When it’s gray and gloomy outside the window, it’s hard for a good mood. We are looking forward to the summer, when we will be able to spend our holidays on the sun-heated sand on the Baltic Sea or go sailing in the “Valley of a Thousand Lakes”. We forget that, after all, winter is also a break, i.e. a bit of relaxation when the temperature drops below freezing. We present some interesting ideas for a vacation that will help you recharge your batteries effectively to survive until spring. When planning winter holidays, our thoughts unknowingly target the southern regions of Poland. Most tourists cannot imagine winter holidays without Zakopane’s Krupówki or ski resorts in the Sudetes. There is an opinion that “like holidays, it’s only in the mountains”, but an amazing winter vacation can also be spent at the Polish seaside, Masuria or visiting the most famous Polish cities.
Aquaparks – not only for the holidays
Leaving the sea in the summer often do not have time to explore or search for nearby attractions. When the heat is pouring straight from the sky, we mainly dream about submerging in the refreshing water of the Baltic Sea and we do not even notice that there are many attractions on the Polish coast that will appeal to many. Therefore, winter is a great time to get to know this region of Poland from a completely different angle. The Polish coast has a rich offer to spend holidays, one of the attractions that is worth to be interested in just winter are the water parks, which are not lacking by the sea.
The Aquapark in Spot, which is one of the largest in the whole country, is undoubtedly one of the most interesting water parks in Pomerania. Two long slides, recreational pools, an over 70 meter wild river, and in addition bowling and a pool restaurant make it a place frequented by tourists. What’s more, the facility has a temperature of over 30 degrees, which makes winter less threatening.
In addition to the Sopot water park, it is also worth going a bit deeper into the Pomeranian Voivodeship, namely to Bytów, where the NIMFA Swimming and Recreation Complex is located. It is a place where everyone will find something for themselves, because in addition to the rich recreational offer (slides, rapid river, etc.) there is also a sports pool and sauna area. Other interesting water parks in Pomerania are also: Centrum Park in Chojnice or AQUA Centrum in Kościerzyna.
If you plan to spend your winter vacation, i.e. holidays in West Pomerania, the Water Park Jan in Darłówko is worth a visit. It is the only facility in Europe that allows the use of sea water throughout the year. The offer of this Aquapark includes not only good fun on an area of about 1500 m, but also the opportunity to take advantage of the healing properties of sea water.
Not only by the sea we will find a wide range of water parks. Also noteworthy is Warmia Park Termy Medical Aquapark, which is located in Pluski near Olsztyn. This 3-level water park provides visitors with unforgettable fun. The facility includes as many as 5 slides, 3 saunas and a climbing wall, as well as a gym designed for those who keep fit all year round.
Winter attractions in the city
You can also spend unforgettable holidays visiting the most famous Polish cities. It is worth taking the time to rediscover them. In addition to the well-known monuments that can be admired in every available folder, Polish cities also offer a lot of other attractions that can be an unforgettable adventure for both children and adults.
When the winter weather outside, walking around the winding streets of the Old Town does not sound encouraging to us. It is worth devoting this period to a bit of culture in a modern way. We associate the museum with glass panes, polished floor, ubiquitous silence and exhibits that cannot be touched. However, more and more interactive museums are being created in Poland, where the admired exhibition is combined with great fun and learning.
Holidays are a great time for education in a sophisticated and interesting form. Northern regions of Poland abound in places where you can broaden your horizons depending on your interests. For fans of the sea and creatures living in it, it is worth recommending the largest sea aquarium in Poland, which is located in Gdynia. The Gdynia Aquarium, because it is so called, amazes visitors with the richness of its collections. For a moment you can feel like a researcher of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, because the facility in Gdynia has, among others living coral reef.
Winter educational offer
Although the holidays are a time of rest, especially for children, it is worth looking around for education through play. A visit to the Gdańsk Science and Technology Park, where Edu Park is located, can be such a suggestion. This place created primarily for the youngest and young people shows that the world of science is extremely interesting and can be explained in the form of interactive fun. The second recommended place is Centrum Hewelianum, which is also located in Gdańsk. Thanks to the use of modern multimedia technologies allowing for independent experiments, exhibitions will appeal to everyone, even those who have not had much in common with the world of science. Here you can learn the secrets of astronomy, physics, biology and even history.
What to do in Warsaw in winter
Warsaw – a city teeming with life all year round, often visited by both Polish and foreign tourists, has a wide range of modern museum exhibitions. One of the most visited museums in Warsaw is the Warsaw Uprising Museum, opened on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. It is located in a building formerly a tram power plant. From the threshold you can feel the spirit of history here. Multimedia exhibitions enriched with real exhibits present both the history of insurgent battles, their effects and everyday life of Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising. The unique museum exhibition affects visitors through image, light and sound. Multimedia effects make visitors feel like participants in the events of 1944.
Another interesting place in the capital is the Copernicus Science Center. Intended for both adults and children, it provides visitors with unforgettable meetings with various phenomena occurring in the world around us. Everyone who wonders how the laws of nature that govern us work should go there. The Copernicus Science Center has prepared seven permanent exhibitions for visitors, the High Voltage Theater as well as the Robotic Theater. The word “exhibition” is enclosed in large quotation marks here, as the Copernicus Science Center allows visitors to explore by experimenting on a large number of interactive and multimedia positions. “Man and the environment” is an exhibition where visitors become an exhibit themselves. This is where you can learn the limits of the possibilities of our body and senses. Another exhibition – “World in motion” allows visitors to learn the secrets of the propagation of sound waves and light. In this place you can also independently produce electricity or see how a tornado is formed. This is only a fraction of the attractions offered by the Center. It is worth spending up to two days to explore the complex, as each exhibition is worth examining.
Wrocław for winter holidays
An interactive scientific exhibition can also be seen in Wrocław. Humanitarium – a facility designed mainly for children, is a place that allows children to explore the world through play. The Wrocław educational entertainment park also encourages adults to visit, as the Humanitarium offer is addressed to various age groups. In addition to the permanent exhibition, which can be admired in the multimedia room, it is worth taking part in laboratory classes prepared by the employees of the Center. This is where adults can take part in workshops dedicated to, among others molecular cuisine or DNA isolation, and children have a great time participating in workshops with the mysterious names “Volcano”, “Tension Laboratory” or “Crazy Foam”.
Wrocław, one is associated with the most beautiful Old Market in the country, while the other brings to mind the largest and oldest zoo in Poland. It is in this zoo since October last year you can feel like in wild Africa. Africarium is a complex of 19 pools and water reservoirs presenting the fauna and flora of the seas surrounding the Black Land, as well as the lakes located on this continent. Visitors who expect strong impressions will love the 18 meter underwater tunnel, allowing a walk through the depths of the Mozambique Channel and its underwater nature.
Krakow under the snow – what to see
Multimedia exhibitions are also increasingly helping to learn and understand our history. A must on every trip to Krakow is a walk around the Main Square, listening to the bugle call from the tower of St. Mary’s Church and visiting the Cloth Hall in Kraków. Recently, one of the most attractive points of sightseeing in Krakow is a visit to the undergrounds below the Main Market Square. There is a breathtaking interactive historical exhibition presenting the history of Krakow and the daily life of the medieval city from the time when it was the capital of Poland. The collection of such a large number of exhibits is the result of archaeological work carried out in 2005-2010.
Łódź offer for the winter
While spending free time in Central Poland, it is worth going to the Multimedia Textile Museum located in Łódź. From the threshold visitors will feel as if they have moved to a nineteenth-century textile factory, because the museum was established on the premises of the former textile tycoon Ludwik Geyer, whose character accompanies visitors during the trip. The museum allows visitors to learn about the history of textiles in Poland, with fashion, which at that time reigned in the salons, and also shows the turbulent history of the Geyer family. And all served in a modern, multimedia form. Additional attractions are participation in multimedia games and activities. Visitors can, among others to produce your own fabric, or embroider a pattern on a napkin, and for those who like competition prepared, among others a battle of wool or collecting cotton.
What’s up in Poznan?
Poznań is another urban center that has taken care of an attractive form of presenting its own history. In addition to traditional museum facilities, which have been an important tourist destination for years, the Interactive History Center of Ostrów Tumski (ICHOT) is worth visiting. ICHOT is a place that, through interactive and multimedia exhibitions, provides visitors with knowledge about the beginnings of the formation of the Polish State and the beginnings of Christianity in the Polish lands.
It’s worth visiting smaller cities in winter
Fans of medieval castles, in particular the Teutonic Order, should visit the Interactive Museum of the Teutonic State located in Działdowo. Located in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the museum, thanks to multimedia screens and projectors, shows visitors the life of the Teutonic Knights, their castles, as well as battle animations. It lets you learn about the strategies of wars and used fighting techniques. A history lesson in Działdowo can become an interesting point of a trip to Masuria.
Masuria is a real basin of the history of the Teutonic Order, in addition to the aforementioned museum, lovers of the history of the Teutonic Order should visit the nearby castles. One of the most interesting places is the Boyen Fortress or the 14th century castle in Barciany. Nevertheless, there are more Teutonic fortifications in Masuria, which means that this region is a paradise for enthusiasts of the history of the order in Poland.
Many of us associate winter holidays mainly with winter sports and can not imagine a winter vacation without skis or snowboard. Contrary to appearances, fans of winter madness do not have to go to the mountains only. There are many places on the map of Poland where you can go skiing besides the mountains. A particularly large selection of ski runs is located on the coast and Masuria.
Active holidays – sport on snow and ice
For tourists who like to spend their holidays actively, and who do not like driving on snowy mountain slopes, an interesting proposition may be winter holidays in Masuria. It is a beautiful and rich region with attractions both in summer and winter. Tourists who dream of getting away from the hustle and bustle during their holidays may like Wolisko in the Borecka Forest or the settlement of the Ściborska settlement. This settlement is a remote area for people who love communing with nature (especially wild animals) and do not mind the lack of coverage on the phone. Staying in the settlement is strictly defined by the regulations, which include a record about the ban on drinking alcohol or using profanity. Here you can also feel like in Alaska and explore the area by traveling with a dog sled.
Masuria called the Polish Cold Pole (winter temperatures are the lowest in Poland), apart from walking, they also offer more demanding activities. A large number of large lakes and low temperatures are conducive to ice sailing during the winter. This sport based on simple principles requires a lot of courage and nerves of steel, because the boats sailing on the ice so-called Boats often reach speeds of up to 140 km / h. In the winter, in the Giżycko region on the lakes there are spectacular ice skating competitions.
Masurian lakes are famous for sailing in the summer, in winter they are also a place frequently visited by amateur and professional athletes. In addition to ice sailing, windsurfing, curling, snowkating and icekating are also fashionable, as well as quite dangerous but fascinating ice diving.
Tourists who chose West Pomerania as their winter vacation destination will also not be disappointed, because this charming region of Poland offers many interesting attractions. Holidays in Kołobrzeg or Szczecin are associated mainly with holidays, but also in winter tourists cannot complain about the lack of entertainment.
A particularly noteworthy place is the Szczecin-Gubałówka sports and recreation complex, which is very popular in the winter. One of the attractions is the roofed and beautifully lit artificial ice rink. It is worth mentioning that on Szczecińska Gubałówka there are also two ski routes with a length of 280 m and 360 m, and a well-equipped Snow Park intended for snowboarders. An interesting attraction for tourists visiting Szczecin in the winter is an outdoor event called Crazy Slide, more commonly known as Zjazd Na Byle Jaki, where you can admire amazing ideas for vehicle constructions. Crazy Slide is great fun not only for participants whose fantasy knows no boundaries, but also for the audience.
Other amazing attractions for the holidays
In the central part of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, near Wałcz, there is a magical place that denies the laws of physics. Magiczna Górka is a small hill, where over a distance of about 200 m the car left “loose” begins to drive uphill alone. This unusual phenomenon is probably caused by watercourses that cause magnetic anomalies, but many people consider this to be evidence of paranormal phenomena.
Kołobrzeg is another place known for many tourist attractions. One of the places to visit is the 6D Museum. It is worth adding that this is the only facility of this type in Europe that presents the life of Baltic masts. The 6D Museum in Kołobrzeg is a place where each exhibit can be touched and loudly exchanged insights with others, because there are no rules in force in traditional museums. This place is not only fun for the eye. Thanks to modern technology, the senses of smell and hearing are also stimulated, and the visitor feels as if he was one of the characters of the story played there.
Winter holidays is a time for rest and fun. Although holidays are associated mainly with active recreation in the mountains, when planning them it is worth considering alternative travel offers based on the attractions offered by other regions and their capitals.
