I really, really like Poland. I’ve already fallen in love with Wroclaw and Gdansk and when we realised we could do a weekend in Poznan using a lieu day I had from work, I booked those flights so fast. We landed around 6pm on the Friday evening and took off at 4pm on Sunday so we really were spending 48 hours in Poznan, but we fit a lot in and here’s everything you can do if you just have two days in Poznan.
Eat at one of the restaurants on the main square, Stary Rynek
Every Polish city seems to have a beautiful main square and Stary Rynek Poznan is very beautiful. Surrounded by colourful houses including the merchants houses, there’s a few places to eat sitting outside looking over the main square. You’ll be able to watch people walking around and listen to street performers, although do be aware that prices for food will be higher here than in other parts of the city. Worth it, though, especially if you’re only spending 48 hours in Poznan-you’ll want to soak up the atmosphere as much as you can.
Drink along the busy Wroclawska
If you’re arriving in Poznan in the evening like we did, you’ll want to end your first evening in the city with drinks. We had our eye on the very pink themed bar Candy and once we’d got there we realised Wroclawska is definitely the night out part of Poznan. There’s a variety of different bars on the street including a Latin Dance bar, so you’ll be spoilt for choice here.
Start your Saturday morning with a walk in Citadel Park
Citadel Park, Poznan’s largest, is only a 15 minute walk from the middle of Poznan, but we wanted to get there for 9am for J to do Parkrun so we took a bus. As he ran I sat on a bench with my kindle enjoying the peace, and then afterwards we walked through to look at the Citadel itself, and down the steps past the military graveyard. Citadel Park has an Army Museum if that’s your thing, and you shouldn’t miss Nierozpoznani, ‘Unrecognised’ which is a sculpture of 112 2 metre high headless figures. Weird, yes, but very striking.
Have breakfast at Weranda Caffe
If you’re after somewhere where the locals go, with brilliant food and pretty decor, don’t miss Weranda Caffe. They do a varied menu but breakfast is on all day, which made me happy, and I went for the pancakes with pistachio sauce, strawberry compote and white chocolate ice cream. They were as delicious as they sounded. J chose Risotto and really enjoyed his too. Staff were really friendly, prices reasonable and dogs were allowed inside, a real plus for locals.
See the Poznan Goats at 12pm
Make sure you’re at the Town Hall at 12pm (or 3pm, if you miss the 12pm) to see Poznan’s goats pop out and butt heads as the clock strikes 12. It’s ridiculous, pointless, and I’m so glad we saw it! We were also lucky enough to see two real goats hanging about outside. I’m not sure why they were around but children were loving stroking them, and who doesn’t like two surprise goats? If you like the goats, walk to have a look at the street art under Hotel DeSilva and don’t miss the goat sculpture near the main square.
Visit the Croissant Museum to see the famous St Michael’s croissant be made
We were in two minds about this one as we’d read mixed reviews, but ultimately we decided that this was a quick (you’re in there for just over an hour) and unique thing to do in Poznan that you won’t see elsewhere. It’s called a museum but it’s not, it’s more like a quick cooking demonstration, and the staff talk through a little of the city’s history before telling you how the St Michael’s croissant is made. Audience participation is encouraged but not forced, and you get half a croissant each afterwards to try. In my opinion it’s worth an hour of your time if it’s your first time in the city.
Have hot chocolate at Poland’s famous chocolate shop E. Wendel
We ended up going here twice despite only spending 48 hours in Poznan because the hot chocolate was amazing, and we wanted a dessert the second time. Whilst the menu is extensive their hot chocolate is the star of the show and we went for the 28 zloty tasting platter, with an extra dark and bitter, a bitter, a milk and a white chocolate to try. I’m not a dark chocolate person and even I enjoyed the extra dark and bitter, but the white chocolate was the absolute best. I’d like to bathe in it, please!
Go and see the abandoned football stadium, Edmund Szyc
If you like urban exploration, football or just something a bit unusual, a twenty minute walk from the main part of the city is Edmund Szyc, an abandoned football stadium. Wear sensible shoes and watch your step, but if you’re careful you can walk around the outside until you find a large, pulled back bit of fence at the bottom of some steps you can climb over a low wall and walk through. Climbing the steps leads you to what would have been the top of the stands, and you can see the wooden seat supports still standing. You can even go down the steps and onto the pitch where the goal posts still stand. You’re likely to see a couple of other people there but it won’t be busy, and it’s not illegal to visit.
Treat yourself to Polish steakhouse Whiskey In The Jar for tea
We actually didn’t do steak when we were in Poznan, as we’d done a lot of snacking and weren’t that hungry. I fell in love with Whiskey In The Jar in Wroclaw, though, and the chain is one of my top Polish recommendations in any city.
End your day shopping at Stary Browar
Yes, I know you can shop anywhere, but some of us love shopping in different countries. Stary Browar is pretty special too, as it’s an old brewery converted into part shopping centre, part art gallery. There’s a small number of bars and foodie places there, a supermarket (I looove a foreign supermarket!) and plenty of retailers for you to splash some zloty at.
Take a Sunday stroll through Srodka
Start your Sunday morning by waking up early and setting off for a walk. We first walked to Ostrow Tumski and had a look at the Cathedral on Cathedral Island and walked over Jordan Bridge, mostly because it was on our way, before spending half an hour scrolling around Srodka. The main attraction was the 3D mural ‘A Srodka Tale‘ which has to be the cleverest piece of street art I’ve seen. We then had a coffee and a pastry at a cafe nearby, sitting at a little table outside in the sunshine talking about how we’d love to do this at home. Absolute bliss.
Wander around Lake Malta
Honestly, Lake Malta wasn’t on my list. I’d seen it and discounted it because I’d rather be in the city than in nature, but it turns out we needed to walk along part of the lake on the way to our final destination. We were there at the right time to watch a lot of very fit people doing Runmageddon, a 12km run with 50 different obstacles including tyres to run through, a cargo net to crawl under, monkey bars and even carrying a heavy sack of sand up and down a hill. Good for them, but not my idea of Sunday morning fun! Lake Malta has a brilliant playground for anyone with children, a bungee jump, and across the other side you can see a year round ski slope, so it’s definitely a good place to spend some time if you’re active.
End your trip at Poznan Zoo
Fun fact-Poznan has two zoos! One is free, the Old Zoo, and the other, Poznan New Zoo, is not. Obviously the bigger zoo has the better animals and for the £10 we paid for our ticket it was well worth the three hours we spent walking round seeing tigers, elephants, giraffes, wolves, bears and many other animals. There’s a free ‘train’ you can get around the park too, and when you’re finished you can get a tourist bus back to the city if you don’t fancy a long walk back. If you have time for both zoos, the free one looks pretty decent too but with us only spending 48 hours in Poznan, we just didn’t.
Other things to add to your Poznan trip if you’ve got spare time are a visit to pick and mix shop Sweet Factory, heaven for anyone with a sweet tooth, food at Pyrabar who do all things potato, and delicious Polish ice cream at one of the city’s many ice cream shops.
If you’ve never been to Poznan, I hope this post inspires you to book a flight. Honestly, this little city is really worth the trip and I can’t understand why it’s not more popular with tourists.
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