While the landscape of Poland is mostly made up of lowlands, it is also varied enough to appeal to the needs of enthusiasts of the sea, lake, and mountains. You can go to the south of Poland, where two broad mountain chains rise: the Carpathians and the Sudety Mountains if you are a sort of mountaineer. As holiday destinations, both ranges are popular; not only among hikers in the summer but also in the winter, when snow-covered slopes wait for skiers and snowboarders. Perfect weather conditions and modern skiing facilities attract both beginners and seasoned skiers from December until March.

Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains is the Poles' favorite holiday resort (the highest mountain range in Poland). The reason for this is not only the variety of ski routes and more than a hundred ski lifts in the area but, more importantly, its unique highland environment and an extensive network of cozy guesthouses, luxury villas, and rustic restaurants serving traditional Polish food.

Szklarska Poręba, Wisła, and Szczyrk are other popular destinations for winter sports fans, the last of which is particularly appreciated for its cable railway. If you prefer winter trekking, on the other hand, where you should go is the Bieszczady range in the very southeast of Poland. In addition to winter sports, brisk sleigh rides are a typical attraction offered to visitors in Poland off the slopes. If you get a hot-blooded Polish highlander (Góral) to drive your sleighs, be prepared for an exciting adventure!

Do you still dream of lying with your legs spread out on a sandy beach, the sun shining on your face, and your mindset on nothing but recreation? You can certainly visit the Polish seaside if the response is "yes"! Poland has a coastline that is almost 780 km long and almost all of it is a beautiful beach with clean, golden sand and spectacular dunes that rise above it.

The Baltic Sea is much less salty than the Mediterranean Sea, your feet are not harmed by any pebbles and the shore is rarely steep. Thus, when the water is warm enough for bathing in the summer, the conditions are perfect for all sorts of water sports: swimming, kitesurfing, and windsurfing, riding a banana boat, or floating on an air mattress. You can also see people flying kites, jogging, and playing beach sports such as beach volleyball, soft soccer, beach racketball, and frisbee.

In addition to the attractions you will find on the beach, the comfortable atmosphere of Polish seaside resorts, which offer everything you need in terms of accommodation, food, and entertainment, will also amaze you. The opportunity to party in one of the renowned clubs in Sopot, Międzyzdroje, and Kołobrzeg, where the best DJs entertain international audiences until the early morning, cannot be missed by young tourists.

It is also important to see the spectacular shifting dunes (wydmy) near Łeba while visiting the Polish seaside. The 44-meter-high dunes form part of the Slovinsky National Park, which was included in the 1976 World Biosphere Reserve List by UNESCO. And watch out for bits of a dazzling golden gemstone as you stroll along the Polish coast: The Amber Baltic (bursztyn). It is the greatest treasure of the Polish seaside, admired both for its elegance and supposed enigmatic qualities by many as jewelry.

The picturesque lakes in the Masuria and Suwałki regions of north-eastern Poland are one of Poland's favorite holiday destinations (Mazury and Suwalszczyzna). Not just for those looking for some peace and quiet, interaction with nature, and stunning views around them, it is a perfect location. It is also suitable for individuals who enjoy physical recreation. You will find anything here, whether it is swimming, windsurfing, sailing, canoeing, rowing, water skiing, or skateboarding that you are interested in. With over nine thousand lakes across Poland and an extensive network of rivers and canals, the country provides both extreme sports enthusiasts and fans of calmer sports entertainment such as fishing with an excellent combination of amazing natural scenery and well-developed water sports infrastructure.

In the north of Poland, lake areas are also full of woods and have a rural character in general, making them a dream destination for hiking, biking, and horse riding trips. In 2009, experts and the general public enjoyed the beauty of the Polish lake ecosystem when the Great Masurian Lakes qualified for the final round of the New7Wonders of Nature competition(official declaration is planned for November 2011).

THE toggle-contentESTIVAL (Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni), organized since 1974, is an annual film festival, one of the largest film events in Poland. It is mainly the Polish cinema's showcase-the best films of the year, the most popular filmmakers, vital subjects. Poland's newest films are vying for the Golden Lions award in Gdynia.

THE PLUS CAMERIMAGE The Plus Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography is the largest and most recognized filmmaking festival dedicated to the art of cinematography and its makers. It was initially held in Toruń, then in Łódź, and in Bydgoszcz since 2010. It takes place every year at the end of November. Golden, Silver, and Bronze Frogs are awarded in various categories such as Best Cinematography, Best Student Work, Short Documentary Film, Best Polish Film, Best Music Video, and others.

THE ETIUDA & ANIMA International Film Festival The Etiuda & Anima Festival, which has been held in Kraków since 1994, is Poland's oldest film festival, showcasing the accomplishments of film students and art school students from all over the world, as well as works by makers of fine-art animation films. The two contests which give the festival its name are the main events of any annual festival.

The Warsaw Film Festival (Warszawski Festival Filmowy) is an important film festival held in Warsaw every October (since 1985). The festival hosts the International Federation of Film Critics Awards in Central and Eastern Europe for Entrepreneurial Filmmaking. In 2009, it became one of 14 events recognized as international film festivals by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations.

THE NEW HORIZONS FESTIVAL in Wrocław presents creative, original, and uncompromising cinema from all over the world, seeking new horizons in the language of film, expression, and storytelling. There are four competitive divisions of the festival: the World Competition, the Polish Short Film Competition, the European Short Film Competition, and the International Film Competition. 

THE KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL is one of Europe's oldest documentary, animation, and short story film festivals. Viewers have the opportunity to watch over 250 films from Poland and abroad during the 7 days of the festival. In competitions and in special sections, such as retrospectives, thematic periods, archive screenings, films are shown. The films awarded in Krakow are automatically eligible in the categories of short films for the European Film Awards and the Oscars.

In the Warsaw Pact countries in the 1980s, THE JAROCIN FESTIVAL was the largest rock music festival. Its format was based on the Woodstock Festival of America. However, the event was not just about music. Many people thought that it was the only place and period when people were given any independence by the communist authorities. It is considered the cradle of the music scenes of Polish rock, heavy metal, punk, and reggae, and the location where many great Polish brands such as Dżem or Kult made their debuts.

THE JAZZ JAMBOREE FESTIVAL one of Europe’s largest and oldest jazz festivals, organized in Warsaw since 1958. The Festival has hosted almost all of the world’s greatest jazz artists, including Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Ornette Coleman, Ray Charles, Keith Jarrett, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson, Kenny Garrett, Joe Williams, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, US3, Diana Krall and others.

THE OPEN' ER FESTIVAL is an open-air festival of music and performing arts held in Gdynia (every year in June-July). The first edition of the festival was held as the Open Air Festival in 2002 in Warsaw. Alternative and pop music enthusiasts from more than 30 countries gathered during the festival, celebrating the artists' best performances.

One of the most important cultural festivals in Europe is THE MALTA FESTIVAL. The festival is held in Poznań every year between June and July. It is named after Poznan's Malta Lake, where the first outdoor performances were performed. Among other items, the program includes outdoor stage shows, ballet performances, film screenings, concerts, and artists' meetings. In small rooms, as well as in market squares, in parks, factories, and halls, world-class artists play.

One of the kind activities... WOŚP The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy - WOŚP) is one of the kind events in January. It is a non-governmental charitable organization with the primary goal of protecting the health and saving the lives of children by supplying public hospitals with medical equipment. It is run by Jurek Owsiak, a charismatic radio and TV journalist.
The organization is best known for Poland's largest annual fundraising campaign, the Great Finale, which has been held since 1993 in January. Hundreds of volunteers across Poland raise money from Poles during the spectacular one-day Finale, who get a heart-shaped red sticker in exchange for tossing a coin into a red tin.

Each year, funds are raised for a particular cause, such as the detection of early cancer in children. Increasingly, this project is being funded by Poles and private companies participating in auctions of specially made gold hearts. Artists give charity concerts in cities and towns throughout Poland, which are broadcast on national Polish TV.