Region
Kuyavia-Pomerania
Kuyavia-Pomerania (Kujawsko-Pomorskie) lies in north-central Poland along the Vistula, and its star is Torun, one of the best-preserved Gothic towns in the country.
Torun grew rich as a Hanseatic trading town, and its red-brick old town survived the war intact: a UNESCO site of merchant houses, church towers, a leaning tower and a medieval market hall. It is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, and the home of Polish gingerbread, piernik, baked here for centuries.
The region pairs Torun with Bydgoszcz, a larger city of canals and riverside granaries, and with quieter Kuyavian lakes and spa towns. It is an easy halt on the rail lines between Warsaw, Poznan and Gdansk.
Torun is the base and is compact enough to see on foot in a day; it also works as a stop between the capital and the coast. Trains connect it in all directions.
Destinations
Places to see
Attraction
Torun Old Town
A genuine, war-survived medieval centre of brick Gothic churches, granaries and gabled houses around the Old Town Market Square.
Restaurant
Manekin
A local legend for enormous sweet and savoury pancakes at gentle prices.
Hotel
1231 Hotel
A design hotel inside a 13th-century mill by the moat, with a spa and a well-regarded restaurant.
Attraction
Ratusz Staromiejski
One of the finest municipal Gothic buildings in Central Europe, the Old Town Hall dates from the late 14th century and now houses the District Museum. Its tall tower offers sweeping views over the red-roofed old town and the Vistula.
Attraction
Dom Kopernika
A pair of Gothic burgher houses believed to be the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus in 1473, now a museum devoted to the astronomer's life and era. Exhibits recreate a 15th-century merchant household and display period instruments.
Attraction
Krzywa Wieza
The Leaning Tower is a 14th-century defensive tower that tilts about 1.5 metres from vertical due to its foundation on unstable riverside ground. Local legend ties the lean to a Teutonic knight's broken vow.
Attraction
Nicolaus Copernicus Monument
A bronze statue of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus standing in front of Toruń's Old Town Hall, unveiled in 1853 and the city's classic meeting point and photo spot.
Attraction
Museum of Toruń Gingerbread
A museum in Toruń's Old Town set inside the former Weese factory, home to the largest gingerbread collection in Europe and Central Europe's biggest set of historic wooden baking moulds.
Attraction
New Town Market Square (Rynek Nowomiejski)
The central square of Toruń's medieval New Town, ringed by colourful Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau townhouses and much quieter than the famous Old Town square nearby.