View to Poland's Tatra mountains

Of Europe's post-communist nations, Poland has undergone the most significant transformation. 

While a majority of Poles remain deeply traditional and devoutly Catholic, Poland is now a fully-fledged member of the European Union, with glittering skyscrapers rising behind historic old towns and fancy boutiques within a donkey ride of sleepy villages.

Tourism is also on the rise in Poland, not the least because it remains one of the cheapest countries in Europe to travel in. The hordes of Western European tourists arriving here on weekend drink-and-run visits hasn't yet had an effect on Polish friendliness and hospitality, and tourists in Poland will find that language is rarely a barrier to random acts of kindness.  

Poland is located in north-central Europe, and shares its border with Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia and the Ukraine.

The north of the country enjoys 500 kilometres of Baltic Sea coastline and is a region of verdant rolling countryside and flat farmland. To the south lies the snow-capped Sudeten and Tatra mountains with myriad hiking trails and ski resorts. In between these constrasting regions are glacial lakes and a  network of national parks that contain some of Europe's largest - and last - remaining tracts of ancient forests, patrolled by bear, bison, elk and eagle.

Most visitors to Poland make a beeline for the vibrant cities of Krakow and Warsaw and their architecturally superb historic cores.

Prior to World War II, Jews made up 10% of Poland's population and their absense remains highly conspicuous throughout the country. There's the empty synagogues sandwiched between communist tower blocks in Lodz, the echoes of Klezmer music in Krakow's old Jewish district, the plaque on a former Jewish orphanage in the Hassidic centre of Lublin commemorating the 200 staff and children who were shot in cold blood in the nearby Majdanek death camp. And while Poland is reluctant to be perceived as a giant Jewish graveyard, that is precisely the impression visitors are left with after a visit to the chilling Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp near Krakow.

Survival guide

Polish winters are bleak and cold, although there's some excellent skiing to be had between December and March in Zakopane and in the southern Tatra Mountains. Poland is at its warmest and sunniest between May and September, with peak tourist season for the Baltic beach resorts and Masurian lakes between July and August.

The official language is Polish, although many younger Poles (under 35) speak some English.

Although Poland is now an EU member, the currency is still the zloty. Poland is one of Europe's cheaper countries to travel in, and you can eat, drink, catch public transport and gain entry into attractions for a fraction of what you'd pay in Western Europe. There aren't huge savings to be had on accommodation, however. 

Polish cuisine is hearty and peppered with Jewish, Russian, German, Lithuanian and Ukrainian influences and is usually washed down with locally-brewed beer and vodka. Sausages are ubiquitous, and vegetarians will find themselves subsisting on perogies - semi-circular doughy dumplings filled with potato, dried cottage cheese and onion.

Direct trains link Poland with Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Kiev, Vienna, Prague and Moscow.  

Poland's national air carrier is LOT Polish Airlines and its low-cost offspring is Centralwings. Numerous low-cost European airlines also fly to major Polish cities, including Germanwings, easyJet and Ryanair.