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ON THE MAP With new flight routes cropping up to destinations all over Poland, Anna Millar chooses the eight must-visit cities in the country and flags up the highlights
SWEDEN Home to the largest seaport in Poland. The Waly Chrobrego prom is a good spot for views of the Oder River. The Maritime Museum’s not bad too. Flights from Edinburgh, Ryanair.
GERMANY SZCZECIN
One of the oldest cities in Poland, Poznan is easy to walk around. The Old Town Square has some great museums and architecture. Flights from Edinburgh, Ryanair. The largest city in Western Poland, Wroclaw has been selected as European Capital of Culture in 2016. The Market Square is the go-to spot for pretty bars and cafes. Flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow, Ryanair.
AUSTRIA
The Old Town has some great shops down narrow streets and the Museum of Tower Clocks at St Catherine’s Church and the Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy should be top of the to-do list. Flights from Edinburgh, Ryanair.
LATVIA LITHUANIA
GDANSK
RUSSIAN FEDERATION Poland’s capital has 30 major theatres. Check out the National and the Grand. We love the Wilanóv Poster Museum, too. Flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick, Ryanair.
POZNAN POLAND WARSAW
BELARUS
WROCLAW
LÓDZ KATOWICE
There’s some great architecture and no small amount of history to be found here. Head to Piotrkowska Street for bars and clubs. For galleries, opt for the Muzeum Sztuki on Wieckowskiego Street. Flights from Edinburgh, Ryanair.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Katowice Historical Museum is worth a whirl and church lovers should enjoy the rather lovely Christ the King Cathedral. Flights from Edinburgh, Ryanair.
KRAKOW See feature, page 26. Flights from Edinburgh, Easyjet and Ryanair.
UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA HUNGARY
ROMANIA
INTO THE WOODSTOCK Poland has become a breeding ground for some of the best festivals in Europe. Anna Millar picks the boldest and the brightest over the coming months
SELECTOR (7 & 8 Jun)
A week of music, film, performances, art and stories. Don’t miss the end of festival party on Szeroka Street. welcomes GusGus, Jeff Mills, Netsky and more for 2013. Nearest airports are Warsaw and Lódz. audioriver.pl
OPEN’ER (3–6 Jul) Over 70,000 revellers head to the Gdynia- Kosakowo airfield for a festival filled with some of the world’s best pop, rock and electronic acts. This year offers up Alt-J, Blur, Queens of the Stone Age, Kings of Leon and more. Check out its film festival too. opener.pl
WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL (1–3 Aug) Free music concert in Kostrzyn (near Poznan Airport). 2013’s line-up includes Ugly Kid Joe, Atari Teenage Riot, Anthrax and Kaiser Chiefs. en.wosp.org.pl// woodstock_festival OFF FESTIVAL (2–4 Aug) This Katowice-based festival specialising in alt and indie acts should really be called one- off. We love it so. My Bloody Valentine, and Deerhunter lead the charge for 2013. off- festival.pl
AUDIORIVER (26–28 Jul) Set on the Vistula River beach, this alt. eclectronica fest LIVE MUSIC (9 & 10 Aug) Mainstream fest set in Kraków bringing some mighty fine names to
the city. 2013 finds Biffy Clyro and Franz Ferdinand at the helm. livefestival.pl NOWA MUZYKA (22–25 Aug) Jazz, nu-jazz, electronics and dance music flexes some finely tuned muscles at the KWK Katowice Coal Mine site. festivalnowqmuzyka.pl
UNSOUND KRAKÓW (13–20 Oct) We won’t lie, it’s pretty special: indulge in this week-long party celebrating electronic music with some mind- bending music and film. Brave and brilliant. unsound.pl
Set in an airfield outside the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, this laidback electronica fest plays host to over 15,000 devotees, attracting the likes of La Roux and Ladytron. selectorfestival.pl ARTBOOK VISUAL ART FESTIVAL (7–28 Jun) Set in Kraków’s urban spaces, this celebration of modern art features site-specific works, invited artists, curators and activists. artboomfestival.pl
JEWISH CULTURE FESTIVAL (28 Jun–7 Jul)
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The Old Town really comes alive at night with floodlit church spires and elegant townhouses glittering all around. Kraków may paint a pretty picture, but behind it lies the most nefarious nightlife in Poland. Fuelling up beforehand is essential at Kogel- Mogel (Sienna 12, +48-12 426 4968, kogel- mogel.pl), one of the best authentic Polish restaurants. The vodka flows freely amongst the vaulted ceilings, along with traditional dishes like pierogi dumplings and hearty game platters.
Much has been made of the British stag parties which have flocked to Kraków since the advent of the budget airline routes, but they tend to descend into the same predictable venues, leaving the rest of the city for locals and savvy visitors to enjoy. And enjoy they do. New this year is Movida (Mikolajska 9, facebook.com/movidacocktailbar), arguably the best place in Kraków for cocktails. A sprinkling of more discerning visitors sip tasty mojitos with the Kraków cognoscenti as photographs of various celebrities peer down from the walls of this narrow bar.
The Polish Spring Punch at swish Baroque (Swietego Jana 16, baroque.com.pl) provides some raucous fun, not surprising at a bar that pays homage to the national drink with over 100 vodka varieties. A dancefloor awaits here too, with clubbing options on and around Florianska and Szewska. Reclining in one of the multitude of characterful brick-walled cellar bars with an ice-cold Zywiec beer after savouring another Polish feast, you can congratulate yourself on discovering one of Europe’s most charming medieval cities. Whether Kraków is the ‘New Prague’ or not is something of a moot point. It is a richly cultured, lively and dynamic city that has impressively reinvented itself since the demise of Communism and lies tantalisingly just a two-hour budget flight away from Scotland.
POLAND FACT FILE
COPERNICUS Kraków’s most chic hotel is a centrally located boutique bolthole with stylish rooms, a basement swimming pool and roof terrace. Tel. +48-12- 4243400, copernicus.hotel.com.pl. FLIGHTS Returns from Edinburgh to Kraków with easyJet (easyjet.com) start from £163.
MORE INFO Check out poland.travel/en-gb
28 THE LIST 18 Apr–16 May 2013 2013