My Poland Travel Checklist

Poland seems to be saturated with folklore, each place I looked up had a story. Even the food and architecture have a fairy-tale charm. It makes me want to cozy up in a wooden cabin eating gingerbread and reading about mermaids, heroic bears, cursed lovers, basilisks, and dragons.

I’m keeping this travel wish list simple with the major cities and key sights for each. It’s practical, with smaller sites/towns grouped under the largest nearby city where I would like to stay.

1. Warsaw

• National Museum, Old Town, Castle

2. Kraków

• Wawel Cathedral, Castle and Dragon’s den
• Jagiellonian University, the Collegium Maius museum
• St. Mary’s Basilica
• Rynek Underground
• Auschwitz Concentration Camp
• Wieliczka Salt Mine
• Ogrodzieniec Castle

3. Wroclaw

• Dwarf hunting (350 whimsical mini statues throughout the city)
• Raclawice Panorama

4. Toruń

• Nicolaus Copernicus House Museum
• Toruń Gingerbread Museum

5. Gdansk

• Wisłoujście Fortress
• Gdańsk Archeological Museum and ‘Old Prussian Hags’ statues
• Amber museum
• Malbork Castle

Other Places

• Zakopane (traditional cemetery with a folk art style, and hiking such as the Morskie Oko trail)
• Krzywy Las ‘Crooked Forest’
• Klodzko (Underground City Trail, fortress)
• Czocha Castle
• Poznan

Food

• Sękacz (cake cooked on a spit)
• Milk bar (home cooked style food)
• Oscypek (smoked sheep’s cheese)

*Some places didn’t make my list because they were too isolated from the major destinations (like Zalipie painted village), or because I could see a similar thing in another country, such as the ossuary. I did add a few intriguing isolated places to the ‘Other’ section. These are places I would like to see if I have the opportunity, but if it’s not practical then I would miss them.