Visit Poznan: Poland’s Underrated Gem
Why Poznan?
To avoid overcrowded cities full of tourists where you don’t end up enjoying your visit, Poznan is a good alternative.
In addition to that, this cute and colourful city in west Poland is a great destination for foodies (like me) where you can get a real taste of traditional polish food: you need to read the guide until the end to find out what delicacies I have tired!
Last but not least, if you are a fan of slow travel Poznan is your city: it really makes a great destination to experience the European lifestyle, the history and the culture without seeing too many tourists around.
Must Visit in Poznan
The first place you want to head to is definitely the Old Town and Market Square (Stary Rynek): this is probably one of the most unique squares in the whole Europe: with its perfectly designed and colorful buildings it’s a great place to immerse in the colours, taking lots of pictures in every possible angles and admire the architecture of the square.
Disclaimer: Currently the Old Market Square is under re-construction until Fall 2023 which makes it a little hard to enjoy the beauty of the square but still worth a visit!
Not far from the Old Market Square you find one of the most amazing Basilicas I have ever seen: the “Pink Church” or Parish Church of St. Stanislau a Roman Catholic Basilica in the heart of the Old Town.
Another must visit when in Poznan are: The Royal and the Imperial Castle. The Royal Castle offers an amazing view over the Old Town from its beautiful garden.
The castle was destroyed in the World War II but has been rebuilt ever since. Now it is hosting the Museum of the Applied Arts, the entrance is about 20zl (4.24 euros!) and it’s FREE on Tuesdays.
Eating your way through Poznan
Poznan is definitely a great city to taste Polish delicacies. I started the food tour by tasting handmade Pierogi from Pierozak Pierogarnia.
I loved everything about this place! They use basic and organic ingredients like bio buckwheat flour (you can also opt to have the gluten free version), the price was absolutely cheap: a plate with 8 dumplings is only 4 euros!! The best thing is that they also use recycled paper plates and recycled wooden cutlery! so this place is 100% approved.
Another very nice place to eat is the restaurant Pierogarnia Stary Mlyn: little bit more “formal” than Pierozak Pierogarnia the food though is equally amazing: you can obviously taste Pierogi but in this restaurant besides the classic ones they have the “baked version” which is super delicious! They also have other traditional plates like the Zurek, rye bread with cottage dill cheese and the Polish pancakes.
Last but not least when in Poznan you should absolutely try the St. Martin croissant, which is a traditional speciality that is produced specifically in Poznan. It entered the European register of protected designation. For Poznan, the St Martin is so important and part of its culture that they even have a dedicated museum: the museum of St. Martin, so if you are interested to know more about the secrets of baking this croissant you should go and check it out!
I recommend anyone who is interested in visiting Poland to give this city a chance. It is an ideal place for slow travelling, and it is also a very good place to travel to with low carbon emissions: you don’t need a car to go around the city and the majority of the historical places are easily reachable by walk and if you are really really tired you can use the efficient tram system that goes almost anywhere in the city. Poznan is the right place for you if you love to get lost in the streets, drinking coffee in the small little cafes while watching the world go by.
The home for unique & authentic travel
