‘Polished Poznan’ – Our 4 night city break to Central Poland’s secret jewel.

Why Poznan?

A fair question and one I remember asking myself, in the immediate aftermath of booking our flights back in March 2025 for a 4 night visit in early May.

Truth be told, I think the answer lies in a combination of reasons: cheap flights, easy travel from Leeds Bradford airport (just 35 minutes from my front door), an ever increasing desire to visit more of the old Warsaw pact countries of the Soviet era and the fact that it suited both our friends and ourselves as an enticing and slightly unusual destination for a mini city break.

We quickly became orientated in the city and on our first afternoon found ourselves in the beautiful main square famous for its stunning town hall complete with ‘dueling billy goats’ who display their butting skills for the tourists at noon and 3pm every day at the top of the tower of the Town Hall.

Before booking this trip I remember reflecting that the only reason I even knew of Poznan, was a vague recollection that they have a reasonably prominent football team called ‘Lech Poznan!’

And on that footy related theme, I vividly remember seeing Manchester City football fans adopting ‘The Poznan’ as they began their decade long domination of English football.

For the uninitiated, ‘The Poznan’ at Manchester City matches involves their fans facing away from the pitch, throwing their arms across the shoulders of the supporter either side of them and then bouncing up and down for several minutes: a sort of rear facing pogo!

It’s an interesting if somewhat baffling sight. After all, attending the ‘Empty-had’ Stadium in Manchester costs a lot of money. I don’t understand why you would want to turn away from the pitch for several costly minutes just to embrace the sweaty armpits of a random stranger standing either side of you?

Football eh? It often makes very little sense!

Anyway, back to the point of this blog!

We were not to be disappointed with our Poznan visit and I can only give the highest recommendation for travel to this beautiful, vibrant and happy city which is so rich in history and culture.

My wife Nicky and I travelled to Poznan with our great longstanding friends (and parents of our son’s wife) Jo and Jason.

The four of us travelled with a desire to discover the culture and history of this city of 600,000 people: Poland’s 5th largest city.

Our early morning flight (a jet lag inducing 06.05 take off) meant that by 11.00 we had safely made our way to the city centre and were able to enjoy a late breakfast sandwich in Frederick Chopin Park, just 800 metres from our Airbnb accommodation and approximately 1km north of the famous old town district.

Poznan airport is modern and clean and only 7km from the city centre. Negotiating Border control and our suitcase collection was so easy and speedy and less than 30 minutes from exiting the plane we were speeding into the city on the number 159 bus: this was such a super efficient way to travel between the airport and city centre. Our bus tickets cost us just 6 zloty each: around £1.20. What a bargain!

The main square is beautiful, with centuries old elegantly painted houses on every side. The buildings are distinctly narrow in appearance: apparently a Middle Ages tax dodge at a time when government taxes were calculated against properly size. So the Poznanian’s lessened their housing footprint so they could lesson their taxes!

These elegant buildings dominate the main square with attractive water fountains quartered in each corner. There are restaurants and bars aplenty but none are gaudy or plasticized. The nearest Macdonald’s or Burger King eateries were situated at least 1km outside the old town quarter. A good riddance I would say!

It was immediately apparent that the people of Poznan care deeply about their city. We saw no hint of litter: even the common westernized litter of discarded cigarette butts and chewing gum were noticeably absent. graffiti was rare and when we saw it, it was more ‘street art’ and tasteful in the spirit of Banksy rather than the gaudy messages that we so often witness plastered across other UK and European cities.

Coffee and drinks were cheap by UK standards: even in the main square where prices were understandably higher than in the suburbs. 4 mid afternoon drinks typically cost us between 50 and 70 zloty (£10-£14).

We enjoyed a visit to the Collegiate Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Stanislaus church, just off the main square where the baroque style of fake marble and gold leaf paint, presented a visual spectacular.

The small artefacts shop right next to the church was filled with traditional Polish merchandise. Its owner was so friendly. Like every Poznanian that we met on our trip, he was so keen to share his personal knowledge and highlights of the city.

The Catholic Church continues to provide spiritual support to large swathes of the Polish people. Over 70% of the population continue to regularly attend worship and it is clear that the church remains a voice of significant influence within its society.

The organ in the church has over 2000 individual pipes and creates a wonderful resonating sound which is acoustically boosted in this magnificent building.

Unfortunately the dates of our stay meant that we’d missed the free weekly Saturday organ recital. Apparently these concerts are superb. ( fara.archpoznan.pl )

The yellow and white Vatican flag hung in the Basilica alongside the Polish National flag: perhaps symbolic timing to mark the selection of a new (American) Pope; Leo 14th.

We quickly immersed ourselves into city life.

Our Airbnb was well positioned in a residential area less than 20 minutes walk from the Old Town. Our accommodation deal meant we enjoyed a courtesy buffet breakfast every morning at the Cafe Pomarańczarnia: an ‘eat as much as you like’ buffet which really set us up for each day. ( cafe-pomaranczarnia.eatbu.com )

Accommodation costs in Poznan are reasonable and affordable. We paid £230 per couple for our 4 night stay which included the delicious breakfast in the cafe which was directly opposite our apartment.

I previously hinted at our affordable airfares. Once again on this trip we chose to fly Ryanair and once again they flew to time and incident free. Our flights cost £20 per person each way. Ridiculously cheap when compared to other city travel costs in the UK!

We ate dinner at 4 restaurants during our 4 night stay.

On our first night we dined at the Gong Chinese restaurant, just round the corner from our Airbnb. The food was lovely and cost the princely sum of £55 for the 4 of us.

We met Daniel the manager, owner, chef and pot washer! His restaurant provided exceptional value for money.

On our second night we celebrated Jo and Jason’s 31st wedding anniversary with a sublime dinner at the exclusive Ratuszova Restaurant.

The food here was out of this world and was cooked to perfection! We were told that they hoped to achieve Michelin star certification soon. My steak was sublime and literally melted in my mouth.

Jo and Nicky enjoyed the roasted lamb with asparagus although tucking into the purple mashed potatoes was apparently a challenge! We could see why the Michelin star beckons. Our dinner menu of starter, main dish, desert and drinks cost us £65 each. It was easily my best dining experience in the last 10 years! ( visaviskoziolkow.pl )

On our third night we ate delicious Italian food at Ristorante Amici Miei for a total cost of £25 each. The waiting staff were very welcoming and the service really was excellent. ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/NxaLuGXNju7CNPgB6?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy )

On our final night we ate Korean food at Masiso. Our experience there was more mixed. Whilst I enjoyed my chicken Teriyaki not all of the food our group ordered matched the quality we had experienced on the previous 3 evenings. The service here was really good though. ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/f5SDzg9TcWQhzaoc8?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy)

In all our time in Poznan we never received less than 5* service when eating out.

In typical city break fashion, we walked and walked and talked and walked some more.

Over the course of our 4 night stay we walked over 30 miles.

I say walked: I perhaps exaggerate! I hobbled: having suffered an unpleasant flare up of sciatica just before we flew out.

Despite this, I found so many positive pain distractions in pretty Poznan and the city is so flat that I was never really troubled by elevation or undulation.

We spent a day in and around the Cytadela Centrum Park, where we discovered the Commonwealth war graves of 18 of the brave men who escaped Stalag Luft POW camp in World War Two and who were subsequently slaughtered by the Nazis on the express orders of Adolf Hitler. Their story featured in the massive Hollywood Blockbuster ‘The Great Escape’ starring the legendary Steve McQueen.

The beautiful cemetery reminded me once again of the heroic sacrifices of so many! ‘Lest we forget’ for sure!

Poznan Cathedtal, just a mile out of the Old Town was beautiful as was the Opera House and Grand Theatre and the Dominican Monastery.

As I have aged, so my appreciation of architecture and building design has grown. On every street corner we were presented with beautiful and elegant buildings. It really was superb!

My final recommendation as I conclude this travel blog is to emphasize once again, the value of participating in a Free City Tour. We signed up to the Guru Tour ( © GuruWalk SL ) and enjoyed a fascinating 2.5 hour tour with Justina, our very knowledgeable guide. We ‘tipped’ Justina accordingly on the basis of the quality of her tour. In my opinion, these Free City Tours are really the best way to understand the history and culture of a new destination like Poznan. We loved it!

A final acknowledgment as I bring this blog to a close.

Talking to people remains the best way of gleaning the extra information necessary to make a city break an exceptional experience. We were so fortunate to have a Polish friend who was brought up in Poznan. In the build up to our trip I actively sought her opinions on where to go, what to eat, the unmissable and the quirky.

Maria was a brilliant guide, providing me with a substantial homework ‘essential visits’ check list.

Always the model student, I’m so grateful to Maria for recommending the sights of her city. I’m pleased to report that we achieved a 100% take up on all her recommendation.

Throughout my teaching career I always appreciated the value of a research based perspective.

My thanks goes to Maria who provided me with so much information.

Poznan is definitely the often unheard of ‘Polished Pearl of Poland’ and we loved meeting some many of its lovely people.

I wonder how Gdansk and Warsaw will compare as and when we are lucky enough to visit them.

I guess I best start looking for those bargain flights!

Until then, thanks very much for the read.

Best wishes Martin

Martin and Nicky Moorman and their friends Jo and Jason flew with Ryanair from Leeds Bradford airport to Poznan, Poland from 6-10 May 2025.

The Moorman’s retired from their 35 year long careers in Special Education in 2020.

In his spare time Martin enjoys travel, photography, (the photographs in this blog are his own), sport, cooking and reading and especially supporting family and friends.