5 Reasons Why Poland is Underrated

Polska, or as it’s known in English: Poland, is a nation boasting beautiful old cities, great vodka and incredibly passionate sports fans – so passionate it’s rather scary at times. Poland is one of Europe’s hidden gems and is highly underrated as a country. With so much diversity and fascinating countries across the European continent, Poland can often feel overlooked for its beer-drinking neighbours of Germany and Czechia, and its sunnier distant relatives of Spain and Portugal. With that in mind, Poland is criminally underrated and here are 5 reasons why it’s such an underrated European destination.

1. Price – Incredibly Cheap

If you’re wanting an incredibly cheap location and value for money Poland is the one. Genuinely one of the cheapest countries in Europe yet not like your pound or dollar shop where you pay for what you get, utter shit. It’s insanely cheap in all factors: from food and drinks to public transport, from accommodation to even those sexy Zapka store hotdogs. It’s very easy to get a 2-course meal and a couple of shots of Zubrowa vodka in Poland for the same price as a cuddle and a heartfelt conversation with your local human of the night. You simply can not beat the price of Poland making it the perfect destination for budget travellers or loved-up couples looking for a wee cute getaway.

2. Food and Drink

Polish cuisine is entirely forgotten about as an entity. With it being like that one busker in the street who could easily be selling out Madison Square Garden but instead has to settle for a greasy Brooklyn street corner, it’s filled with so much quality but is undiscovered by many humanoids. Pierogi is the headline act of Polish food and is found easier in a city than your pal in a theme park with a large flag attached to their head. It’s the staple part of Polish cuisine and certainly, a must-try out there, but food-wise it’s not just limited to the pretty pierogi. There’s Zurek (a fermented rye soup with a hard-boiled egg in it), Rauchy (a pancake-style desert) and Placki Ziemniaczane (a potato pancake typically topped with meat sauce or sour cream). Not only is the food underrated in Poland, but the alcohol is as well. Russia gets all the glory for its vodka but Polish vodka should be getting the same praise as it’s spectacular and certainly on par with the Russians. Not only is its vodka overlooked, the beer as well is very pleasant especially when mixed with Polish Vodka.

3. Old Towns

The vast majority of Polish cities all share one family trait: a gorgeous old town. Across the nations within a city’s heart is a gorgeous old town, it’s the must-see location of every city and where you’ll leave with the noise of your camera shutter ringing in your ears. Every old town has so much beauty compacted into one area with more modern establishments, such as your McDonalds and H&M’s, blended into the building’s landscape rather than sticking out with a modern-looking structure. The heavy picturesque old towns are a sight to behold and the perfect location to maybe pop the question to your significant other, “fancy a wee drink or 4?”.

4. History For Days

Every single history buff needs to get their history-loving arse to Poland pronto! Poland’s history mirrors the same wealth that the CEO of Casio Watches has, there’s a serious abundance of it. Most of it is rather dark unfortunately with it being the country where an invasion from the Nazis sparked World War II into motion. Regardless if dark or not there is so much history and locations you need to visit. In terms of WWII: Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Oskar Schindlers Factory, Warsaw Ghetto and many other concentration camps. For non-WWII sights and museums to visit: Museum of Warsaw, Pawiak Prison, Muzeum Fabryki and European Solidarity centre to just name a few places compassing. Poland may be underrated but in terms of history, it’s one of the world’s best places for all history, WWII or not.

5. Beautiful Countryside

Yes, beauty is abundant amongst Polish cities, especially in the Old Town quarters, but don’t disregard the Polish countryside. Poland has a lovely landscape and plenty of picturesque country locations such as Zakopane located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains and the beautiful houses in the village of Zalpie. Underrated countryside for an underrated country.