35 Best Places to Shop in Poland

Arkadia shopping mall boasts that it is "the largest shopping center in Poland," where you can buy almost anything in more than 180 shops, grab a quick bite at a Japanese restaurant, and get your nails done, too.

Poland's second largest supermarket chain, whose name means ladybug, is a great place to pick up edible souvenirs. Biedronka is a no-frills store with low prices and most of its products are local, although there are a few Portuguese imports since the chain's parent company is Portuguese. Jars of jam, colorful packages of cookies, chocolate bars, and local beer can all be carried home. There are a half dozen Biedronka stores in Częstochowa, but we've listed the address for the branch closest to Jasna Gora.

If you are looking for more than just the sweets, Blikle Delikatesy sells traditional Polish products (such as natural honey or smoked meats) as well as delicious imports (olive oil, cheeses, and much more). Of course, if you are looking for sweets, then there is always something for your sweet tooth. After all, Blikle is best known in Poland as the maker of prize-winning pączki doughnuts.

Cepelia, which has several branches in Warsaw, sells folk art, including wood carvings and silver and amber jewelry.

For fine antique furniture, art, and china try Desa Unicum, an auction house and gallery, one of the oldest in the country. Remember, however, that most antiques cannot be exported. You will also sometimes find antiques at the Olimpia and Koło flea markets.

There are more than 200 stores at this mall next to the Warta River, along with a food court, a movie theater, and a small grocery store. All four of the bookstores here sell English-language books, with the biggest selection found at Empik. On American brands, clothing prices here will not be as low as they are in the U.S., but if you've forgotten a bathing suit or need an extra layer, it'll be easy to find here, especially in chains H&M and Zara.

This is the most pleasant and most centrally located shopping mall in the city. It's within walking distance of the heart of Kazimierz and the river and is open seven days a week.

Next to Kraków's main railway station, this mall has, among its many shops and cafés, Kraków's first Starbucks café.

There are many galleries in Praga, some seasonal and with "flexible" opening hours, but Galeria Nizio, which moved to Warsaw from New York in 2002, is one of the best established. It combines a showroom with designer furniture with exhibitions of painting and photography.

On the northern side of the Cloth Hall, the shop sells beautiful everyday objects and affordable artworks.

Gorseletka specializes in handmade corsets, made to measure. Old-fashioned and fancy as they are, these tailor-made undergarments can prove surprisingly comfortable.

Designer clothing by Gosia Baczyńska, who is now running her own boutique, is popular with Polish celebrities; her collection—modern and classically elegant at the same time—represented Polish fashion culture at the European Union accession ceremony.

JKM is a small shop crammed with bags, suitcases, and gloves from the best Polish producers.

The store sells lovely toys made of natural materials and houses a colorful "Kofifi" cafeteria for parents and their children.

Among the city's delicatessens, you'll find the best selection of international gourmet food and wine in the Likus Concept Store—but it comes at a price!

The top shopping experience in Łódź can be found at Manufaktura, which is, at this writing, the largest revitalization project in Europe in the former textile factories of Izrael Poznański (established in 1852). Covering an area of 150,000 square meters (about 37 acres), this city within a city has its own Town Square and internal tramline. There are two museums, concert halls, game parlors, movie theaters, events, restaurants, cafés, a four-star hotel, and many great boutiques.

You'll find a selection of English-language paperbacks in most large bookshops, but for English-speaking readers, Massolit is the real thing. The converted apartment contains a little café that will tempt you with coffee and cakes, and several rooms filled to the brim with book-laden shelves offering endless browsing opportunities.

This health foods store sells both food and a selection of natural cosmetics—local as well as imported.

This is the flagship store of the designer tandem Paprocki and Brzozowski—that's Marcin Paprocki and Mariusz Brzozowski.

Pola La is the handbag atelier of a talented Polish designer.

This hatmaker will take you on a journey back in time to the days when it was unthinkable for a lady not to own a hat—or several hats, for that matter.

The most talked-about art gallery in town started as a showcase for independent art in a private flat of an old tenement house. Although it moved to a new location, it did not lose its unique character. It sometimes also has film screenings and live concerts. The gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday.

The shop sells fantastic hats, bags, and belts designed by Pracownia Kaletnicza and Marta Ruta. Liza Minelli owns one already.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, and meat can be found in Stary Kleparz, an open-air market with permanent booths and stalls just outside of Planty Ring.

A statue of Adam Mickiewicz marks the eastern entrance to the Renaissance Cloth Hall, which is in the middle of the Main Market Square. The Gothic arches date from the 14th century, but after a fire in 1555 the upper part was rebuilt in Renaissance style. The inner arcades on the ground floor still hold traders' booths, now mainly selling local crafts and souvenirs—anything from amber jewelry, wooden chess sets, and embroidered tablecloths to Kraków-theme T-shirts and toy dragons. On the first floor, in a branch of the national museum, you can view a collection of 19th-century Polish paintings. The gallery was thoroughly renovated, and it reopened in 2010. Upstairs, a very pleasant Café Szał has an open terrace where you can sip your coffee while observing the busy life of the Market Square below.