Toruń
Poland
A Gothic brick town on the Vistula that the war missed, where Copernicus was born and the gingerbread is still pressed in carved moulds
Photo by Dominika Jakubiec on Unsplash
Photos by Stanisław Krawczyk, Dominika Jakubiec, Paweł and Aimable Mugabo on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Poland
May to September — the old town is on the river, and the winter there is long and grey
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
53.01°N, 18.60°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Book a session at the Living Museum of Gingerbread at the weekend, when the demonstrations fill
- See the Copernicus house early, before the day trips arrive
- Climb the Town Hall tower for the roofs and the river
- Walk the Vistula boulevard below the walls at sunset
- Buy gingerbread to take home from a shop, not a market stall
- Stay over rather than day-trip: the old town is at its best when the groups have gone
Toruń travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Poland
Very cheapZłoty, and cards are taken nearly everywhere, gingerbread shops included. If you need cash, a kantor in the old town beats the bank counter; read the rate in the window before going in.
ATMs & cards
PKO BP, Pekao and Santander machines inside the old town. The Euronet machines on the tourist streets offer a conversion that costs several per cent; decline it.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- Planet Cash
Use these instead
- PKO BP
- Pekao
- Santander
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 old town is a student town at night and busy rather than rowdy. The main station is across the river, and the walk over the bridge late at night is long and empty; take the bus.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Rynek Staromiejski
- Bulwar Filadelfijski — by day and on summer evenings
- Szeroka street
Worth more attention
- Most Józefa Piłsudskiego — the bridge from the main station on foot late at night — long, exposed and empty; take the bus
- Bulwar Filadelfijski — the riverside late on summer nights, where the drinking is
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
GoodGingerbread is the thing — the Kopernik factory shop sells it fresh, and the katarzynki are the traditional shape. Otherwise Polish and inexpensive: pierogi, żurek, and a milk bar for lunch.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- 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 Toruń
No Holistay rentals in Toruń 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 Toruń 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 Bydgoszcz BZG
1h 40mfrom the airport· 43 km as the crow flies
Into Bydgoszcz Główna by bus or taxi, then the train to Toruń, about an hour and forty minutes in all.
Also worth pricing: Gdańsk GDN — more routes; about three hours, by the train from Gdańsk Główny.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
