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Postcodes, commonly found on business advertisements, follow a standard XX-XXX pattern with the first two digits providing information about the region.


The pattern for the first digit starts from Warsaw at 0 and then goes north and clockwise around the country before coming back down south to end in Łódź at 9.


X0 is always a major city (e.g. 60 is Poznań) while X5 is usually a smaller, but still significant, city in the region (e.g. 65 is Zielona Góra). The X1-X4 postcodes go clockwise around the X0 city starting from the north, while the X6-X9 postcodes do the same around the X5 city. The only exception to this is for Warsaw, Łódź and Wrocław, where X0-X4 are within the city boundaries.

There are several types of roads in Poland:

• Standard roads are not labelled on the map. This is the only road type that almost never uses bollards.
• Voivodeship roads have a three digit number shown in a yellow box on the map.
• National roads have a two digit number shown in a red box on the map.
• Expressways and Highways either have a letter and single digit shown in a red box or a green European route E-road icon on the map.

Roads are more likely to be divided as you go down the list, with expressways and highways almost always being divided. The road number and coloured box can sometimes be seen on bollards on that road.

The coats of arms of voivodeships can sometimes be seen on information boards as well as in other places. You can view all of them here.

A landscape of small, bumpy hills and open farmland is a common sight all across northern Poland and is often particularly prominent towards the northeast. Unlike in some other areas of the country, the farmland won’t be divided into smaller plots.This region is also visibly less populated than many hilly areas in southern Poland. In some areas, you may also find small copses and ponds in low-lying parts of the landscape. These ponds and especially bumpy terrain are most common towards the east of this area.

The Tricity area of Pomeranian Voivodeship can often be recognised by the low, dark green ridges rising abruptly above a relatively flat, mostly urban landscape.

The Vistula River Delta is the flattest part of Poland, characterised by an unforested, agricultural landscape with canals running across the fields. Various wetland plants, such as reeds and willows are also common in the area.

Note: Some river valleys in other parts of the country may look strikingly similar.

While not unique, a relatively flat and open agricultural landscape with minimal tree cover is particularly common in these parts of central Poland. You will also often see straight and narrow roads without roadlines in this area. In contrast, other flat regions of Poland tend to be visibly more forested.

Ślęża is an isolated peak with a radio tower on top located southwest of Wrocław. It is surrounded by an open, slightly hilly and very agricultural landscape and is often easily visible from a distance.

Near the city of Nysa in Opole Voivodeship, a large SE-NW ridge can be seen to the south in a landscape that is otherwise either fairly flat or only slightly hilly.

Note: Similar ridges can be found elsewhere in the south, however the surrounding landscape will usually be significantly hillier.

Just to the south, you can see the Kłodzko Valley. It is a large SE-NW valley; surrounded by densely forested mountains, it’s an area that is significantly less forested and more agricultural.

The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are a low forested E-W mountain range located directly east of Kielce. They are characterised by an elongated shape and gentle peaks. Additionally, a TV tower can be seen on top of one of these peaks in the easternmost section of the range.

Babia Góra is the tallest mountain in Poland outside the Tatra Mountains. Located on the border with Slovakia, in southwest Lesser Poland Voivodeship, it can be recognised by its broad dome-like shape and often snow-covered peak. It is particularly easily visible from the open valley to its southeast.

This small area surrounding the Ojców National Park in Lesser Poland Voivodeship can be recognised by its hilly landscape with exposed limestone cliffs.

The agricultural plains around the cities of Wrocław and Inowrocław have unusually dark soil often with a dark grey hue.

Stork nests, most commonly seen on top of electricity poles, can be seen anywhere but are most common in the northeast and become gradually less common the more southwest you go.

Tall yellow flowers called goldenrod (Solidago sp.) are found most commonly in the south of the country.

Firs (Abies alba) can be difficult to tell apart from other conifers, but their most notable characteristic is their flat branches that create a fractal pattern when viewed from underneath. This branching structure differs from that of spruces, which have secondary branches drooping down from the primary branch. Firs are found in the south of the country and particularly the southeast.

Beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) are recognisable by their smooth bark and are found predominantly in the south and west of the country. This is particularly the case for large forests of beeches.

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) can be recognised by its unique feather-like (pinnate) leaves. It is found throughout much of the country but notably absent in the northeast.

Orchards are by far most common around Grójec and Sandomierz. Those two areas can often be distinguished by their landscape: Grójec is usually more flat, while Sandomierz tends to be more hilly.

Rows of berry bushes are most commonly seen in Lublin Voivodeship and, to a lesser degree, across central Poland.

Sugar beet can be recognised by its radiating long and wavy leaves growing directly out of the ground. It can be found in the areas shown on the map.

Note: Be careful not to confuse it with plants such as potatoes which have significantly smaller leaves or with young corn which has visible stems.

Tobacco is grown mainly in southern Lublin Voivodeship, particularly in Biłgoraj Powiat and surrounding areas.

Over half of all hops in Poland are grown near the town of Wilków with much of the remainder grown in surrounding areas.

Houses with wide horizontal ‘attic’ windows are commonly found in eastern Poland.

Houses with three small windows, one in each corner of the gable, are most commonly found in southwest Poland and to a lesser extent in the rest of western and northern Poland. These windows, while usually rectangular, can also be other shapes, such as circles, semicircles or triangles.

Flat bollards are common in the areas shown on the map and rare elsewhere, although regular bollards can be found everywhere. Note that this distribution only applies to voivodeship and smaller roads and not to highways.

Numbers written on Polish bollards are usually written in two rows with a large number in the top row and a small number in the bottom row.

However on voivodeship roads in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the bollards have two rows of small numbers with one row containing a decimal (written using a comma for the decimal point). These numbers will usually be written on a small plaque.

Overhead traffic lights with a rounded frame (as opposed to a more rectangular frame which is used throughout the country) are a good clue for Pomeranian, Łódź and, to a lesser extent, Lubusz voivodeships.

Yellow markers with three letter codes can be seen on some elements of energy infrastructure, such as utility poles and transformer stations, in southern and southwest Poland.

Wind turbines can be found throughout Poland, but are generally most common around the centre of the country and along the coastline.

These parts of the far east of and southeast of the country have a significant Eastern Orthodox minority. Useful clues to recognise these areas include churches with onion-shaped domes and the Byzantine cross symbol.