansk (Danzig in German) is a port city on the Baltic coast of Poland. At the center of its Main Town, reconstructed after WWII, are the colorful facades of Long Market, now home to shops and restaurants. Nearby is Neptune Fountain, a 17th-century symbol of the city topped by a bronze statue of the sea god. One of the most beautiful cities of Europe is also a center for the world’s amber trade; boutiques throughout the city sell the ossified resin.

On Solidarity Square, the European Solidarity Centre tells the story of the shipyard workers’ union that brought down Poland’s Communist regime. Gothic St. Mary’s Church is a massive red brick structure that holds 20,000 people. Along with the Motawa Canal is the National Maritime Museum, which features a restored medieval shipyard crane. The neighboring town of Sopot is a popular summertime resort area, with a wide beach and long pier. Due to this, it has gained the third rank in list of top 10 best cities of Poland tour.

2. Krakow (Cracow)

Krakow, a southern Poland city near the border of the Czech Republic, is known for its well-preserved medieval core and Jewish quarter. Its old town – ringed by Planty Park and remnants of the city’s medieval walls – is centered on the stately, expansive Rynek Glówny (market square). This plaza is the site of the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance-era trading outpost, and St. Mary’s Basilica, a 14th-century Gothic church. The beautiful attractions of Krakow make it the second-best city of Poland tour.

On a hill above the Vistula River are Wawel Cathedral and Wawel Castle, a sprawling Gothic royal palace-turned-museum showcasing European paintings and sculpture. The city’s Jewish history is on view at Oskar Schindler’s Factory and the former Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, which is now dotted with hip cafes and bars. Visitors often take day trips to nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi concentration camp memorial and museum, or 327m-deep Wieliczka Salt Mine, with a vast labyrinth of tunnels, chapels, and chambers open to the public for exploration. 

1. Warsaw

Warsaw is the most beautiful on Poland Tour. The city is the sprawling capital of Poland, and one of the best European Cities. Its widely varied architecture reflects the city’s long, turbulent history, from Gothic churches and neoclassical palaces to Soviet-era blocks and modern skyscrapers. The city’s Old Town was restored after heavy damage during WWII. Its heart is Market Square, with pastel buildings and open-air cafes. The Monument of the Warsaw Mermaid at its center is the city’s symbol.

The Barbican and defensive-wall fragments are remnants of Warsaw’s medieval fortifications. The Royal Route runs from the vast, rebuilt Royal Castle, where concerts are held, past churches and neoclassical palaces to lavish 17th-century Wilanów Palace, housing royal memorabilia. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum memorializes the famed composer, a Warsaw native. The high-tech POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Warsaw Uprising Museum trace the city’s tragic wartime experience. As Poland’s cultural hub, Warsaw has a thriving nightlife and music scene, both classical and underground.