All direct flights to Poland from the UK & Ireland

Destination summary

A country blessed with some of the finest medieval towns and cities is now firmly at the heart of the New Europe. Poland offers a stepping stone between familiar destinations (such as Germany and the Czech Republic) and the vast, mysterious expanses of White Russia, Lithuania and the Ukraine. It remains a key industrial site in the centre of the continent, and the nation's major cities have, over recent decades, enjoyed a social, cultural and economic boom easily marketable as "the Solidarity phenomenon".

Two decades after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Poland is now enjoying the fruits of freedom with some gusto and is a vocal member of the European Union. Historic Krakow is an increasingly popular city-break destination, and other highlights include beautiful Wroclaw, the port city of Gdansk, where Lech Walesa' Solidarity movement took off, hiking in the Tatra mountains and the Baltic beaches around Leba.

Even the capital Warsaw, long considered an uninspiring grey city, is getting in on the act with a host of new bars and designer hotels. Warsaw can be considered one of Europe's great survivor cities, in its current incarnation boasting the much-loved Old Town, regular markets, cathedrals, and - further proof of the city's capacity for renewal - a spate of new dining and entertainment options, including a thriving underground music scene.