Travel Lightbulb

Today I'm flashing back to a few years ago, and my blog post on a wonderful hotel in Poland's capital city, Warsaw. This city has arguably the best restaurant scene in Poland. It has a superb collection of neighbourhoods to wander around, and the Stare Miasto, or old town, is one of the best.  It was left in ruins after WWII but was painstakingly rebuilt using pre-war sketches. This historic quarter is a tribute to the city's survival instinct and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. To go to my original post, and a fabulous choice of hotel in Warsaw, please click here .

This week I'm featuring the largest city in western Poland that was once described as "the holy blossom of Europe, a beautiful gem among cities". One of the reasons I chose Wroclaw is that it is the 2016 European Capital of Culture. The city is located on the Odra river; and with its 12 islands and more than 100 bridges, it almost looks like a city on water. This is Poland's fourth largest city, and has a lively cultural centre, which many major festivals taking place throughout the year.  Wroclaw is bursting at the seams with beautiful cafes, excellent restaurants, and plenty of things to do, and simply walking around a city that many have named the 'Venice of Poland' is a very pleasant way to spend the day. While cities like Vienna, Prague are perhaps more famous, Wroclaw holds its own with its not too distant neighbours, and it's easy to see why it's rapidly catching the attention of travellers.

In June 2012 the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament will descend on stadia across Poland and the Ukraine, and for those who are not into sport this sounds like the perfect reason to avoid a trip. However you may want to consider what happened in South Africa which hosted the World Cup in 2010. Post game prices dropped as high as 20% when premium rates vanished, and the same trend is expected in Poland where five-star hotels are already among the cheapest in the world. Photo courtesy of www.poloniapalace.com The Polonia Palace is an award winning example of one of those top class hotels. It's in a great location in central Warsaw just five minutes from the train station; a tram ride away from the historic centre, and the airport bus is only steps away. The hotel boasts a long history, being the only one to emerge from the Second World War completely unscathed. It became the hotel of choice for diplomats and ambassadors - even General Eisenhower stayed here ...