Beautiful Poland

Torun
We already have a few historical cities on this list of the most beautiful places in Poland, but it wouldn’t be complete without Torun. Torun is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest cities of Poland. It has ties to some of the other cities on this list, as Torun was expanded by Teutonic Knights (like Malbork) and a member of the Hanseatic League (like Gdansk).

Much like Gdansk, it wasn’t always Polish, but at different times part of Prussia and Germany. It is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, with an exciting mix of architecture from Brick Gothic to Baroque. The historic city centre survived the Second World War completely intact! The Old Town, with its many monuments and churches, is a sight to behold.

The city is also famous as the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. His family home has been turned into a museum. Another must-visit is the Gingerbread Museum. And you can’t leave without trying the delicious Torun gingerbread which has been baked here for over a millennium.

Slowinski National Park – known for its huge, shifting sand dunes

Transfigured by the Baltic Sea, in the Pomeranian region of Northern Poland, is the remarkable Slowinski National Park. Perhaps the most notable features of this exceptional destination are the shifting dunes; moving at an average pace of 32ft per year, they keep the landscape in a state of constant animation.

Their journey conceals and unearths: fossilised trees reach up through the sand, long-lacking the green that once clung to their boughs.

These colossal, sandy mountains can be viewed from many vantage points within the Park, but one of the most stunning is Lake Lebsko, upon whose shores is an observation point from which the dunes can be seen. Slowinski National Park is a World Biosphere Reserve, meaning that its wonderfully diverse flora and fauna are under protection – so much so that much of its terrain is inaccessible to humans.