Poland in 10 Days: The Classic Route

Ten days is enough to see the four cities that anchor a first trip to Poland, with time for the essential day trips in between. This route runs south to north and back, following the fast intercity rail lines so you spend your days in the cities rather than getting to them. The trains between the main cities are frequent, comfortable and affordable, and booking seats online ahead keeps fares low. Below is a day-by-day plan with the travel legs and what to prioritise at each stop.

Start in Krakow, the best-preserved historic city in the country. Give the first two days to the Old Town, Wawel Castle and the former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, with an afternoon across the river in Podgorze for the history of the city under occupation. Use the third day for one trip out: the Wieliczka Salt Mine, an easy half-day by train, or the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial for those who wish to pay their respects. Both use timed entry and should be booked before you arrive. For a fuller breakdown, see the Krakow guide.

Take a morning train north to Warsaw, around two and a half hours away on the fast service. Spend the time on the rebuilt Old Town and the Royal Castle, both raised from rubble after the war, then walk the Royal Route, Krakowskie Przedmiescie, down toward the palace-park at Lazienki. Give the second day to the two great history museums, POLIN on the thousand-year story of Polish Jews and the Warsaw Rising Museum, which between them explain the twentieth century that shaped the city.

Continue north to Gdansk on the Baltic, again about two and a half hours by fast train. Two days cover the brick-Gothic main town along Dlugi Targ and the Long Street, the European Solidarity Centre at the old shipyard where the movement that helped end communism began, and the Museum of the Second World War. Set aside half a day for Malbork Castle, the largest castle in the world by land area and the former seat of the Teutonic Knights, a short train ride inland.

With the third day, ride the frequent commuter train up the coast to the resort town of Sopot for its long wooden pier and beach, or take the tram out to the quiet monastery quarter of Oliwa with its cathedral organ. In summer the Baltic makes a relaxed counterpoint to the inland cities.

Break the journey south in Wroclaw, a city of islands and bridges with one of the finest market squares in Poland. Spend a day on the market square and the streets around it, hunting the small bronze dwarf figures dotted across the pavements, and the huge circular painting at the Panorama Raclawicka. Give part of the second day to Cathedral Island, the old religious quarter across the river, and to the UNESCO-listed Centennial Hall. From Wroclaw, Krakow and the airports of the south are within a few hours by train for the trip home.

The plan is a frame, not a fixed schedule. A few ways to change it:

• With a fortnight rather than ten days, add Torun, the Gothic riverside town and birthplace of Copernicus, on the Warsaw to Gdansk leg.
• For the mountains, extend south from Krakow to Zakopane and the Tatra National Park, about two hours from the city.
• If you prefer a slower pace, drop Wroclaw and fly home from Warsaw or Gdansk, giving each city an extra day.
• Reverse the whole route if your cheapest flights land in Gdansk or Warsaw rather than Krakow.

Ten days covers the four cities that most first trips are built around, with the key day trips in between. It does not cover the lakes, the east or the full Baltic coast, which need more time. For a first visit focused on the historic cities, it is a comfortable length.

For this route, the train. The fast intercity services link Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk and Wroclaw directly, and a car is more burden than help in the city centres, which are compact and partly pedestrianised. A car earns its keep only for the lakes, the mountains and rural areas the railway serves poorly.

Krakow to Warsaw and Warsaw to Gdansk are each around two and a half hours on the fastest trains. The leg back south to Wroclaw and on to Krakow is longer and best split as this plan does. Book seats online in advance, especially at weekends and holidays.

Krakow makes the natural start for its concentration of sights, and it sits at the southern end of the route. That said, let your flights decide: the route works just as well reversed, starting in Gdansk or Warsaw and ending in the south.