Health: Medical facilities and standards of health care are good, but not many nurses or doctors speak English. It is advisable to have an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in case of a medical emergency. Free emergency treatment is available to visitors from the European Union and several countries with which Poland has signed international agreements (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia and Serbia). EU nationals are required to produce a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you are not a national of any of the countries above, you will need to make your own arrangements and you are strongly advised to obtain a suitable medical insurance cover before you leave home.

Pharmacies: To obtain medicines which have been prescribed by a doctor, you must visit a pharmacy (apteka).  A wide variety of painkillers, vitamins and cold treatments can be bought without prescription in any Polish supermarket, drugstore or kiosk. As well as Polish-produced medicines, products from the best-known international pharmaceutical manufacturers are also readily available.

Telephones: Country Dialing Code 0048.

You can make a call from a public phone using special cards with 15, 30 or 60 units, sold at all post offices, kiosks and many food stores. Less common are coin-operated phones.  

Mobile Telephones: The mobile phone standard in Poland is GSM 900/1800. Most of Poland's mobile service suppliers offer roaming facilities. Netwok coverage in is generally good. Expect patchy performance only in rural areas far away from large cities.

Mobile Telephone Companies: Orange Polska, Plus GSM, Era, Play.

Internet: The easiest way for tourists to gain net access is through Internet cafés. Some of these are open 24 hours a day. If you have a laptop, things are even easier. You can gain free net access at hot spots in the centres of large towns and in some hotels.

Money and Banks: Poland’s legal tender is called Złoty (PLN). 1 złoty = 100 groszy. Coins in circulation: PLN 1, 2 and 5 and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy coins. Notes in circulation: PLN 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 notes.

You can exchange money everywhere in Poland, in big cities and small towns. You can use an ATM machine or visit a bank, currency exchange counter in town or at a hotel reception desk. All major foreign currencies may be exchanged for Polish money at a bank or exchange counter, (identified by the name Kantor).

In Poland, ATM’s, which operate 24 hours a day, offer far easier access to your money than banks.

In Poland, the use of credit cards is widely accepted, particularly in major towns and tourist attractions.  The most widely used cards are Europay International, MasterCard International, Visa International, and American Express

Traveller’s checks are accepted, and these should be purchased before arriving in Poland.  

Banking Hours: Banks in larger cities are usually open from 9 am to 4 pm on weekdays and until 1 pm on Saturdays. In smaller towns or villages they have more limited business hours, usually from 9 am to 1 pm. Kantors are usually open from 9 am to 7 pm weekdays and until 2 pm on Saturdays. 24-hour services are usually available in larger major tourist centres such as train stations, border crossings and airports.

Electricity: Electrical current is 220 volts, 50Hz. The standard two-pin European style plugs are used.

Shopping hours: Usually stores selling various goods (not food) operate from 11 am till 7 pm Monday-Friday or 10 am-6 pm, on Saturday 9 am-3 pm or 10 am-4 pm, closed on Sunday. Food stores (groceries) are usually opened longer: 6/7/8 am-6/7/8 pm.

Post Offices: Post offices and agencies are normally open from early morning until evening and on Saturdays until the early afternoon. The most common opening times are 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. Main post offices in cities usually stay open longer, sometimes for 24 hours a day.

Cuisine: Polish cuisine (Polish: kuchnia polska) is a mixture of Slavic, Jewish and foreign culinary traditions. A typical lunch is usually composed of at least three courses, starting with a soup, such as barszcz (beet) or żurek (sour rye meal mash), followed by the main course, that may be the national dish, bigos (cabbage with pieces of meat, mostly pork) or kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet). Meals often conclude with a dessert such as ice cream (lody), makowiec (poppy seed cake), or drożdżówka, a type of yeast cake. Other Polish specialities include chłodnik (a chilled beet or fruit soup for hot days), golonka (pork knuckles cooked with vegetables), kołduny (meat dumplings), zrazy (stuffed slices of beef), salceson and flaczki (tripe). POLISH CUISINE RECIPES.