The elegant Baltic seaside resort of Sopot in Poland is a magnet for the country’s elite, especially during summer months. Part of the Tri-City municipality, it’s the smallest of three cities, incorporating Gdansk and Gdynia and attracting over 2 million tourists each year. This charming spa town, renowned for its curative waters, is surrounded by lush ancient forests, streams and scenic hiking trails. There are luxurious seafront hotels such as 1920s style Sofitel Grand Sopot boasting all the understated glamour of its heyday with sculpted gardens and sophisticated surrounds. The hotel features a refined restaurant serving inventive French-Polish cuisine, Grand Spa and Wellness Centre and a selection of superior suites and apartments offering a great base for your adventure. Sopot’s main shopping street – Monte Cassino is a pleasure to stroll along. A place where shops, cafes and nightclubs converge with innovative architecture of the Crooked House. Along the golden sandy beach stands the longest wooden pier in Europe - the perfect spot for an afternoon stroll, ice cream cone in hand. Behind the promenade, bustling plazas lined with fine eateries await, enticing you with Polish Pierogi and delicious Paczki (Polish doughnuts). Before you leave climb the steps of Sopot’s lighthouse, and be rewarded with photo-worthy panoramic vistas of the town and coastline.

Gingerbread - a heady mix of golden syrup, cinnamon and of course, ginger. If you love the taste of these fragrant biscuits and are travelling through Pomerania, it would be a travesty if you didn’t call into the Living Museum of Gingerbread. This interactive museum is ensconced in six traditional red-brick townhouses in the Polish town of Toruń and guarantees to transport you back to your childhood. All tours take place under the watchful eyes and instructions of a self-professed Gingerbread Master and a Gingerbread Witch. The first floor explores the medieval era, where you learn about ancient rituals connected with baking gingerbread. You can then create your own version of the biscuit, before baking inside traditional wooden moulds in vintage ovens on the second floor. Afterwards, you’ll connect with your inner artist and ice your masterpiece in a decorating workshop led by an accomplished Gingerbread Painter. It’s an interesting, fun pastime, accessible for all ages and skill levels and is probably something you’ll never experience again in your life, so why not? 

Close to the Polish/German border, just outside the town of Gryfino, the Crooked Forest is shrouded in mystery. A woodland of pine trees with curved, crooked trunks each with a uniform 90-degree bend. These 400 pines were planted in the 1930s and to this day, nobody knows why they grew in this way. Explanations throughout the decades have included forest damage from German tanks during the Second World War, perhaps they were deliberately bent to provide wood for shipbuilding purposes, or the anomaly was caused by unusual weather patterns. Whichever reason caused the trees to grow in such a way, this is a unique forest which isn’t replicated elsewhere in the world, and that’s a good enough reason to make a stop here.

Across the border in Germany, in Mecklenburg-Western, Pomerania, Jasmund National Park beckons nature lovers with jagged, white chalk cliffs, emerald forests and azure waters. This, the country’s smallest national park was highlighted during the early 19th century by German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich who came here to paint ebbing sea tides and misty landscapes. Follow in his footsteps, viewing awe-inspiring scenery through his eyes as you walk along the Königsstuhl chalk cliffs or hire a bicycle and ride through dense, enchanted woodlands. Tours are available where visitors can learn about local folklore and legends or you can simply bring a picnic, reconnect with nature and enjoy postcard vistas from the clifftop.

Just over 2 hours’ drive from Jasmund National Park is the pretty German town of Schwerin, home to quaint timbered houses and a fairytale castle of the same name. Once residence to the Grandduke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, today, it is the main seat of parliament in the region. Landscaped gardens are masterfully designed by architects Klett and Lenné and in summer months you can enjoy light bites and beverages in the orangery café at the base of the main tower. The best way to see Schwerin Castle is via guided tour, living rooms are decorated with heirlooms and artwork depicting residents of the past and the castle throne apartments are built in a ceremonial order which cannot be found elsewhere in Europe. Dazzling, yet understated chandeliers dangle from gilded ceilings, plus there’s a beautiful collection of porcelain to cast your eyes over. Don’t leave without visiting the island’s Castle Chapel. Its golden star-spangled roof, complete with deep indigo sky and gothic windows are a sight to behold.