Agrykola Park (Warsaw)
Agrykola is right next to beautiful Lazienki Park but has a very different, laid back atmosphere with people sitting on the grass (not allowed in many parks in Warsaw), playing football, tennis, etc. Dogs are allowed off the lead and many people go jogging, cycling or skating here. During the summer many weekend festivals and concerts are held here. Located at Ulica Agrykola, Warsaw, 00-460.

Bajlandia (Warsaw)
This centre is dedicated to children’s fun and may cause adults to say 'I wish we had this when I was a kid!' There are plastic ball pools for jumping and hiding, walls to climb, tubes to slide down and more. The atmosphere is mayhem, and the kids never want to leave. They also organise birthday parties, and they have a special toddler’s area. Parents can wait for their little ones in the cafe. Located at Ulica Samolotowa 4, Warsaw, 03-984.

Dom Kultury Podgorze (Krakow)
This cultural centre has special children's programmes, particularly during the summer months and vacation periods. It offers excellent entertainment, activities and special events at very low prices (often free) for all ages of children and adults. Located at Ulica Krasickiego, 18/20, Krakow, 30-503. Phone: +48 12 656 4441.

Klub Kunzia (Krakow)
This busy club organises activities and events that take place throughout the year. Some of these are held at the club itself but special trips are also planned to attend concerts, plays and other performances around the city. There is a wide and varied program of activities for children, including swimming lessons, dance lessons and mountain biking. Located at Osiedle Złotego Wieku, 14, Krakow, 31-615.

Lazienki Park (Warsaw)
This beautiful park is the perfect place for a leisurely stroll or gondola boat ride on the lake. Children will delight to discover many peacocks, swans and squirrels living in the park. Located surprisingly close to the city centre, it is a former royal residence and features the majestic Palace on the Water. During the summer, open-air Chopin concerts are held in the Rose Garden every Sunday at noon. Grab an ice-cream and escape and enjoy a short gondola trip on the lake during the summer. It's a very serene way to spend some time. Located at Al. Ujzadowski, (main entrance), Warsaw, 00-460.

Mazury Lakes 
This picturesque land of more than a thousand lakes is sought by sailors, cowboys, fishermen, and migratory birds. There’s plenty to do for the whole family from sailing and canoeing, to picnicking, bird-watching and discovering forgotten mansions. Located in Warminsko-Mazurskie province.

Powsin Park (Warsaw)
Powsin is a popular weekend destination for Warsovians, many of whom cycle there along one of the city's few genuine cycle paths. It has many attractions including a botanical garden, tennis courts, a picnic area and an outdoor chess tournament. However, due to its popularity it can get overcrowded, and queues for ice-cream and beer are long.

Sightseeing Train (Warsaw)
This is a fun way to look around the city, even when the weather's not so great. The blue electric train takes you to many of the famous sites of the Old and New Town. The trip starts in Castle Square where the train tour leaves approximately every half hour (or when it's full) and lasts 30 minutes. It only runs in the summer months. Located at Castle Square, The Old Town, Warsaw, 00-267.

Tea Party (Krakow)
If your child enjoys playing tea party, Same Fusy is a perfect, peaceful tea-house that offers an incredible range of teas. The tea-pots are quite large, so one is enough for two people. Charming, ecological decoration and furniture as well as ethnic music create a unique atmosphere. Located at Ulica Krasickiego, 18/20, Krakow, 30-503. Phone: +48 22 635 9014. Open: Noon-10pm Monday-Thursday, 12Noon-11pm Friday-Sunday.

Wieliczka (Warsaw)
Often described as a fairy tale kingdom made of salt, these ancient salt mines were in operation for 700 years and features numerous salt sculptures, halls and rooms beneath the earth’s surface. Wieliczka is a small town in the suburbs of Krakow and ranks among the most famous tourist destinations in Eastern Europe.

Fishing
Fishing is a popular pastime, especially in the more outlying regions of the country, where the rivers are generally less polluted. The season runs all year in one form or another, with winter fishing through holes in the ice and fishing for leveret with spinners in summer. The best fishing areas include the Mazury Lakes (pike and perch), the Bieszczady, notably the River San and its tributaries (trout), and the southeast in general. Pick up the Yachting, Rowing and Angling brochure produced by the State Sport and Tourism administration at Ulica Swietokrzyska 12, Warsaw (Tel 022/694 4140), or for really comprehensive advice, including details on how to buy compulsory fishing licences, contact The Polish Fishing Association at Ulica Twarda 42, Warsaw (Tel: 022/620 5089, fax 620 5088), the National Tourist Board or Polorbis.

Hang Gliding
Both hang gliding and paragliding are popular in the Beskid, Bieszczady and Sudety mountains. The town of Leszno is Poland’s main gliding centre.

Hiking
Poland has some of the best hiking country in Europe, specifically in the sixteen areas designated as national parks and in the mountainous regions on the country's southern and western borders. There's a full network of marked trails, many of which take several days. However, much of the best scenery can be seen on one-day walks. Unless you're in the High Tatras, most of the one-day trails are not especially strenuous and, although specialist footwear is recommended, sturdy shoes are usually enough.

Horse Riding
Horses and riding have held a special place in the affections of many Poles for centuries and is regarded as one of the higher art forms. Equestrian holidays in Poland are becoming a real draw. There's a wide and growing selection of horse horse-riding and equestrian centres to choose from, encompassing easy-going family-oriented rides to more challenging rides for the serious enthusiast. If you're staying in Warsaw and simply fancy a day or two's riding nearby, the riding centre Pa-Ta-Taj at Grodzisk Mazowiecki in Pruszków (Tel: 022/758 5835) offers horses by the hour, while the training centre at Paszków, 20km from the city centre, offers rides with an instructor (Tel 022/729 8336).

River Rafting
The Dunajec River Gorge, a tributary of the Vistula outside Krakow, transects the central portion of the Pieniny Mountain range. Towering cliffs and limestone rock formations of the gorge create many picturesque vistas and pristine environments. The river is mellow and tours usually include a short stopover at Niedzica Castle. From May through September only.

Skiing
Poland's mountainous southern rim provides some good skiing opportunities, although the slopes can get very crowded. The best and most popular ski areas are in the Tatras, the highest section of the Polish Carpathians, where ski season runs from December through March.

Zakopane, the resort centre of the Tatras, has built a strong and growing international following. Though the skiing facilities in and around Zakopane may leave a little to be desired, they have improved considerably over the last few years. You certainly shouldn't have any problems renting skiing gear in Zakopane.

Less dramatic ski alternatives to the Tatras include: the Beskid Sudety, notably the resorts at Karpacz and Szklarska Poreba; the Beskid Slaski resort of Szczyrk; and the Bieszczady (a favourite with cross-country skiers). One great advantage with all these is that they are relatively unknown outside Poland, although, consequently, facilities are fairly undeveloped - usually involving a single ski lift and a limited range of descents. Yet these smaller slopes are a less crowded alternative to Zakopane.

Poland has a distinctive cuisine, with typical ingredients being dill, marjoram, caraway seeds, wild mushrooms and sour cream, which is frequently added to soups, sauces and braised meats. The national dish of Poland is bigos, made with sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, onions and any variety of meat. Polish meals start with przekaski (starters), such as pike in aspic, marinated fish in sour cream, salted and rolled herring fillets with pickles and onions, kulebiak (a large mushroom and cabbage pasty) or Polish sausages such as the long, thin and highly spiced kabanos or the hunters’ sausage (mysliwska) made with pork and game.

Soups play an important part at mealtimes and are usually rich and very thick. Soups such as barszcz (beetroot soup, excellent with sour cream) or rosol (beef or chicken bouillon) are often served in cups with small hot pasties stuffed with meat or cabbage. Popular dishes include zrazy zawijane (mushroom-stuffed beefsteak rolls in sour cream) served with boiled kasza (buckwheat) and pig’s knuckles.

Poland is also a good country for fish (ryba) such as carp served in sweet-and-sour sauce, and poached pike with horseradish in cream. Herring (sledz) is particularly popular and is served up in countless different ways. Pastries (ciastka) are also very good.

Although Polish cuisine includes a lot of meat, many restaurants offer at least one vegetarian dish.

If you want to eat cheaply, you should visit a bar mleczny (milk bar). Bar mleczny is a typically Polish kind of fast food restaurant in which you can enjoy hearty staples like bigos (sauerkraut stew), pierogi (dumplings stuffed with meat) and placki (potato pancakes) in unpretentious, canteen-style surroundings. Its name originates from the fact that until late 1980s the meals served there were mostly dairy-made and vegetarian.

Poland is on the border between European "vodka" and "beer culture". Poles enjoy alcoholic drinks at least as much as other Europeans. You can buy beer, vodka and wine. Although Poland is known as the birth place of vodka, local beer seems to have much more appeal to many Poles. Vodka is drunk chilled and in one gulp. Another traditional alcoholic beverage is mead.

Poles are habitual tea and coffee drinkers, generally with heaps of sugar. Coffee (kawa) in Poland has improved thanks to Pozegnanie z Afryka (Out of Africa), the chain of coffee bars that has spread throughout the main cities; a real treat for the coffee connoisseur. Coffee is served black unless you ask otherwise. Many cafés offer only kawa naturalna, which is a strong brew made by simply dumping the coffee grounds in a cup or glass and pouring water over them. Espresso and cappuccino, usually passable imitations of the Italian originals, are now available in the more modern cafés and restaurants. In cafés and bars, a shot or two of vodka or brandy with the morning cup of coffee is still a frequent practice.

Tea (herbata), which is cheaper and more popular, is drunk Russian-style in a glass, often with lemon and without milk.

Shops with regional souvenirs, local handicrafts, antique and modern art can be found all over the Poland. The most popular souvenirs from Poland are amber and silver jewellery, pottery, folk paintings on glass, lace and tablecloths from Koniakow and Bobowa, Polish contemporary paintings and graphic art, glass and enamelware, hand-woven rugs, dolls in regional costumes, woodcarvings, and artistic furniture.

In Krakow, the Renaissance Cloth Hall in the centre of the Market Square, is a treasure trove of Polish crafts at their best. Here you will find a fantastic selection of Polish amber and silver jewellery. From ancient Celtic designs, to Art Nouveau, to ultra modern, all at prices far less than you'd expect to pay for such beautiful objects. The amber is gathered on Poland's Baltic Coast and crafted by silver and goldsmiths into rings, earrings, pendants, cufflinks, and tie-pins.

Since Poland has a long tradition of bee-keeping, you'll find shops selling honey and beeswax products all over the country. Honey is healthy and delicious, while beeswax is so versatile that you’ll find it in the form of furniture and floor polish, candles, beauty products, and decorative items like beautiful beeswax flowers.

The markets in Zakopane and Tatra Mountains are interesting places to poke around. There is a major street in Zakopane called Krupowki Street that is designed only for buying traditional Polish goods. Zakopane is sheep farming country, so sheepskin products abound. Particularly beautiful are the sheepskin jackets worn by the Highlanders, which are hand-embroidered with colourful leather inserts. Other nice sheepskin items are rugs, slippers, hats and gloves. In general, sheepskin products are cheap, but the regional jackets are quite expensive. The markets also sell wood carvings, regional cheeses, fresh produce, shoes, sunglasses, sun hats, umbrellas, etc.

In Warsaw you will find street vendors selling all kinds of things. When buying from street vendors don't expect high prices-and don't expect high quality of goods either, with some exceptions.

Prices are often much higher in Warsaw than in the rest of the country, and are similarly increased in places which see a lot of foreign visitors, such as Kraków, Gdansk and Poznan.