Welcome to Poland, a country that provides en unforgettable experience to the tourist with even the most diverse interests.

Nature-lovers will surely enjoy the golden sands of the Baltic coastal beaches in the north end the rocky crags of the Tatras in the south. There is a wonderful network of the Great Masurian takes for water sports fans end the green wilds of the Bieszczady Mountains for these who enjoy hiking trips. Meet the free roaming European bison Europe's largest animal - in the Bialowieska Forest, photo-safari in the unique Biebrzanskie Marshes, take a raft run down Dunajec River gorge, or watch the shifting sand dunes of the Slowinski National Park.

Those with a taste for history and its mementoes are invited to the many painstakingly restored old town centers, the Royal Castles of Warsaw end of Krakow, Poland's former capital, end to the old palaces erected by Polish magnates. Many museums are open and they bring to mind the memory of bygone centuries, including such notable ones as the Nicolaus Copernicus Biographical Museum in Frombork or the medieval, underground salt-mine in Wieliczka.

Connoisseurs of the Arts are sure to be interested in the multitude of artistic events in the homeland of Chopin end Penderecki: the Chopin Piano Competition and the Wieniawski Violin Competition, both well-known throughout the world, the Warsaw Autumn Festival of Contemporary Music, the International Jazz Jamboree, many cultural events for youth and folklore festivals.

To the observer of social end political change in the multitude world, Poland comes upon the stage as the cradle of the Solidarity movement, which shook the entire communist system and changed the shape of Central Europe in recent years. It is the homeland of Pope John Paul II and a country of people open and hospitable to visitors.

The unification of Germany, the re-emergence of the Baltic states, and the independence regained by Belarus and Ukraine place Poland right along the route of many western tourists heading for Eastern Europe.