Poznań
Poland
A trade-fair city halfway between Berlin and Warsaw, with a painted market square, the island where Poland began, and two goats at noon
Photo by Egor Komarov on Unsplash
Photos by Sergei Gussev, Alexandra, Egor Komarov and Egor Komarov on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Poland
May to September, plus the St Martin's weekend in the late autumn for the croissants
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 80mm in Jul
Where it is
52.41°N, 16.93°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Be on the Stary Rynek a few minutes before noon, and stand back far enough to see the clock
- Watch the croissant made at the Croissant Museum on the square, and eat one after
- Start Ostrów Tumski at the Porta Posnania centre across the river, which explains what you are about to see
- Walk round the Imperial Castle and then the 1956 uprising monument beside it
- Spend an evening in Jeżyce, where the city eats and drinks away from the square
- Hire a bike or walk the shore of Lake Malta on a summer afternoon
Poznań travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Poland
Very cheapZłoty. Cards and phone payments are taken almost everywhere, trams included. For cash, a kantor off the Stary Rynek gives a better rate than one on it.
ATMs & cards
PKO BP, Pekao, mBank, Santander and ING machines. Euronet machines sit all round the square and the station; skip them, and decline any conversion offer.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- Planet Cash
- machines on the Stary Rynek
Use these instead
- PKO BP
- Pekao
- mBank
- Santander
- ING
Decline the conversion, always.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Poland
Very safeVery calm. The square fills with stag groups some weekends, which is loud rather than threatening. Use an app rather than the taxi rank outside the station.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Stary Rynek
- Ostrów Tumski
- Jeżyce — in the evening, when its bars are busy
- Lake Malta — by day
Worth more attention
- Stary Rynek — on stag-party weekends, loud until the small hours
- Poznań Główny — the station and the bus station under it late at night, as at any large station
- Street taxis at the station — use an app
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Poland visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Poland
Good and affordableRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for forest areas in the east and north-east
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment. Private clinics are inexpensive and much faster than the public queue for anything non-urgent.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodRogal świętomarciński, the St Martin’s croissant filled with white poppy seed, is protected by name and eaten by the tonne on the eleventh of November; the bakeries sell it all year. Pyry z gzikiem — potatoes with quark, onion and chives — is the local dish.
Travel tipsNightlife
A large student population and a square full of bars, plus a neighbourhood where the city actually drinks.
- Stary Rynek — the square and its cellars, busy and touristy
- Jeżyce — cafés, bars and restaurants, younger and more local
Closing: Late at the weekend on the square; Jeżyce is earlier and quieter.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- FREE NOWWorks here
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a street taxi, and far cheaper than one waiting outside a station.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Warsaw — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Poland, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Polish
- HelloDzień dobryjen DOH-bri
- PleaseProszęPRO-sheh
- Thank youDziękujęjen-KOO-yeh
- Yes / NoTak / Nietak / nyeh
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePrzepraszampsheh-PRA-sham
- How much is it?Ile to kosztuje?EE-leh to kosh-TOO-yeh
- The bill, pleaseRachunek, proszęra-HOO-nek
- Cheers!Na zdrowie!na ZDRO-vyeh
Religion
Catholic
One of the most observant countries in Europe, and it shows: churches are full, roadside shrines are everywhere, and religious holidays close everything. Dress modestly in churches.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say dzień dobry on entering shops
- Accept hospitality — refusing food or vodka repeatedly can offend
- Give flowers in odd numbers, and never chrysanthemums, which are for graves
- Dress respectfully at churches and memorial sites
Don't
- Do not say "Polish concentration camps" — they were German camps in occupied Poland, and the phrasing causes real offence
- Do not treat Auschwitz-Birkenau as a sightseeing stop; dress and behave as at a cemetery
- Do not mix vodka or drink it slowly in company; it is taken neat and together
- Do not be loud in churches, which remain in active use
Where to stay in Poznań
No Holistay rentals in Poznań yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Poznań on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Poznań–Ławica POZ
25 minfrom the airport· 7 km as the crow flies
Bus 159 to Poznań Główny, about 25 min.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
