MUSEUMS
For connoisseurs of art, apart from the monuments, churches and
castles, there are the museums. Cracow is top of the national table
for museum resources. In 2000 Cracow was one of the European Cities
of Culture.
The most interesting exhibitions are the historical, archaeological,
ethnographical and natural history displays, which enable visitors
to learn more about the culture and natural resources of the various
regions. Art lovers won't be disappointed, since they'll be able
to see works by painters already appreciated at the beginning of
the 20th century, Jan Matejko, Stanis³aw Wyspiański, Józef Mehoffer,
and Jacek Malczewski. Within the network of National Museums, there
are fascinating temporary exhibitions as well, with works by the
world's masters - Chagall, for example, or Salvador Dali, Picasso,
or Andy Warhol. There's no lack of original sites worth visiting
either: the great oceanarium and floating museum ships in Gdynia,
the Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznań's beautiful market-place,
or the splendid collection in the Geological and Mineralogical Museum
in Wroc³aw. For classical music fans, there are concert halls, opera
and ballet houses, all of which possess rich traditions and are
working with some of the world's best conductors and musicians.
GARDENS
You're guaranteed respite from the urban hubbub in the botanical
and zoological gardens. They have one essential virtue - they're
usually beautifully situated in green and picturesque surroundings,
often in natural landscape parks. It's definitely worth seeing the
zoos located on the outskirts of Cracow and Gdańsk. Poznań has two
zoos: you must take a look around the New Zoo, where animals live
in almost natural habitats. The complex is situated near the recreation
centre by Lake Maltańskie, a famous water sports and skiing centre.
Among other things, it's here that you can find one of Europe's
most modern regatta courses and an all-year slope for skiers and
snowboarders.
THE CINEMA
After an excitement-filled day, you could go to the cinema. Here's
a piece of good news - films are usually subtitled, not dubbed.
There are any number of cinemas: from small, cosy buildings, often
set up in historic townhouses, to huge cinecentres with over ten
halls. In the small cinemas, there are stylish cafés, and old masterpieces
of the film-maker's art are often screened. In the vast cinecentres,
besides the current box office hits, you can also watch three-dimensional
films.
The large cinemas are next to or part of big entertainment centres.
You can play pool or go ten-pin bowling here, you can dance in a
disco or whisk down the slides at an aquapark, or go shopping in
elegant boutiques. Warsaw has the largest network of such centres,
but actually every large city offers this kind of recreation, which
is particularly popular with teenagers and families with young children.
NIGHTLIFE
Polish cities offer enthusiasts of nightlife a number of attractions.
There are lots of pubs and clubs, where the fun goes on all week
from dusk till dawn. Polish bars are generally called "pubs",
but they have little in common with the traditional English pub.
They are often styled on Irish or Scottish taverns and they serve
the best brands of beer, including British and Irish, but every
one of them has its own particular décor and atmosphere. They close
only when the last customer has left, and sometimes that means morning.
The discos are diverse - above all, people come here to dance to
disco, hip-hop and techno music, but you can also find hard rock
and even jazz "discos". Cracow has the best pubs -
there are over a hundred places in the vicinity of the Market
Square alone, sited in the cellars of historic buildings, each
of which has its inimitable character and atmosphere. Students,
business people and pensioners have fun here, and the pubs are
often full to bursting. It's a similar story in Cracow's Kazimierz,
the historic Jewish quarter. People often come from all over Poland
to visit Cracow for the weekend. Weekends near Wawel Hill are
fashionable among Warsaw people, for example, even though the
cities are 300 km apart (the express train takes just 2 and a
half hours).
This doesn't mean that Cracow has no competition for the number
of pubs; other student cities - Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, Poznań,
and Wroc³aw - are hot on its heels. Entertainment-seekers should
also visit £ód¼, on the famous ulica Piotrkowska , the longest
shopping street in Europe (4 km), there are a record number of
pubs, night clubs and restaurants. This place is jokingly called
the "Bermuda Triangle" because you can disappear here,
not forever, it's true, but certainly for a good few hours.
|
