When it is the best time to visit Poland? The answer is – all year round!
Poland is the only country where you will find 6 seasons: early spring, spring, summer, indian summer (locally called the golden autumn), autumn and winter.
SPRING
In the old Times, the early spring (March) was the time when households were running out of homemade preserves and stocks, food was sometimes scare. People longed for spring and the early greens and veggies from their gardens.
It can still be cold and snowy mixed with rain. In the mountains (near Krakow, Bielsko-Biała, Rzeszów) there may still be some snow but the slopes are not suitable for winter sports.
For tourists it is a good period for many discounts that hotels offer.
Spring (April, May, early June) is the season of nature’s awakening with rich and rampant green. White storks, which hold the hearts of Poles as believed to bring good fortune, start arriving in late March and early April. They are the heralds of coming change and the definite end of long, cold, dark winter.
It is the perfect time to visit Kazimierz Dolny or Białowieża and experience the vibes of nature.
This is a good time to do city breaks. The tourist attractions and cities are not crowded with visitors and accommodation and food prices are still reasonable. We suggest visiting Kraków, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Lublin or Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia.
Jazz lovers might consider visiting the 55th Jazz nad Odrą Festival (in Wrocław – end of April).
Bargain shoppers should consider grand sales in Łódź - in the heart of Polish textile capital at Piotrkowska Street, the longest commercial thoroughfares in Europe, with a length of 4.9 km.
SUMMER
Summer (June and July) is time when school is out and families take their young to the coast, mountain trails and the lakes.
Our suggestion is also the amusement and dinosaur park near Kraków or family searching for Dwarfs in Wrocław.
Other seasonal attractions we recommend:
Jazz at the Old Town in Warsaw. Great musicians play jazz in the centre of Warsaw every Saturday evening;
Gdańsk hosts a midsummer St. Dominic's Fair (end of July – mid August) - the oldest trade and culture event in Poland (over 750 years tradition!).
A visit to the Tri-City (Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia) can be extended by visiting Westerplatte Peninsula, where II WW began, and the European Solidarity Centre devoted to the history of Solidarity and other opposition movements of Communist Eastern Europe.
It is also worth taking a walk through the longest wooden pier in Europe (Sopot) and enjoy a concert in the Cathedral in Oliwa performed on of the largest pipes organ in the world.
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów in Lublin (25-28 July 2019) with a city full of circus and street performers, musicians, magicians etc. On this day, Lublin turns into one big stage for artists from various areas of magic and performance;
For lovers of ambitious film art - Film and Art Festival Two Riversides in Kazimierz Dolny;
Catching a Falling Star, The August Perseid Meteor Shower in Bieszczady Mountains;
kayaking trips, sailing on the Masurian lakes, trekking in the Tatra and Sudety Mountains;
and... obligatory Chopin open air concerts in Warsaw’s Łazienki Park and visit his birthplace in Żelazowa Wola.
AUTUMN
After the summer harvest the colorful nature endows another surprise - yellowing leaves of the trees create incredible sights. And this is the true Polish golden autumn, the local Indian Summer. A paradise for walkers and photographers. Such remarkably saturated and warm colors of flora is probably is rare to find elsewhere in Europe.
The most beautiful at this time of the year are Polish Bieszczady Mountains. Unfortunately, not as wild as it used to be, but still stunning with its beautiful nature and postcardslike views. You can meet a real bear, a lynx or a wolf here, naturally we do not suggest any close encounters.
Bieszczady, with almost no light pollution offers great sky shows. When looking up the sky at nights you will see stars and the Milky Way with the naked eye. You will feel how small we are. This is a paradise for “falling stars” observers.
Autumn is also the time of harvest in vineyards, and these are growing in Poland. We recommend a few days rest in the vineyards, combined with tasting, for example in Sandomierz, or around Krakow.
November usually brings winds and rains. It is the best to sit by the fireplace or in the pub. Whatever to your taste :).
With the city's attractions is especially recommended Christmas Fairs. The one in Wroclaw begins early December, and in Krakow is connected with the annual mass street caroling residents and exhibition of nativity scenes (from 2018 on the UNESCO list). Such a festive atmosphere is hard to find elsewhere.
WINTER
The Winter (January and February) usually brings snow and cold and the days are getting longer. Try South of Poland for winter sports: Kraków and the nearby Zakopane in beautiful Tatra Mountains or Bieszczady Mountain Range, a wild part of South-East Poland with fantastic views. If not buried in snow it is time to admire the nature covered with stunning icicles.
Poles boast of their hospitality and regardless of the season or weather, you will always find heartfull and warm welcome.
Come to Poland!
