Thematic
Polish Souvenirs: What to Buy in Poland and Take Home
Good Polish souvenirs are things the country is known for: amber, regional foods with protected names and Polish vodka. Some foods, though, cannot go home with you.
By ViewPoland Editorial
5 min read
Updated October 2026
The short answer
Buy amber on the Baltic coast, Polish Vodka with its protected name, gingerbread, honey and sweets, and gifts from the market stalls. Smoked oscypek cheese and kabanosy sausages also have names registered by the European Commission, but the UK now restricts bringing meat and dairy products in from the EU.
A good souvenir from Poland is something made or protected here, not a fridge magnet printed elsewhere. This guide covers the things worth carrying home, how to tell the real versions, where shops stay open when most of the country closes, and the customs rule that catches British visitors who pack cheese and sausage.
Is Polish amber a good souvenir?
Gdańsk has cut and sold Baltic amber for centuries, and our guide to amber in Gdansk explains where to buy it, including the shops on Mariacka Street, and how to spot imitations, and a visit to the Amber Museum before you spend money helps you know what good amber looks like.
Which Polish foods have a protected name?
Poland's agricultural quality inspectorate, IJHARS, lists 49 Polish food names registered by the European Commission as protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications or traditional specialities, plus 2 Polish spirit drinks with a geographical indication.
Several make good souvenirs. Oscypek, a smoked cheese, was registered in 2008 and bryndza podhalańska, a cheese from Podhale, in 2007. Kabanosy sausages followed in 2011. Honey has several entries, among them miód wrzosowy z Borów Dolnośląskich, a heather honey from Lower Silesia, registered in 2008, and miód kurpiowski in 2010. On the move, look out for obwarzanek krakowski, the Kraków bread ring registered in 2010, and rogal świętomarciński, the St Martin's croissant, registered in 2008, though both are best eaten fresh rather than packed.
The Polish Tourist Organisation also points to Christmas markets as the place for oscypek, handmade gifts and homemade cakes. For the dishes themselves, see the Polish food guide.
Which Polish vodka should you take home?
Look for the words Polska Wódka or Polish Vodka on the label. The name was registered as a geographical indication in 2008, so it cannot be used for vodka made just anywhere. A second protected spirit from the same year is a herbal vodka from the North Podlasie Lowland flavoured with bison grass extract. Our Polish vodka guide covers the styles, the brands and how Poles drink it, so you know what you are buying.
Can you take Polish cheese and sausage to the UK?
Not at the moment. Because of recent and ongoing animal disease outbreaks in the EU, the UK government bans bringing cheese, milk, butter and yoghurt, pork, beef, lamb, mutton, goat and venison, and products made from these meats such as sausages, into Great Britain from the EU for personal use. So oscypek and kabanosy should be eaten in Poland rather than packed.
Other foods are fine. The UK allows bread, cakes without fresh cream, biscuits, and chocolate and confectionery from any country without restriction, except confectionery made with a lot of unprocessed dairy ingredients. From the EU it also allows fish, poultry, eggs and honey. So gingerbread and packaged sweets are fine to pack. Visitors flying elsewhere should check their own country's rules before packing food; Northern Ireland has different rules from Great Britain.
Where can you buy souvenirs in Krakow and other cities?
In Kraków, the stalls of the Sukiennice, the Cloth Hall, on the Main Market Square are the obvious first stop. In December the Christmas markets add regional food and decorations, and in Toruń gingerbread is part of the city's identity, as our guide to things to do in Toruń explains.
Timing matters more than you might expect. Most shops in Poland close on Sundays and public holidays, but the law exempts shops whose main business is selling souvenirs or religious articles, along with shops at stations and airports and stalls at fairs and festivals. So a souvenir shop or a stall at a Christmas market or fair can be open when the supermarket next door is not. The rules are explained in are shops open on Sundays in Poland.
Can you get VAT back on souvenirs bought in Poland?
If you live outside the EU, you may be able to reclaim VAT on larger purchases from shops that offer tax-free shopping, which is worth asking about before you buy expensive amber or jewellery. The conditions and the process at the airport are in VAT refund in Poland. For paying in shops generally, see can you pay by card everywhere in Poland.
Sources
IJHARS, Polish PDO, PGI and TSG products for the protected names and their registration years. GOV.UK, bringing meat, dairy and animal products into Great Britain and GOV.UK, bringing food into Great Britain for what UK travellers may bring home. Act restricting trade on Sundays and holidays for the souvenir shop exemption. Polish Tourist Organisation, Christmas markets for market shopping. Cover photo: Mariacka Street, Gdańsk, Silar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Written by ViewPoland Editorial for ViewPoland, an independent English-language guide to Poland. Published 25 October 2026. Last updated 25 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Amber from the Baltic coast, covered in our guide to amber in Gdańsk, Polish Vodka with its protected name, and regional foods such as honey and gingerbread.
No, not for now. The UK restricts personal imports of dairy products from the EU because of animal disease outbreaks, and cheese is on the list. Eat it in Poland.
Yes. Oscypek was registered by the European Commission in 2008, according to Poland's agricultural quality inspectorate.
They are allowed to be. Polish law exempts shops whose main business is selling souvenirs from the Sunday and holiday trading ban.
It is a protected geographical indication, registered in 2008, so the name can only be used for vodka that meets the rules for Polish vodka.