• Visit Warsaw, where the Old Town was reconstructed from original plans and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, after being decimated during WWII. Spend time in the Old Town square (rynek) by visiting an outdoor cafe, checking out the Historical Museum (website: www.mhw.pl) or perusing the antiques shops.

• Take an elevator to the 30th floor observation deck of the Palace of Culture and Science for a great view of Warsaw. This edifice was gifted to Poland in 1953 from Stalin as a symbol of 'Polish-Soviet friendship' (website: www.pkin.pl). 

• Soak up history via a walk through the Warsaw Rising Museum; it's an educational and interactive experience. The museum features films, testimonials, slides and artefacts from the time when Warsaw residents were active in the resistance (website: www.1944.pl).

• See the manor house where Frederick Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, 53km (32 miles) west of Warsaw. Attractions include an attractive park, summertime recitals and 19th-century instruments and furniture (website: www.infochopin.pl).

• Visit the Renaissance-style market square in Zamosc, which is one of the many designated UNESCO sites in Poland.

• Walk through the Cracow Gate, built in the late 14th century and remodeled in 1782. It is considered to be an architectural symbol of Lublin and is the primary entrance into the Old Town; it also houses a historical museum (website: www.zamek.lublin.pl).

• Immerse yourself in Cracow's charming medieval atmosphere; it is one of UNESCO's 12 most significant historical sites. In the middle of the central Market Square (the largest in Europe) is the Cloth Hall, which was reconstructed in the 19th century from 14th-century merchants' stalls. 

• Still in Cracow, see the Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, and one of the oldest in Europe. Cracow's former Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, houses the Remuh Synagogue (1553). Overlooking the city is Wawel Castle, with the world's largest collection of 16th-century tapestries and, beside it, the gothic cathedral (website: www.krakow.pl/en).

• Discover the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Of the 350km (217 miles) of corridors, 2km (1.2 miles) are accessible to visitors. The tourist route is 64 to 135m (209 to 443ft) underground and passes through impressive chambers, bas-reliefs, chandeliers and a chapel sculpted in the salt (website: www.kopalnia.pl).

• See the Icon of the Black Madonna, also known as the miraculous painting of Our Lady, in the huge Jasna Góra monastery complex at Czestochowa, 100km (60 miles) north of Kraków (reputed to have been painted by St Luke) (website: www.jasnagora.pl).

• Locate Wroclaw (Breslau)'s 100 bridges, many of which cross canals or connect 12 of the cities islands. Important sights include the 15th-century Town Hall, now the Historical Museum; the Ethnographic Museum in the Royal Palace; and the Cathedral on Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island) (website: www.wroclaw.pl).

• Head to Gdansk to see the largest gothic church in Poland: St Mary's Basilica. The beach resort at nearby Sopot has Europe's longest pier (500m/1,640ft). Within easy reach are the forested Hel Peninsula, the Kashubian Lakeland, and the Teutonic castles at Malbork and Gniew.

• Experience the medieval walled town of Torun by walking through the gothic Old Town (website: www.torun.pl).

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.