Sitting Pretty In Poland

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To anyone who has not yet visited Poland, the country can conjure up grainy images of World War II, Nazi occupation and drab, communist-era decay. Though it's 15 years since the Soviet tanks left, the country has yet to shake that reputation. That's a shame: Poland may be the most underappreciated destination in Europe. From the meticulously reconstructed old square in Warsaw to medieval Cracow and the white sand beaches of the Baltic, the country boasts some of Central Europe's most unexpected pleasures. Poland is preparing to join the European Union in May, and Poles hope the higher profile that comes with E.U. membership will help put their country's undeserved reputation for dowdiness behind them. "The image of Poland will only improve," predicts Adrian Ellis, manager of Warsaw's plushest hotel, Le Royal Meridien Bristol ($400 a night). Business travelers are streaming into the capital, he says. "Warsaw's time will come."

John Quero, manager of Warsaw's Hotel Rialto, agrees. Quero sees Poland as an emerging "niche" weekend destination, "exciting and different from London, Paris, Rome." The Rialto (starting at $263 a night) is tailored to that kind of visitor. Poland's first boutique hotel, it opened last year as an alternative to the other five-star hotels and has since won acclaim for its spare, Art Deco decor and excellent cuisine. Low-cost airlines such as Air Polonia can take travelers into Warsaw from London for as little as $30 for a round trip.

Once they arrive, the first stop is often Warsaw's old market square, or Rynek Starego Miasta, which was gutted by the Nazis during the Warsaw uprising and rebuilt from scratch in the 1950s. A pastel-tinted masterpiece of reconstruction, the townscape fools most visitors and provides a gorgeous backdrop for the square's many outdoor cafes, art galleries and shops. The square is home to Fukier, the city's finest restaurant, whose sumptuous decor and attentive staff have been enjoyed by Presidents George Bush and Jacques Chirac — not, mind you, at the same time. Traditional Polish sour soup and a sausage cost $8; Polish-style duck and sour green apple, $32. Not far away, on Ulica (Polish for street) Belwederska, the Restauracja Polska-Tradycja, or Restaurant Polish-Tradition, serves saddle of deer and homemade dumplings ($20) and fresh smoked fish from the lake region ($7). For those who prefer dancing and a light (not necessarily Polish) meal, Labo, on the fashionable Ulica Mazowiecka, is among Warsaw's most popular clubs. This spring, starting on March 31, the Polish capital will be host of the International Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. In October the annual international jazz festival will be held in the Palace of Culture and Science, a dour monstrosity donated by Stalin that is the city's kitschiest testament to communist-era architecture.

Some 200 miles southwest of Warsaw, Cracow, with its setting on the Vistula and its fairy-tale 14th century Wawel Royal Castle, burial ground of poets and kings, has a deserved reputation as the second Prague. The Hotel Copernicus is the best in town (starting at $175 a night). Elsewhere, for those willing to brave the battered Polish roads, the little stone hamlet of Kazimierz Dolny, between Warsaw and Lublin, will hold a week-long film festival, beginning on July 31, that features new movies by up-and-coming Central European filmmakers. Northwest of Warsaw, the town of Plock will stage an electronic-music festival in August — essentially a nonstop 48-hour jam. For the more outdoors inclined, the Bialowieza Forest on the Belarussian border, a World Heritage site, is home to wolves, lynx and bison, and 400-year-old oaks (not to mention several comfortable lodges, from about $20 a night). The words Polish beaches don't turn up much in travel literature, but head north to the Baltic coast and there they are. The white sand expanses at Debki are known for their width and good swimming and have always attracted holiday makers from Central Europe. Nightly beach parties are a fixture in Debki, which is located not far from Gdansk, where the trade-union movement Solidarity started. Like much else in Poland these days, the beaches defy the stereotype of rusted shipyards and cold, gray days. It is the 21st century, and Poland, at last, has moved on.