Warsaw
The Polish capital Warsaw still deserves your attention even though much of it was destroyed in the war. The Old Town was reconstructed from original plans and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries - it's hard to believe it's barely half a century old when you stroll its quaint cobbled streets (www.e-warsaw.pl).

View of Warsaw
For an unforgettable view, take an elevator to the 30th floor observation deck of the Palace of Culture and Science, one of Warsaw's best known architectural icons. This edifice was gifted to Poland in 1953 from Stalin as a symbol of 'Polish-Soviet friendship' (www.pkin.pl).

Warsaw Rising Museum
A walk through the Warsaw Rising Museum (www.1944.pl) is an educational and interactive experience. The museum features films, testimonials, slides and artefacts from the time when Warsaw residents were active in the resistance.

Chopin's house
The manor house where Frederick Chopin (www.infochopin.pl) was born in Zelazowa Wola, 53km (32 miles) west of Warsaw makes for a great day trip. Attractions include an attractive park, summertime recitals and 19th-century instruments and furniture.

Zamosc
The Renaissance-style market square in Zamosc (www.zamosc.pl)with its almost perfectly preserved 16th-century town centre is just one of the many designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in Poland.

Auschwitz
The victims of the holocaust are remembered at Oswiecim-Birkenau (Auschwitz-Birkenau) concentration camp (www.auschwitz.org.pl), 70km (43 miles) from Krakow. Visiting is a sobering experience, but helps give you perspective on one of human history's darkest periods.

Krakow Gate
The Krakow Gate, built in the late 14th century and remodelled in 1782, is considered to be an architectural symbol of Lublin and is the primary entrance into the Old Town; it also houses a historical museum (www.zamek.lublin.pl).

Krakow
You'll immediately feel Krakow's charming medieval atmosphere (www.krakow.pl); 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.

More Krakow
Still in Krakow, the Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, is one of the oldest in Europe. Krakow'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.

Wieliczka Salt Mine
The Wieliczka Salt Mine (www.kopalnia.pl) boasts 350km (217 miles) of corridors, of which 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.

Icon of the Black Madonna
The Icon of the Black Madonna, also known as the miraculous painting of Our Lady, can be seen in the huge Jasna Góra monastery complex (www.jasnagora.pl) at Czestochowa, 100km (60 miles) north of Krakow. It is reputed to have been painted by St Luke.

Wroclaw
Wroclaw (Breslau) (www.wroclaw.pl) is a city of 100 bridges, many of which cross canals or connect 12 of the city's 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).

Gdansk
Gdansk (www.gdansk.pl) is home to 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.

Torun
The medieval walled town of Torun (www.torun.pl) is best experienced by walking through the gothic Old Town.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.