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Places in Poland

Our female clients come from all over the country. When meeting them you may well visit these places:

Warsaw

The story of Warsaw can be divided in two: before August 1, 1944, and after. 2004 marked the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising, a battle which has come to define the spirit of the city and its people. Brutalized and butchered it was effectively wiped from the map – blown to smithereens by the Nazi’s. The city has gone to pains to rebuild itself, but even so, the reminders are visible – from the execution memorials on every street corner, to the 50’s tenements slowly sinking into the rubble they were built on.

Always destined to do the right thing, and pay the price for it, it’s easy to see Warsaw as the doomed hero in a romantic tragedy. It’s a remarkable city; and not just for its ability to commonly find itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. For all the sushi bars and designer hotels Warsaw still has its own distinct flavour. The brothel flyers that clog up the drains, and the concrete bins filled with broken glass, are as much part of the city as the Bond girls and lounge bars. Always loud, vaguely seedy, and often glamorous, this is an addictive town built on hardship and history.

Krakow

A city forged in battle, war, conquest and fate, Krakow is in many respects the most Polish of all this great nation’s cities. The ancient seat of kings and intelligentsia comes steeped in legend and myth, and evokes the most fanciful of images, from dragons occupying the catacombs of Wawel, to Tartar hordes repelled at the gates, to an earnest Vladimir Lenin plotting revolution while sitting in the city’s cafes. Krakow’s history is the stuff of fantasy.

Back to the future. The budget flight boom confirms this nation’s transition from a country people are queueing to leave, to a country people are queueing to enter – the crowds that rotate around Wawel and fall out of the Irish pubs later on are all the evidence you need.

By day it is easy to drown in culture. The city is an A-Z of architectural styles, and its museums and galleries the home of everything from works by DaVinci to Japanese comics . The district of Kazimierz, once home to one of the most important Jewish communities in the world, is enjoying a renaissance; even the suburb of Nowa Huta, the sooty legacy of the communist system, is now emerging as an off-beat tourist site. As dusk settles the city becomes a haven for hedonists. As you will no doubt learn for yourself, it is all too easy to descend the stairs into one of the Gothic cellar bars, and emerge at daybreak missing both your memory and friends.

Lodz

Your first lesson in Polish: Łódź may look like it’s pronounced Lodz, but it most certainly isn’t. You are now in Woodge, and three hundred years ago the bar or cafe you find yourself sitting in would probably have been a wooden hut with a leak in the roof. In terms of age Łódź is one of the youngest cities in Poland, and a direct product of the Industrial Revolution, which explains its oft-used nickname, ‘The Manchester of Poland’. You may ask why anyone would go on holiday to Manchester? And why in heavens name go on holiday to Poland’s version of Manchester? But while Łódź cannot boast the twee charisma of Prague and Kraków a scratch of the surface rewards the intrepid traveller with a city stuffed with wacky stories, dark history and some of the countries finest after-dark venues – you’ll find them all here.

First mentioned in the 14th century it was the industrial revolution that saw the population balloon, and the city emerge as Poland’s youngest metropolis. The birth of the textile industry saw Łódź dubbed The Promised Land, with thousands flocking from central Europe, England and even Switzerland to make their fortunes. WWII saw the city's rich ethnic balance destroyed, the Jewish population butchered, the Germans exiled and the Russians heading back whence they came. Now, in spite of massive unemployment, Łódź remains an important cog in the Polish wheel, and the Manufaktura project ranks as one of the most impressive urban regeneration projects in Europe.

More surprisingly, the city is also at the heart of Polish art and counter-culture. The famous film school, founded in 1948 as a pet project of Stalin, has nurtured the talent of Polanski, Wajda and Kieślowski while ul. Piotrkowska, Europe’s longest pedestrian street, rates as one of Poland’s most famous party streets.

Bydgoszcz

Tucked up nicely in the northwest of Poland at the confluence of the Brda and Wisła rivers as well as the intriguing Bydgoszcz Canal, the spectacularly charming city of Bydgoszcz is a metropolis of some 400,000 souls with a lavish history to compliment what's by all accounts a highly promising future. Just 45km from its more famous neighbour Toruń, Bydgoszcz was first mentioned in 1238 and hasn't looked back since. The home, rightfully or otherwise, of the Teutonic Knights, Poles, Prussians and Germans over the centuries, Poland's eighth biggest city grew on the back of its aquatic pedigree into an important centre of trade, manufacture and culture.

Bristling with gorgeous red brick Gothic architecture, several Art Nouveau treats and a magnificent little old town running along the banks of the Brda, Bydgoszcz attracts visitors for the splendour of its buildings as well as its reputation as a centre of cultural excellence. Boasting the second most sought-after music academy in the country after Warsaw, the city is home to renowned theatres and concert halls, is sprinkled with a cavalcade of charming parks and gardens, provides ample opportunities to bask outdoors with a glass of local beer and, not happy with all of that, even found time to sire an extraordinary mathematician whose exceedingly clever mind helped save Europe from nuclear war.

With good value direct flights from Warsaw, London and Dublin to an airport just 10 minutes from the city centre, Bydgoszcz offers visitors a quirky, beautiful and unforgettably eye-opening short break.

Gdansk

Gdansk is a city with an incredible history not least in the 20th century when two major changes in civilisation were sparked by events here. The opening salvos of WWII were followed 41 years later by the signing of the August Accords in the Gdańsk shipyards: a key moment in history which many regard as the spark that inspired the fall of communism. The old town is where you’ll find all the action and the sensible start point is The Upland Gate  which marks the start of what was once known as the Royal Road. Following this route you’ll pass by main town hall (home of the Gdańsk History Museum), the Neptun fountain and Artus Court, before finishing at the Green Gate.

Ulica Mariacka ranks as the cities most picturesque street and is dominated by the biggest brick church in the world: St Mary’s. Climb to the top for panoramic views of the city. Nearby 15th century Żuraw stands on the rivers edge, a hulking reminder of Gdańsk’s merchant past. Across the river the Granary buildings serve as a somber memory of the havoc wreaked by WWII, while the Maritime Museum (including the ship Sołdek) provides an interesting look at the history of Polish seafaring

Poznan

While Poznań is not the first city on the traveller's itinerary, it does have a habit of surprising all who end here. Crowded with churches and cobbles and colourful burgher houses, the old town is a collage of architectural styles and stuffed with delicate looking churches and esoteric museums. A major cultural and economic centre, it’s during this period when the city earns its reputation as a city of trade fairs. Its success as a fair centre stems partly from its location on a road that starts in Paris, ends in Moscow, and hits all the major cities in between. If you’re arriving during a trade fair then we sincerely hope you’ve booked your hotel in advance, else start getting used to sleeping under park benches.

But it’s not all business. Over 60,000 people, some 10% of the population, purport to study at some institute or another, lending a defiantly young and vibrant atmosphere to the streets. Whether you’re here for business or leisure, you’ll find everything you need to the enjoy this city whether it be bars, clubs, restaurants or museums.

Wroclaw

With Kraków now confirmed as The New Prague the hunt is on for The New Kraków, and fingers are pointing towards Wroclaw. Long regarded by those In the Know as Poland’s hidden gem the boom of the budget flight has meant that the secret has finally slipped out, and Wroclaw has been well-and-truly discovered by the latter-day European traveller.  
This is a city with a particularly enticing storyline: through the course of history it has gone under five names, been passed between four countries and seen the naughty end of both fascism and communism. Only sixty years ago the city was a smoking ruin, flattened during one of the most savage sieges in modern history. You wouldn’t know it: this is one of the most engaging towns in Central Europe, and it’s not rare to find it compared to a condensed version of Prague. Gothic spires soar into the skyline and only three other European cities can boast more bridges. Dominated by canals and twisting cobbled streets Wrocław stands out as one of the undisputed highlights of Poland.

This is primarily a university town, and some 10% of the population pretend to study at some institute or other. The student body add a defiantly youthful streak to the city, and the blooming cultural scene and nightlife are direct results. But Wroclaw’s appeal stretches beyond atmospheric bars and classical opera houses; the local government have shown an aggressive desire to return the city to its pre-war heyday, and an extensive program of restoration and regeneration have seen the town emerge as Poland’s most exciting city.

Zakopane

Occupying a small valley between the impressive Tatra Mountains and the tiny hillside village of Gubałówka, Poland’s so-called winter capital some 100km south of Kraków, Zakopane has been attracting the cream of Poland’s artistic community and winter sports fanatics since local hero Tytus Chałubinski ‘discovered’ the town in 1886. Also a popular destination for the supposed healing properties of the local mountain air as well as for the hordes of hikers who take to the hills during the warmer months to ramble in the forests in the company of brown bears, chamois, eagles, falcons and marmots, Zakopane offers the perfect base for a surprisingly diverse range of activities.

The town, which if you peer behind the endless stalls of tourist detritus is a charming picture postcard of original wooden architecture, offers a wealth of sights and sensations from a handful of interesting museums to an increasingly excellent collection of bars and clubs.

Sopot

Sopot’s reputation as one of Poland’s premier seaside resorts is justly deserved. Human settlement here dates back some 2,500 years.

A small fishing village owned by the Cistercians in Oliwa existed here from the 13th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the baths and spas of this increasingly-fashionable health resort lured a select, affluent and aristocratic set to Sopot as much for its soothing waters as for its vibrant social life.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sopot, then part of the Prussian partition of Poland, became a playground for Europe’s ruling classes. Kaiser Wilhelm II had a summer home here, (now the Maryla hotel) and a separate villa (today's Magnolia hotel). Sopot became part of the Free City of Gdańsk under the Treaty of Versailles and Adolf Hitler spent a week here in September 1939 (in the Grand Hotel) while his army marched on Warsaw.

Today, Sopot is once again a hip and happening place, with its trendy bars, restaurants and shops scattered around the main drag, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino. Reflecting its summertime popularity you’ll find a strong choice of hotels as well as a nightlife that is considered one of the best in the country.