Poznan is getting popular for a long weekend Christmas market trip from the UK.
Back in 2019, I had a really fun girls weekend in Poznan. This was another bargain weekend with return Ryanair flights for £60 and a lovely wee Airbnb for £140 for the weekend.
Always check what “two bedrooms” means – in this case the 2nd bedroom was in fact the living room and the shower was in the kitchen!
Ok so it turned out that my bedroom was actually two mats ontop of a stack of crates but so what? It was cheap!
Posing with Mr Moonboot
Not even a disagreement with a pub trapdoor and subsequent broken foot dampened our enthusiasm!
Touching down in Poznan, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but didn’t expect such a large, modern airport. It took no time at all to whizz (and wizz – nice clean toilets with a luggage shelf in the cubicle – joy!) through the airport and in to a taxi. We pushed the boat out and spent a whole £8 on 30min taxi from the airport to the town.
Granny opens at 12!
Check-in wasn’t until 3pm so we did what any self-respecting Glasgow girls do when on holiday and headed straight for the nearest pub.
We came across this cosy bar, surrounded by cakes, beer and tempting garlicky smells wafting from grannies kitchen. Beginners luck, the menu was just what the doctor ordered – all platters of perogis and local beers. We settled ourselves in with a variety platter of the perogis and beers – The holiday had officially begun!
My 10 “must do’s” in Poznan
1. Buy a Poznan City Card.
After the perogis and more than a couple of beers, we did the sensible tourist thing and headed next door to the tourist information centre where we were helped by a super efficient Polish lady who spoke perfect English and didn’t seem to mind our beery garlic breath.
For just £16, the City card gives free or discounted entrance to museums, discounts on restaurants cafes and bars and unlimited free public transport around the city (particularly handy for the moonboot)
2. Eat perogis. Dumplings of Eastern European origin, made by wrapping noodle dough around a savoury or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, or pan-frying. We tried tuna perogis, chicken perogis, mince perogis, spinach perogis and garlic perogis. Cheap and very filling! I’ll stop going on about them now but they were SO GOOD!
3. Visit in December we arrived the on the opening weekend of the Poznan Christmas market.
Poznan has a cute wee Christmas market that won’t break the bank and isn’t overrun by tourists. It’s far superior to any of the Christmas markets in the UK and about a tenth of the price. Poznan Christmas market offers all the must-visit stalls selling hot spicy gluhwein, bratwurst, smoked cheese and wooden trinkets, they even have a gluhwein loyalty card – buy 9 wines and the 10th is free!
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Then followed a hazy night round some of the bars in the main square, finishing at BeeJays bar and scarfing down a massive donner kebab and a sore head in the morning)
4. Visit the croissant museum (Rogalowe Muzeum).
Weird museums are high on my list of favourite places to visit. Whilst I’m pretty good at going with the flow on holiday, I did mandate a visit to the croissant museum!
Trust me, there is nowhere better in the entire world to gain an in-depth knowledge of the history of polish croissants :-p
A special mention must go to the kind, helpful (and rather good looking) young man on the cash desk who not only found a warm space in the museum for my pal to rest her moonboot but also gave her a free wooden croissant!
5. Be awed by the 1956 memorial.
A memorial dedicated to the Polish uprising. I guarantee it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but the monolithic size and somber grey concrete certainly made an impression on me.
It’s about a 20 min walk from the main square or a few minutes by tram.
6. Treat yourself to some Michelin star quality food at a fraction of the price at Oskoma restaurant. Run by polish masterchef winner Adam my friends and I had a 4 course tasting menu plus wine and cocktails for £60 a head. I’m still not sure who we were mistaken for but everyone in the dining room kept looking over at us. Our waiter was friendly and again, pretty good looking. Here’s the tasting menu and a pic of the smoked sturgeon:
7. Enjoy panoramic views of the city from the observation tower in the Museum of Design.
Our Citypass gave us free entry into this museum. Whilst the museum itself was reasonably interesting (and VERY HOT!) with everything from pottery and textiles to furniture and film.
The best part of the museum was definitely the 7th floor observation deck with panoramic views over the city. (Oh and free, very clean toilets)
8. Don’t visit lake Malta. Well at least not in December anyway…. maybe it’s nicer in summer? Lake Malta was listed in various guides and blogs as a must-see. It’s a short tram ride away from the city centre. It’s not a picturesque lake, rather a large puddle beside a huge modern shopping centre. Perhaps it was just the time of year that made it bleak.
At least the short tram ride was included in our Poznan city card. I enjoyed zooming along the streets in the rapid little trams, clean and efficient.
We were cold and her ankle was hurting and we felt a little deflated..
Me taking in some of the local artwork looking like a bag lady
Re-energised from our dick hysteria, we spotted some spires in the distance and headed off to find out what they were. Poznans cathedral! We wandered through the Śródka neighbourhood admiring the Srodka tale mural and refueling.
9. Prepare to be very underwhelmed at the goat butting heads clock….but see it anyway! The most famous tourist attraction in Poznan is the ‘goat clock’ Every day at noon, two small wooden goats appear from a high tower and butt heads. A huge crowd gathered to watch. We happened to be in the main square just as noon struck and my pal nearly re-broke her ankle hobbling on the cobbles to catch a glimpse of the goats.
10. Meet the locals. I love meeting local people on my travels, especially in areas that are not super touristy. We were asked several times where we were from and then a pause followed by a genuinely curious “but why have you come to POZNAN?”
The people of Poznan are so warm and welcoming and everywhere we went people were kind and helpful. We met these lovely ladies in a bar and asked why they were all wearing headscarves – turns out they celebrate St Andrews Day by playing mystical fortune telling games about matrimony and fortune telling! We definitely bonded with our shared patron saint and our love of wine!
The Exploring Cat. Weird museums, unfrequented, underwhelming places, the road less travelled. 