Poland in Sept. 2013
Jul 28th, 2013, 12:21 PM
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Poland in Sept. 2013
Two of us in near-final stages of planning a trip to Poland via Frankfurt beginning late Sept. 2013 (after Frankfurt's Auto Fair ends on Sept.22).
We're staying in Frankfurt only b/c flights we're interested in layover there. So thought might as well visit for a few days (3-4 nights). But trip focus is on Poland: fly Frankfurt to Gdansk, train to Poznan, train to Wroclaw, train to Krakow (we're been to KRK) for 6-7 nights, then fly home. PROBLEM: How much time to see highlights in Gdansk, Poznan, & Wroclaw??? (We like art history, architecture, history). My friend is talking 4-5 nights in each of the 3 and I say that's more time than we need. At his rate, trip will last 3 1/2 weeks and I'm thinking about a week less.
Advice anyone??? Many thanks.
We're staying in Frankfurt only b/c flights we're interested in layover there. So thought might as well visit for a few days (3-4 nights). But trip focus is on Poland: fly Frankfurt to Gdansk, train to Poznan, train to Wroclaw, train to Krakow (we're been to KRK) for 6-7 nights, then fly home. PROBLEM: How much time to see highlights in Gdansk, Poznan, & Wroclaw??? (We like art history, architecture, history). My friend is talking 4-5 nights in each of the 3 and I say that's more time than we need. At his rate, trip will last 3 1/2 weeks and I'm thinking about a week less.
Advice anyone??? Many thanks.
Jul 28th, 2013, 01:15 PM
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Last fall I did a trip through Gdansk, Torun, Wroclaw, and Krakow. (Click on my name to view a link to my trip report and many pictures.) I spent about 10 days total I think. No, I don't think you need 4 nights in each place (can't speak of Poznan - but I doubt it). In fact, the one place where I might have wanted to spend an extra day would have been Krakow, just because there was oh so much to see.
Wroclaw was really nice, but it also seems to have the least time-consuming highlights. (The town was leveled during World War II, when it was still German, and given back to Poland after the war and mostly rebuilt.) The little bridges near Cathedral Island are adorable. The Racławice Panorama is outstanding - a "must see" in my opinion, and I'm rarely excited about museums.
Anyway, the only reason two nights in Wroclaw seemed short to me was that it poured rain (heavy rain) one of the two days I was there and I regretted having not enough time for outdoor photography. In some ways I enjoyed Wroclaw more than the other towns - fewer American tourists there, plus it's clearly a real town not fueled by tourism the way Krakow is.
My three nights in Gdansk was about right, and that included my arrival day to Europe and a day trip to Malbork castle (highly recommended).
Keep in mind that these are long train rides (you'd be taking almost the same routes I did; one of my trains passed through Poznan). I enjoy train travel, so a five hour train from Wroclaw to Krakow didn't seem long at all, but I think there's an express bus that takes only 3.5 hours if you're interested. The Polish trains were not very nice (1st class is worth it for sure, not very expensive) but worked fine for me.
Wroclaw was really nice, but it also seems to have the least time-consuming highlights. (The town was leveled during World War II, when it was still German, and given back to Poland after the war and mostly rebuilt.) The little bridges near Cathedral Island are adorable. The Racławice Panorama is outstanding - a "must see" in my opinion, and I'm rarely excited about museums.
Anyway, the only reason two nights in Wroclaw seemed short to me was that it poured rain (heavy rain) one of the two days I was there and I regretted having not enough time for outdoor photography. In some ways I enjoyed Wroclaw more than the other towns - fewer American tourists there, plus it's clearly a real town not fueled by tourism the way Krakow is.
My three nights in Gdansk was about right, and that included my arrival day to Europe and a day trip to Malbork castle (highly recommended).
Keep in mind that these are long train rides (you'd be taking almost the same routes I did; one of my trains passed through Poznan). I enjoy train travel, so a five hour train from Wroclaw to Krakow didn't seem long at all, but I think there's an express bus that takes only 3.5 hours if you're interested. The Polish trains were not very nice (1st class is worth it for sure, not very expensive) but worked fine for me.
Jul 28th, 2013, 01:35 PM
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4 to 5 nights in Poznan and Wroclaw is way too much time. I spent 1.5 days in each and thought it was about the right amount of time for Poznan but not quite enough in Wroclaw. Perhaps 2.5 days in Wroclaw and take the afternoon of the last day to travel to Krakow.
There is an express bus between Wroclaw and Krakow that takes 3.5 hours otherwise the train takes 5 to 6 hours.
There are tons of interesting things to do in Krakow so 5 days there is a good amount of time, especially if you want to see Auschwitz, the Salt Mine, and Wawel. I hired a private guide for one day for Kazimierz and part of the old town.
We also had a private guide in Wroclaw; he was good and inexpensive. It was a 3 hour tour and he will take you wherever you want to go or you can leave the itinerary up to him.
In Wroclaw I loved wandering around looking for the small dwarfs of which there are about 170 or perhaps more now. Definitely see the Panorama.
Andrew is correct about the Polish trains. The seats are OK but the bathrooms are gross.
There is an express bus between Wroclaw and Krakow that takes 3.5 hours otherwise the train takes 5 to 6 hours.
There are tons of interesting things to do in Krakow so 5 days there is a good amount of time, especially if you want to see Auschwitz, the Salt Mine, and Wawel. I hired a private guide for one day for Kazimierz and part of the old town.
We also had a private guide in Wroclaw; he was good and inexpensive. It was a 3 hour tour and he will take you wherever you want to go or you can leave the itinerary up to him.
In Wroclaw I loved wandering around looking for the small dwarfs of which there are about 170 or perhaps more now. Definitely see the Panorama.
Andrew is correct about the Polish trains. The seats are OK but the bathrooms are gross.
Jul 29th, 2013, 01:36 PM
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If your main focus is really on history and architecture, you could be fine by spending two days in Gdansk, doing the Malborg castle as a day-trip or en-route to Torun (which I highly recommend if you like history etc.). Spend one and a half day in Torun, same goes for Poznan, two in Wroclaw and say three in Krakow, and a day or two depending on what you would like to see in the surrounding area.
As to Gdansk, make sure to visit the amber museum, it should be quite interesting for you. Also, pay attention attention to the lions on the mural with emblem of Gdansk allocated on the church walls. You could be surprised
If the weather is fine, you could climp up to the top of the church.
In Torun, make sure to visit the house of Kopernikus, the Town Hall and the observatory. Also, you'll have a beautiful view on the city from the opposite site of the river. There's a small landing stage, which you could easily get to with a cab. The bus ride to the central station and the walk back and forth is a quick option, but you never know how you feel about it at night, as it's definately not a common area for strangers to walk around. But once you are there, there should be some other guys painting or photographing the scenery.
As for Poznan, the city center is what you are really looking for. Try to get a hotel someplace around the old market square (Stary Rynek). Hotel Brovaria could be a decent option here, as its restaurant is among the best in Poznan's center, too. A must-see for you would be the "makieta", the cathedral, the franciscan and fara church as well as the castle. Enjoy a walk in the cytadela, which also offers a small museum of the WWII. Make sure to see the cathedral by night, too, but be aware of the opening hours if you only go there once. Oh, and make sure to dine at the Restauracja Toga hidden on the less touristic side of Plac Wolnosci, you won't regret it.
As to Gdansk, make sure to visit the amber museum, it should be quite interesting for you. Also, pay attention attention to the lions on the mural with emblem of Gdansk allocated on the church walls. You could be surprised
If the weather is fine, you could climp up to the top of the church.
In Torun, make sure to visit the house of Kopernikus, the Town Hall and the observatory. Also, you'll have a beautiful view on the city from the opposite site of the river. There's a small landing stage, which you could easily get to with a cab. The bus ride to the central station and the walk back and forth is a quick option, but you never know how you feel about it at night, as it's definately not a common area for strangers to walk around. But once you are there, there should be some other guys painting or photographing the scenery.
As for Poznan, the city center is what you are really looking for. Try to get a hotel someplace around the old market square (Stary Rynek). Hotel Brovaria could be a decent option here, as its restaurant is among the best in Poznan's center, too. A must-see for you would be the "makieta", the cathedral, the franciscan and fara church as well as the castle. Enjoy a walk in the cytadela, which also offers a small museum of the WWII. Make sure to see the cathedral by night, too, but be aware of the opening hours if you only go there once. Oh, and make sure to dine at the Restauracja Toga hidden on the less touristic side of Plac Wolnosci, you won't regret it.
Jul 29th, 2013, 01:39 PM
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If your main focus is really on history and architecture, you could be fine by spending two days in Gdansk, doing the Malborg castle as a day-trip or en-route to Torun (which I highly recommend if you like history etc.). Spend one and a half day in Torun, same goes for Poznan, two in Wroclaw and say three in Krakow, and a day or two depending on what you would like to see in the surrounding area.
As to Gdansk, make sure to visit the amber museum, it should be quite interesting for you. Also, pay attention to the lions on the mural with the emblem of Gdansk allocated on the church walls. You could be surprised
If the weather is fine, you could climb up to the top of the church.
In Torun, make sure to visit the house of Kopernikus, the Town Hall and the observatory. Also, you'll have a beautiful view on the city from the opposite site of the river. There's a small landing stage, which you could easily get to with a cab. The bus ride to the central station and the walk back and forth is a quick option, but you never know how you feel about it at night, as it's definately not a common area for strangers to walk around. But once you are there, there should be some other guys painting or photographing the scenery.
As for Poznan, the city center is what you are really looking for. Try to get a hotel someplace around the old market square (Stary Rynek). Hotel Brovaria could be a decent option here, as its restaurant is among the best in Poznan's center, too. A must-see for you would be the "makieta", the cathedral, the franciscan and fara church as well as the castle. Enjoy a walk in the cytadela, which also offers a small museum of the WWII. Make sure to see the cathedral by night, too, but be aware of the opening hours if you only go there once. Oh, and make sure to dine at the Restauracja Toga hidden on the less touristic side of Plac Wolnosci, you won't regret it.
As to Gdansk, make sure to visit the amber museum, it should be quite interesting for you. Also, pay attention to the lions on the mural with the emblem of Gdansk allocated on the church walls. You could be surprised
If the weather is fine, you could climb up to the top of the church.
In Torun, make sure to visit the house of Kopernikus, the Town Hall and the observatory. Also, you'll have a beautiful view on the city from the opposite site of the river. There's a small landing stage, which you could easily get to with a cab. The bus ride to the central station and the walk back and forth is a quick option, but you never know how you feel about it at night, as it's definately not a common area for strangers to walk around. But once you are there, there should be some other guys painting or photographing the scenery.
As for Poznan, the city center is what you are really looking for. Try to get a hotel someplace around the old market square (Stary Rynek). Hotel Brovaria could be a decent option here, as its restaurant is among the best in Poznan's center, too. A must-see for you would be the "makieta", the cathedral, the franciscan and fara church as well as the castle. Enjoy a walk in the cytadela, which also offers a small museum of the WWII. Make sure to see the cathedral by night, too, but be aware of the opening hours if you only go there once. Oh, and make sure to dine at the Restauracja Toga hidden on the less touristic side of Plac Wolnosci, you won't regret it.
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