August - September

The high season continues through to August, but the shoulder season will arrive by the middle of September. Polish grade school and university students will have returned to school by that time, and crowds will thin out as you move from August to September. Prices will drop in some locations the further you get into September. The temperatures will cool during this time, but they will still be mild. The rainy season will come to a close by August, and in September many outside activities can be enjoyed across the country. In some locales, September may be the last chance to hike and participate in similar outdoor activities, so do what you can now. Across the country, temperatures will cool from upper 60s and low 70s in August to low to mid-60s in September. Lows will also cool from the 50s to the 40s across the country. By late September, first frost will occur in the Tatra Mountains, with first frost expanding to the rest of the country by October.

Holidays and Festivals:

July–August - Jazz na Starowce, Warsaw. Free Saturday concerts on Old Town Square.

Late July to early August - Gdansk Shakespeare Festival, held at the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre. One of the world`s largest odes to The Bard, the festival includes many performances in English.

Late July to mid-August - St. Dominic`s Fair, Gdansk. First held over 750 years ago, this street fair is one of the oldest and largest in Poland. Over 1,000 artisans and vendors set up market stalls and sell their wares over three weeks. There are also music performances and lots of revelry.

August 1 - National Warsaw Uprising Remembrance Day (Narodowy Dzien Pamieci Powstania Warszawskiego), established in 2009. August 1, 1944 was the first of 63 days in which the Polish resistance attempted to liberate Warsaw from the Nazis. National working holiday in Poland -- most businesses should be open on this day.

Early August - International Chopin Festival, Duszniki-Zdroj, southwestern Poland. The world`s most prestigious festival dedicated to Poland`s musical prodigy, Frederic Chopin, it is held in the composer`s house.

Mid-August - Live Music Festival, Krakow. Past headliners at this two-day hip-hop and rock festival include Wiz Khalifa, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding.

August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Wniebowziecie Najswietszej Maryi Panny). This is also Polish Armed Forces Day (Swieto Wojska Polskiego), celebrating the battle of Warsaw in 1920. Parades and feasts are held across the country on this day. National holiday in Poland.

August 26 - Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Swieto Matki Boskiej Czestochowskiej). Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrive at Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa, one of the holiest sites for Catholics in Poland.

August 31 - Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Dzien Solidarnosci i Wolnosci), corresponding to the day of the Gdansk Agreement from 1980. National working holiday in Poland -- most businesses should be open on this day.

Late September - Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music

Last week in September - Rawa Blues Festival, Katowice, said to be the largest indoor blues festival in the world. Held every year since 1981.