Poznań

Poznań (German: Posen) is the largest city in Greater Poland, in the west of Poland, and one of the largest metropoles in the whole country. Situated roughly equidistantly between Warsaw and Berlin, it serves as a major economic hub, and a centre for industry and commerce. The Poznań International Trade Fair grounds host the most important trade fairs and exhibitions in Poland, making Poznań an important business destination, but the city has plenty of history and attractions to share besides that. Its relative compactness and easy access by road, rail and air make it a convenient tourist destination for visitors to Central Europe.

Understand
Poznań is a town steeped in history, as it was the first capital (with Gniezno) of Poland and seen by many as the birthplace of the Polish nation. Today it is a diverse and vibrant town, with many university students living here and much to divert the traveler. It has a stunningly rejuvenated central square, thriving night-life, fascinating museums and many attractions in the surrounding area. For train buffs, Poznań is the home of Europe's last surviving steam-hauled passenger service. With a strategic position on the Berlin – Moscow train line, Poznań will be for many their first experience of Poland.

Climate
Damp weather is usual in winter, though night-time temperatures are typically below zero, so expect some ice during cold waves. In summer, temperatures may often reach 30°C (86°F), but on average they stay around 22°C (72°F). City is quite dry with annual rainfall around 500 mm (20 in), among the lowest in Poland. The rainiest month is July, mainly due to short but intense cloudbursts and thunderstorms. Notably, Poznań microclimate seems to spare city from extreme weather events like hail, blizzard, heavy rainfall or intense winds (which tend to wreak havoc in nearby Gniezno and Kórnik), making it relatively safe weather-wise.

Tourist information

 * Poznań City Council website
 * Poznań City Council website
 * Poznań City Council website

By plane
Domestic flights to Warsaw are offered by Polish Airlines LOT. International flights are offered by LOT (Frankfurt, Munich), Lufthansa Regional (Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf), KLM (Amsterdam), Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo-Gardermoen), Ryanair (Barcelona, Bologna, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Rome-Ciampino, Palma de Mallorca), Scandinavian Airlines (Copenhagen), and Wizz Air (Barcelona, Paris-Beauvais, Cork, Dortmund, Eindhoven, London-Luton, Rome-Fiumicino, Stockholm-Skavsta, Oslo-Torp).

The airport is easily accessible by public buses 159 and 148. The 159 goes to the main train station while the 148 terminates at the Rondo Kaponiera intersection. For more details regarding public transport look into "Get Around" section below. Both buses leave about every quarter of an hour and the journey takes around 25 minutes. There is a ticket machine next to the bus stops, payment can be made by cash or card, screen works in different languages.

Another option is Berlin Brandenburg Airport

By train




Poznań is a crucial railway junction and all trains going between Moscow and Western Europe stop here. Trains to Berlin or Warsaw take approximately 3 hours in either direction and cost around €20 one-way. Trains to Kraków (approx. 8 daily) take around 6 hours and cost €15 one-way, Wrocław (more than 15 daily) will take around 2 hours and cost around €8. The journey to Gdańsk (6 trains daily) will take 5½ hours and cost €12 and to Toruń (6 trains per day): 2½ hours and €7.

Poznań is also served by long-distance trains leading to popular beach- and mountain resorts: Zakopane (2 night trains in winter and summer season), Szklarska Poręba/Kudowa-Zdrój (2 daily + 1 in season), Kołobrzeg (Kolberg), Hel and Świnoujście.

Besides, Poznań and Wielkopolska region has a vast network of local connections operated by Koleje Wielkopolskie and Polregio operators. From tourist standpoint important routes served include trains to: Gniezno, Kalisz, Wolsztyn, Wągrowiec and Konin (and by bus to Licheń Stary sanctuary). Trains frequency is usually about every 1-2 hours depending on time of day.

In some cases smaller rail stations may be closer than Poznań Główny, these are often served by public transit with stops including "PKM" in their name, meaning that these are used by local and metropolitan rail. For tourist the most useful will probably be Poznań Garbary located close to the Cathedral and Citadel Park.

By bus
The Poznań coach station (Poznań PKS) is situated under the train station to the east. Galeria Avenida has integrated the train and bus stations with a modern shopping mall. Near the coach station there are several city tram and bus lines.

Poznań is served by the Eurolines coach network. Count on fares of around €90 one-way to London or Amsterdam. Every day more than 200 local buses leave for town and even small villages everywhere in Wielkopolska region.

Flixbus, the biggest coach company operating in Poland, connects Poznan with Berlin, Prague, Łódź, Warsaw, Bydgoszcz, Wroclaw, Gdansk and Torun. Tickets are available from 20 zł. for a ride.

Poznan has many bus connections with cities and towns in West Poland (Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra, sea resorts, mountain resorts in Sudety Mountains), and there are coaches heading to: Lublin, Łódź, and Warsaw. There is a vast network of local and regional buses, especially to towns with poor (or no) train connection.

By public transport
Poznań is a compact city and has a decent public transport system, consisting of trams and buses operated by the city's transportation authority (MPK).

If you decide to use public transportation, prices of tickets are following (Jun 2024):
 * 15-minute which costs 4 zł
 * 45-minute which costs 6 zł
 * 90-minute which costs 8 zl

There are also daily tickets and multi-day tickets available:
 * 24-hour ticket which costs 15 zł
 * 7-day ticket which costs 50 zł.

24-hour and 7-day tickets are valid for any public transport line without additional fare. Besides that a 24-hr ticket validated between 20:00 on Friday and 24:00 on Saturday is valid till 24:00 on Sunday, becoming a weekend-long ticket. Full price list is available here (scroll to bottom for one-time tickets).

Validate your tickets as soon as you enter into vehicle. Look for yellow machines that have small thin hole in centre. If your ticket expires you will need to validate another ticket. If you don't have a ticket and are caught, you will be fined between 120-240 zł and will have to go through hassle of paying fine.

You may transfer as many times as you wish and are only limited by time on your ticket. Night buses use the same tickets and fares. Ten minutes on a tram is usually enough to ride a few stops in the city out of the peak hours. For more than 5-6 stops, use a 45-minute ticket.

The Poznań Card is a combination of ticket and discount card. Prices: 30 zł one-day, 40 zł two-day and 45 zł three-day.

The PEKA card is the electronic fare card for the city, with lower fares than paper tickets based on the number of stops taken (1 stop 0.6 zł, 2 stops 1.1 zł, etc.) You must tap the card on entry and exit for buses and trams, after selecting the number of normal/reduced fares you need. Bearer PEKA cards can be purchased from City Information Centres (CIM) (see the webpage for other locations) for 27 zł, of which 12 zł is a deposit. You may have to ask about buying a bearer card.

If you study in Poland and are under 26, or you bear an ISIC, you are eligible for a 50% discount on every public transport ticket. Public transport is free for people over age of 70.

Luggage smaller than "90 x 75 x 40 cm", wheelchairs and pushchairs can be carried free of charge. Bicycles can also be taken free of charge, but only in vehicles labeled with bike pictogram on entrance, however they must give way before both wheelchairs and pushchairs and also will be refused in packed vehicles.

An internet service Jak dojadę (Polish for: How will I get to...) helps you to find a connection and the proper timetable even without a good knowledge about the topography of the city. It's enough to write the place (street, famous building) where you plan to start and finish your trip and the system will find you the quickest way.

By bicycle
There are only a few bike rentals in Poznań. Expect to pay at least 100 zł per day for basic mountain bike. If you can bring your own bicycle, Poznań is an okayish place to cycle.

A bicycle will make it much easier for you to visit greener parts of the city, including all the large lakes and forests. Paths in leisure areas are usually of good quality and will enable you to ride fast. In urban areas, cycling is more of a hit or miss affair, with bike paths suddenly pushing you into roads or sidewalks. Importantly, it is usually easy to travel west-east, but it can be quite challenging to travel north-south. The best districts for cycling are in western parts of the city which have a coherent path network with good signage; the worst places for cycling are unfortunately those most important for tourists: the Old Town and other inner city districts (Jeżyce, St. Lazarus, Wilda), where cycling is mostly limited to painted bike lanes often alongside heavy traffic. Beware of Głogowska Street near Poznań Main Station, as Municipal Guards (pol. Straż Miejska) will look for cyclists riding on sidewalks (which is illegal here), because they know it is unsafe to ride on bicycle on this street.

Going outside the city is hard, as there are no good connections between Poznań and suburbs. You will be forced to ride alongside cars in heavy traffic or on muddy footpaths. Yet, this way you can reach Wielkopolski National Park, which has really scenic trails and is one of the best places for leisure cycling in the region.

Talk
In the city centre, you will have no problem getting by with English, but outside of it English is quite limited. Even at the train station, you might find that you need to communicate with store vendors using body language (the international train office employees do all speak fluent English). If you need directions, try to ask young people who look like they might attend university. If you speak Russian, you can try to look out for migrants as most of them come from Ukraine or Belarus. They usually know Russian natively or at least very well, some old people may have basic Russian knowledge. Despite Poznan's proximity to Germany, very few people speak any German, and if they do, it is often nothing more than a few words.

Old Town



 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!
 * The system of forts surrounding Poznań in 19th century, all located nearby former round-road, just few km from the nowadays centre. Most of them are in poor technical state and are used for many (not really historical) purposes. Anyway it is worth going to Fort VII (Polska str., accessible from the centre by trams #2, #17 and #18 to the final Ogrody stop, from the a short walk), where the Museum of Martyrology is located. The sightseeing of some forts on your own can be simply dangerous!

Śródka

 * Just behind Środka a recreational area at the banks of Malta Lake start. They are 3 km away from the centre and include: an artificial skiing slope, an all-year-round toboggan slide, bike rental, zoo (the biggest one in Poland), walking and jogging areas, a rollerskating track (5½ km). The zoo is linked with the Środka district by narrow-gauge line, working from spring till autumn on workdays every hour, on weekends - every 30 minutes. Details: Polish only. Tickets ~€1.5, for kids €1, family tickets €4.
 * Just behind Środka a recreational area at the banks of Malta Lake start. They are 3 km away from the centre and include: an artificial skiing slope, an all-year-round toboggan slide, bike rental, zoo (the biggest one in Poland), walking and jogging areas, a rollerskating track (5½ km). The zoo is linked with the Środka district by narrow-gauge line, working from spring till autumn on workdays every hour, on weekends - every 30 minutes. Details: Polish only. Tickets ~€1.5, for kids €1, family tickets €4.

Museums




Itineraries

 * Most of these attractions can be found on The Royal-Imperial Route in Poznań. This is a tour for tourist who would like to get to know better the history and culture of Poznań.

Annual festivals and events

 * The Anniversary of Poznań Uprising on 28 June 1956 – every year on the Mickiewicz Square (nearby the Castle and railway station) on 28 June.
 * The Bible Marathon – always in February in many churches (including monumental ones in the centre). Have a look how hundreds of people (mostly young ones) read whole Bible during few days.
 * The Contemporary Music Festival - "The Poznań Music Spring” – in the first half of April.
 * The Days of French Culture – March/April (depending on the Easter time) in "Dom Bretanii" (The House of Bretagne) on the Old Market Square.
 * The Fair of St. John – takes place always on the Main Square and surrounding streets in the second half of June.
 * The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul – the patrons of the city, on 29 June.
 * The Horse Cavalry Day – usually the third weekend of April – events in the horse centre ‘Wola’ in the suburbs and in the Old Town, especially on the Old Market Square and nearby the 15th Poznań Cavalry Unit Memorial in Ludgardy street.
 * The International Theatre Festival "Malta" – dozens of plays (both street ones and in theatres, museum, other closed space), on the turn of June and July
 * Judaic Days  – events (exhibitions, Torah reading, etc.) about Jewish culture, every year in mid-January.
 * Kaziuki – an event celebrating St. Casimir, the patron of Lithuania – a good moment to buy a Vilnius palm or to eat a cepelin – yearly in the first weekend of March.
 * The Passion of Christ – the biggest show in Poland presenting events from 2000 years ago, gathering every year in the Citadel Park about 120,000 people. Always 8 days before Easter, on Saturday on the meadow next the Bell of Peace, around 19:00.

During summer holidays:
 * The Bread Festival – organized by bakers from Poznań and Greater Poland, associated by bakery-goods tasting – second weekend of September, the Old Market Square.
 * The Christmas Market "The Poznań Bethleyem” – stalls with souvenirs, with Christmas decorations, hot wine, on the Old Market Square and nearby the west entrance to the Stary Browar Mall. Always three weeks before Christmas.
 * The commemorations of the Greater Poland Uprising (from 1918-1919) – always on 27 Dec.
 * The Contemporary Dance Workshops – workshops of more than 50 dance techniques, inspired by the famous Poznań Dance Theatre and its conductor Ewa Wycichowska, yearly in the second half of August.
 * The Feast of Poznań Bambers – always on 2 August, in the anniversary day of the arrival of the first settlers’ group from Bamberg (Germany) to Poznań in 18th century.
 * The Festival of Good Taste – the feast of Greater-Poland cooking traditions, in mid-August on the Old market Square.
 * The Gypsies’ Culture Meetings – last two weekends of August, on the Plac Wolności Square, Old Market Square and on the courtyards of the Emperor's Castle.
 * The International Animated Films Festival – in mid-July.
 * The Kid Films Festival 'Ale Kino' (‘What a Cinema’) – a festival of films produced for young watchers, yearly from 1983 in December.
 * The Lviv Days in Poznań (Lviv – a city in western Ukraine, which used to belong to Poland, deeply rooted in Polish culture) – a series of meetings, lectures and workshops – mid-September.
 * The National Feast of France in Poznań – always on 14 July.
 * The Old-Town Jazz Concerts (Saturdays) and Cameral Concerts (Sundays) on the Town Hall stairs.
 * The Old-Town Organ Concerts – Thursday evenings in the Parish Church.
 * The Parish Church Festival "Madlaine’s Tress” - in most cases the only opportunity to visit (usually closed) parts of the post-Jesuits’ complex: the Chapter Chamber, organs, the garret. Always during the weekend about July 22.
 * The Promenade Concerts – every summer Sunday in Wilson's Park (from the centre trams: #5, #8 i #14 to the stop Park Wilsona).
 * The days of Pyra-Land (pyra in local Poznań dialect means potato – the feast of potato cooking – try it made in more than 100 ways! – the first weekend of September in Łęgi Dębińskie Park (accessible from the centre by trams #2, #9, #10 and bus #76)
 * The Solacz District Concerts – every Sunday in Solacz Park (accessible from the centre by trams #9 and #11 and buses #60 and #78).
 * Summer Cinema on the Malta Lake shore – from Wednesday to Saturday just next to the Malta skiing slope.
 * Summer Town-Hall Concerts – every Wednesday evening in the Renaissance Hall inside the Town Hall (2nd floor).
 * The Tzadik Poznań Festival – the feast of Jewish culture in the former synagogue, turned during World War II into a swimming pool – mid-August

Other

 * Football: the city has two pro soccer teams. Lech Poznań play in Ekstraklasa, the top tier, at Stadion Miejski (INEA Stadium, capacity 43,000) 3 km west of city centre.
 * Warta Poznań were relegated in 2024 so they play in 1 Liga the second tier. Their Stadion Warty Poznań (capacity 4700) is one km south of the centre.
 * Football: the city has two pro soccer teams. Lech Poznań play in Ekstraklasa, the top tier, at Stadion Miejski (INEA Stadium, capacity 43,000) 3 km west of city centre.
 * Warta Poznań were relegated in 2024 so they play in 1 Liga the second tier. Their Stadion Warty Poznań (capacity 4700) is one km south of the centre.


 * Fans of steam trains will be in their element in Poznań. A fun day trip is to take a steam train to the Wielkopolska National Park. Take the 08:15 train from Poznań Główny station to Stęszew, a 35-minute journey. Walk to the road crossing, turn left and continue until you enter the park near Lake Witobelskie. Follow the blue path to Mosina where you can catch the train back to Poznań. You can book a seat next to the driver for €4.50 by calling 068 348 2008, ext. 368.

Buy
The Stary Rynek is full of stalls where you can buy handicrafts and toys. Good souvenir shops selling folk handicraft are situated in Woźna street (one of the streets from the Square eastwards).

Comic books

 * Św. Marcin street 29, in an inside square, there is a little nice manga shop. You can easily find it as there is a big poster about it on the wall in near the street.

Shopping streets

 * Półwiejska is main shopping street in Poznań. All kind of stuff useful and not can be found here including: specialist bookstores, orientalising trinkets, console game exchange, arcades, phone repairs
 * Głogowska was formerly important, now it is more let down. Known mostly for wedding dresses. There are also many second hand fashion stores.
 * Św. Marcin (and streets nearby: Gwarna, Taczaka, Ratajczaka) second hand bookstores, antiquaries, music and movies.

Open-air markets
There are many in Poznań, most are open all year round – maybe during the most severe frosts some stalls are closed and vendors are at home.



Budget
If you are looking for budget options then search for places named "Bistro", "Kebab" or the critically endangered "Bar mleczny". These places will allow you to eat well at low, usually 30 zł price.



Drink
Most night clubs in Poznań are to be found on and around the Stary Rynek.

Sleep
Poznań is well known for its trade fairs, when thousands of business types descend en masse to the city. Accommodation can be quite difficult to find in this period, and prices tend to go up. If you are stuck, the Glob-Tour office in the main train station hall (Tel: +48 61 866 0667) will generally find a private room for you for around €8 per person.

Consulates

 * 🇦🇱 Albania
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil
 * the Czech Republic
 * 🇪🇪 Estonia
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands
 * 🇱🇹 Lithuania
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇷🇺 Russia
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey
 * 🇺🇸 USA
 * UK
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine

Connect
As of Aug 2022, city centre has 5G from all Polish carriers, while outlying districts and the approach highways have 4G. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Stay safe
In general you should feel safe in Poznań, crime (including petty crime) is low. City is not very popular among tourists, so prevalence of pick-pocketing and various common tourist scams is very low. Walking alone at night should not be a problem in most of the city. However you need to expect some weird looks if you are openly homosexual or are not white, especially in suburbs.

Do not trust strangers on Stary Rynek or Wrocławska street who want you to visit a club/bar with them. They are going to scam you, possibly steal your credit card data or at best bring you to a very overpriced place.

On Friday and Saturday evenings in summer a lot of youth go to west bank of Warta river close to city centre. It is one of the few places in the city where you can legally drink alcohol outdoors, resulting in a large number of drunken people and troublemakers gathering there. Do not venture to west bank especially late at night, you may be insulted at best or beaten and robbed at worst. Instead go to the much calmer east bank of the river.

When looking for acommodation or food avoid places close to rail, rail stations (e.g. Poznań Wschód, Poznań Dębiec) and final bus/tram stations (e.g. Rondo Rataje, Górczyn PKM). These places may feel unsafe as they tend to attract homeless and beggars.

Go next
For those arriving by train from Berlin, it would make sense to travel south to the cities of Wrocław and Kraków, or on to Warsaw. Another opportunity is to travel to the north - Gdańsk.

Day-trips: Further afield:
 * Dziekanowice (35 km northeast) — accessible only by car, village in Greater Poland containing ethnographic museum with traditional houses and Dutch windmills. Further behind museum there are ruins of palace on island of Ostrów Lednicki one of contenders for title of first capital of Poland
 * Gniezno (50 km northeast) &mdash; first capital of Poland and a minor city, easily accessible via Intercity and commuter rail. The city has one of oldest cathedrals in Poland used for coronation by Polish kings and containing relics of Adalbert of Prague. Behind cathedral there is old town with variety of architecture and food. There is also Museum of the Beginnings of the Polish State.
 * Kórnik (18 km southeast) &mdash; Poznań suburb accesible by suburban bus with a beautiful old town containing gothic church and numerous lakes. There is also a neogothic castle complete with original furniture and surrounded by a dendrological park with well kept bushes and trees, best visited in May/June during flowering period.
 * Licheń (100 km east) &mdash; two large basilicas and important Virgin Mary pilgrimage site in Poland. Worth a visit if you are a devout catholic, or if you enjoy absurd architecture.
 * Owińska (17 km north) &mdash; village suburb with baroque Cistercian Nuns Monastery and dilapidated von Treskow family palace with park. Good starting point to visit Puszcza Zielonka or forests north of Poznań via pedestrian/cycling bridge with observation tower.
 * Puszcza Zielonka (10–15 km northeast) &mdash; large forest complex to the northeast of the city. Many walking and cycling trails, lakes with fishing spots. On the forest boundaries there are numerous wooden churches. Contains free observatory on top of Dziewicza Góra open during daytime except for Mondays providing great view of Poznań and its suburbs.
 * Puszczykowo (15 km south) &mdash; easily accessible by commuter train, interwar era suburb with many villas, contains travel museum of a Polish traveler Arkady Fiedler including gifts from many tropical tribes. Good starting point for wandering or cycling in Wielkopolski National Park that preserves post-glacial landscape of Greater Poland. Numerous hills and scenic lakes.
 * Rogalin (16 km south)&mdash; accessible only with car or bike, baroque-classicist palace of Raczyński family with their famous painting collection and horse cabs. Surrounded by oak trees (in total: more than 500), including three natural monument oaks over 800 years old: Lech, Czech and Rus;
 * Szreniawa (15 km southwest) &mdash; village, easily accesible by train. Huge Agriculture Museum built on site of former folwark showcasing history of agriculture, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, vehicles (including aircraft and infamous Polish Tarpan trucks). You can also try beer from local brewery, pet sheep and goats or take part in one of numerous events in museum. Museum is free on Saturday. You can also go to the Bierbaums watch tower.
 * Wolsztyn (70 km southwest) &mdash; a town with operating steam-locos depot, which is the only one in Europe. There is annual steam locomotives parade which happens in May and brings large crowds. Choo! choo!

All cities are accessible at around the same time with train or car (bus is going to take a bit longer)


 * Bydgoszcz — 2 hr to garden city focused around river with lots of greenery
 * Gdańsk — 3 hr 30 min. to merchant city with beautiful gothic old town and granaries
 * Kalisz — 2 hr 30 min to supposedly oldest city in Poland, which traded amber with Romans
 * Kraków — 6 hr to the capital of Polish Kings, tourists favourite
 * Warsaw — 3 hr to the capital of Poland, rebuilt after war, dynamic metropolis with lots of commerce and night life
 * Wrocław — 2 hr to twin of Poznań though with much more German character, larger river and more bridges.
 * Zielona Góra — 2 hr to small city on top of a hill known for its wine and cute old town.
 * Zielona Góra — 2 hr to small city on top of a hill known for its wine and cute old town.

Abroad:


 * Berlin — about 3 hr on train, closer than to Warsaw
 * London — easily accesible via plane, very cheap connections available