Lonely Planet's guide to Poland

MEDIEVAL cities, fairytale castles and untouched wilderness served with an invigorating shot of vodka are all to be found in Poland.

Escape Poland

POLAND wears its charms lightly, but venture into its heart and you'll find medieval cities, fairytale castles and untouched wilderness, served with an invigorating shot of vodka.

--  A thousand years Poland's roots go back to the turn of the first millennium, leaving 1000 years of twists and turns and kings and castles to explore. History buffs of the World War II vintage are well served. Tragically, Poland found itself in the middle of that epic fight, and monuments and museums dedicated to its battles and to Poland's remarkable survival can be seen everywhere. There's a growing appreciation, too, of the country's rich Jewish heritage. Beyond the deeply affecting Holocaust memorials, synagogues are being sensitively restored, and former Jewish centres, such as Lodz and Lublin, have set up heritage trails so you can trace this history at your own pace.  -- Castles to log cabins The former royal capital of Krakow is a living lab of architecture over the ages. Its nearly perfectly preserved Gothic core proudly wears overlays of Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau, a record of tastes that evolved over the centuries. Fabulous medieval castles and evocative ruins dot hilltops elsewhere in the country, and the fantastic red-brick fortresses of the Teutonic Knights stand proudly in the north along the Vistula. At the other extreme, simple but finely crafted wooden churches hide amid the Carpathian hills, and the ample skills of the country's highlanders are on display at the region's many skansens (open-air ethnographic museums).  -- Heart-warming food If you're partial to good home cooking, the way your grandmother used to make it, you've come to the right place. Polish food is based largely on local ingredients such as pork, cabbage, mushroom, beetroot and onion, combined simply and honed to perfection. Regional specialities such as duck, goose, herring and even bison keep things from getting dull. As for sweets, it's hard to imagine a more accommodating destination. Cream cakes, apple strudel, pancakes, fruit-filled dumplings and a special national mania for lody (ice cream) may have you skipping the main course and jumping straight to dessert.  -- Fresh-air pursuits Away from the big cities, much of Poland feels remote and unspoiled. While large swathes are flat, the southern border is lined with low mountains that invite days of solitude. Marked hiking paths criss-cross the country, taking you through dense forest, along broad rivers and through mountain passes. Much of the northeast is covered by interlinked lakes and waterways that are ideal for kayaking and canoeing no experience necessary. -- Top experiences * Stately Krakow A unique atmosphere wafts through the attractive streets and squares of this former royal capital, with its heady blend of history and harmonious architecture. From the vast Rynek Glowny, Europe's largest medieval market square, to the magnificent Wawel Castle on a hill above the Old Town, every part of the city is fascinating. Add to that the former Jewish district of Kazimierz and its scintillating nightlife (and then contrast it with the communist-era concrete structures of Nowa Huta) and it's easy to see why Krakow is an unmissable destination.  Wroclaw Throughout its turbulent history, this city on the Odra River the former German city of Breslau has taken everything invaders could throw at it, and survived. Badly damaged in World War II, it was artfully rebuilt around its beautiful main square, with an intriguing complex of buildings at its centre. Another attraction is the Panorama of Raclawice, a vast, 19th-century painting hung about the walls of a circular building. Beyond historical gems, Wroclaw has a vibrant nightlife, with plenty of dining and drinking options on the narrow streets of its lively Old Town.  Great Masurian Lakes Sip a cocktail on the deck of a luxury yacht, take a dip, or don a lifejacket, grab your paddle and slide off into a watery adventure on one of the interconnected lakes that make up this mecca for Polish sailing and water-sports fans. Away from the water, head for one of the region's buzzing resorts, where the slap and jangle of masts competes with the clinking of glasses and the murmur of boat talk. In winter, when the lakes freeze over, cross-country skis replace water skis on the steel-hard surface.  Baltic beaches The season may be brief and the sea one of Europe's nippiest, but if you're looking for a dose of sand, there are few better destinations than the Baltic's cream-white beaches. Many people come for the strands along one of the many coastal resorts, be it hedonistic Darlowko, genteel Swinoujscie or the spa town of Kolobrzeg.   Malbork Castle Medieval monster mother ship of the Teutonic order, Gothic blockbuster Malbork Castle is a mountain of bricks held together by a lake of mortar. It was home to the all-powerful order's grand master and later to visiting Polish monarchs. They have all now left the stage of history, but not even the shells of World War II could dismantle this baby. If you came to Poland to see castles, this is what you came to see; catch it just before dusk when the sunlight colours the bricks kiln-crimson.  Folk architecture If the word skansen, referring to an open-air museum of folk architecture, isn't a regular part of your vocabulary yet, it will be after your trip to Poland. These great gardens of log cabins and timbered chalets make for a wonderful ramble. You'll find what's reputed to be the country's biggest skansen in Sanok, in the Carpathians, but there are open-air museums around the country. You'll find remnants of old wooden churches and other buildings sprinkled throughout the mountains.  This is an edited extract from Lonely Planet Poland (7th edition) by Mark Baker. Lonely Planet 2012. Published this month, $41.99, lonelyplanet.com