Capital city: Warsaw

Location: Poland is situated between the Oder and the Bug River – situated in the central part of the European Lowland and occupying its all width from the Baltic Sea to the ranges of the Sudety and the Tatra Mountains. Its territory of 312683 km is the 9th biggest country in Europe. It borders with Germany to the west, Czech Republic and Slovakia to the South and Ukraine, Belorussia and Russia to the East.

Population: 38,100,000 (2004). Over 1,8 mln live in Warsaw-the capital of Poland

Language: Polish

Religion: more than 90% profess to be Roman Catholic

Local time: Central European Time Zone (GMT+1)

Climate: Poland is situated in a moderate climatic zone. In summer (July)-the av. Temperature amounts to 19 degrees C. The coolest months are January and February with temperatures falling a couple degrees below zero.

Public Holidays: January 1st-New Year, Easter Monday-movable, 1st May-Workers Day, 3rd May-Constitution Day, Corpus Christi-movable, 15th August-Assumption, 1 November-All Saints Day, 11 November-Independence Day, 25,26 December-Christmas

Currency: zloty (PLN), 1 zloty equals 100 groszy.

Credit cards: major credit cards are accepted. There is a well developed network of cash machines and the instructions are provides as well in English

Opening hours: Banking hours Monday-Friday between 8 am and 5 pm, on Saturdays only some banks work  and those are open between 9 am and 1 pm. Shops are open Monday-Friday 10 am till 7 pm. A lot of supermarkets are open around the clock

Telephone: Phone cards available at post offices, fuel station and newsagents. Mobile phones operate in GSM and DCS networks. The area code for Poland is 0048

Photo service: 1 hour photo service widely available

Electricity: 220V/50 Hz current, European-style two-pin plugs in use

Taxi: taxis charge according to the meter. Radio-taxi can be ordered by phone from any place

Visa: Members of EU and citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US can enter Poland with out a visa and stay for period of 3 months. Other nationalities may need to obtain visa to enter Poland in Polish consulates. Visas are not available at airports, or land or sea borders.

Tax free: Tax free purchase is available in the airport upon departure

Airport: International flight connections are with Okecie Airport in Warsaw, Balice Airport in Cracow, Rebiechowo Airport in Gdansk, Lawica Airport in Poznan, and Pyrzowice Airport in Katowice