Toruń (Poland): 27 Places to See & Things to Do – Local’s Guide

Copernicus, gingerbread houses, a Gothic Old Town on the UNESCO World Heritage List and a huge fort surrounding the city – are just a few of the attractions of Toruń, which lies by the Vistula River. A city tour gives the feeling that the attractions and places to see in Torun are practically endless.

To make your tour of Torun more comfortable, I have prepared a list of 27 best things to do in Toruń & attractions you should visit in the city.

Each street and alley is a further episode and thread of history that goes back hundreds of years. For me, Toruń is one of the most beautiful places to see in Poland. In this guide you will find:

• an interactive map of Toruń’s attractions,
• a huge list of the best things to do in Toruń,
• unusual & less obvious sights of Toruń outside the medieval centre,
• best restaurants and cafes to visit,
• good accommodations in a good location,
• tips on getting around Toruń.

What is Torun known for? Why is it worth coming to Torun?

If you still have doubts about whether it’s worth visiting Torun, I’ll help you dispel them quickly. Torun is a city that you can visit under many themes because the history of the place is rich and varied. Torun is a tourist attraction, and brand recognized worldwide for several reasons, including:

• birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus

The statue of Nicolaus Copernicus, besieged by tourists, standing right next to the Old Town Hall, did not appear there by accident. The great astronomer and master of many other sciences was born on February 19, 1473, in Torun.

Now you can visit the Nicolaus Copernicus House. His heliocentric theory of the Universe revolutionized science and set new directions.

• cradle of famous gingerbread

Merchants and goods from around the world came to Torun, an important port in medieval Europe. Spices were used as early as the 14th century to create gingerbread dough, shrouded in mystery.

Gingerbread was a delicacy and a work of art, with bakers working alongside wood carvers sculpting gingerbread moulds and goldsmiths decorating the baked goods.

• the old town on the UNESCO world heritage list

Torun is the first city founded within the Teutonic state’s borders and one of Poland’s oldest cities. Torun owes its development of Gothic architecture to the wealth that resulted from being a member of the Hanseatic League and having a thriving inland seaport (thanks to access to the Vistula River).

The city retains a spatial layout from the Middle Ages, uniting the formerly separated Old Town and New Town, but also many monuments from the Baroque, Renaissance or Art Nouveau periods.

• a huge ring fort around Torun

Torun is the perfect place to visit for history fans – especially its military and fortifications section. The Fortress of Torun is a huge complex of buildings surrounding the city along a perimeter of more than 20 kilometres.

In addition to 15 forts, the Torun Fortress also has dozens of auxiliary structures – its history can be explored for hours. You can pass several days on a tour of Torun’s fortifications.

• nature surrounding and shaping the city

The wide channel of the Vistula, Poland’s longest river, dominates Torun’s landscape. The Drweca River and the Struga Torunska River, hidden under the Old Town, also flow through the city.

The rivers and the large proportion of green space (about 30% of the city) create good conditions for slow travelling – a slow tour of the city by bicycle, cruise ships on the Vistula, or simply relaxing in Torun’s numerous parks. I strongly associated Torun with the green Olsztyn.

1. The Old Town Square (Rynek Staromiejski) with the Copernicus Monument

The Gothic centre of Torun has changed its face over the years, adding quite a few examples of Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. In a few cities has it been possible to reconcile different styles as well as in the historic old town of Torun.

The heart of Torun’s UNESCO World Heritage Site medieval urban complex is the Old Town Square, laid out in the mid-13th century. The Old Town, formerly a separate entity and separated from the New Town by a now-buried moat, is a historical gem that few European cities can boast.

Incorporated in 1233 and belonging to the Hanseatic League of Cities, the Old Town was one of the richest Polish cities until the partitions. The market square, with its powerful town hall, was the heart of this city – here the most important decisions were made for the development of trade and directed the work of the port, which had direct access to the Baltic Sea. The market was also the main market square of the city.

Surely you know this frame – the tall tower in the background and the Nicolaus Copernicus monument in the foreground. This is one of the most photographed places in Torun.

The monument was unveiled in 1853 and decorated with the inscription “Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis. Terrae motor, Solis Caelique stator,” which means “Nicolaus Copernicus Torunian. He moved the Earth, held back the Sun and the Sky.” Be sure to take a photo with Nicolaus. 😉

If you would like to explore the centre of Toruń with a local guide, check out the available tours to the most interesting corners of the city. It is nice to explore on your own, but it is also good to meet a guide and listen to unique stories about Toruń. Below you will find some suggestions for the most interesting tours.

2. Historical buildings on the Market Square

Many of Torun’s important buildings stand near Market Square. In the western part you’ll find the originally evangelical Holy Spirit Church from the 18th century, built amid conflict between evangelicals and Catholics. Its tower was not added until 140 years later.

Right next door stands the neo-Gothic edifice of the Central Post Office from the late 19th century. Have a look at the richly decorated doors with portals and the red and green glazed bricks around the windows.

Traditionally, gingerbread is bought at Artus Court, the third incarnation of the building where the Second Peace of Torun was sworn in the 15th century. The current neo-Renaissance form of Artus Court was built in the late 19th century and has hosted many distinguished guests, including Jozef Pilsudski, Ignacy Moscicki and Jozef Haller. On the first floor of the building, there is a Kopernik Toruń company store with a large selection of gingerbread.

Torun’s Marian Church (actually: the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Blessed Father Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski, but I don’t undertake to repeat the name again ;), is one of the largest and most outstanding Gothic temples in Poland. Many priceless monuments have been preserved in the interiors.

These include Gothic polychromes, wooden stalls (i.e., benches set against the side walls of the chancel) dating back to the 15th century, one of the oldest Teutonic bells from 1383 and the oldest Polish organ from 1609. And although tourists are not allowed to enter it, the mausoleum of Anna Vasa – sister of King Sigismund III Vasa – is also worth knowing about.

A part of the city’s identity was born around Torun’s legends, which are recalled by the city’s monuments. Standing in the Market Square, the Flisak Monument recalls Iwo, a raftsman known from legend, who was in the business of floating timber to Gdansk and made Torun his popular resting place.

When the plague of frogs hit the city, Iwo and the sound of his fiddle helped lead the frogs out of the city to the Mokre district, where they settled in the wetlands.

In Market Square, you will also find a donkey sculpture (right next to the Copernicus monument) reminding of the sophisticated punishments administered in Torun in the past, and the Filus Monument – a commemoration of the outstanding Polish cartoonist Zbigniew Lengren. He published a comic strip in Przekrój magazine devoted to Professor Filutek and his dog Filus.

3. Old Town Hall (Ratusz Staromiejski) – District Museum and Town Hall Tower

While the heart of medieval Torun is the Old Town Square, the heart of the Market Square is the majestic City Hall with its 40-meter-high City Hall tower. The City Hall building was erected at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries on the site of the former cloth halls, and was later rebuilt several times. Its construction was agreed to by Konrad Wallenrod – Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and… hero of the novel by Adam Mickiewicz.

Our idea of what Copernicus looked like (probably wrong) is due to a portrait of the master from 1585, which hangs in the Great Hall of the District Museum in Torun. The institution is headquartered right in the Old Town Hall building. On the first floor, you can see the Gallery of Gothic Art with the largest collection of stained glass windows in Torun, dating back to the 14th century.

As part of the museum tour, you’ll also see an exhibition of Torun coins dating back as far as the 13th century, a gallery of Polish paintings, and most importantly, the beautiful interiors of Torun’s City Hall. Note the wooden ceiling beams and my favourites – the richly decorated wooden doors to several of the museum’s rooms.

You can look at Torun from above from the open observation deck on the Town Hall Tower. I recommend going there in the evening – there may be a little fewer tourists, and the rays of the setting sun will perfectly illuminate Torun’s Old Town.

From the City Hall Tower, you can see the Vistula River, the Old and New Town, and the farther districts of Torun.

4. New Town Square and St. James Church

For many years, the New Town in Torun was a separate and independent entity from the Old Town. It was established as early as 31 years after the incorporation of the Old Town as a response to Torun’s rapid growth, which exceeded expectations. The cities were separated by a city moat flowing at the site of today’s Podmurna Street and by defensive walls.

The New City was much poorer than its older neighbour. It did not toil in international trade and had no direct access to the Vistula. Note the layout of the streets – while the Old Town ones are perpendicular to the Vistula and lead toward it, the New Town ones do not reach the banks. The residents of the New Town were mainly artisans and craftsmen, which complemented the commercial character of the Old Town.

In 1454 the two cities were merged, and a strong, united Torun was created – one of the richest and most important cities in this part of Europe. However, the differences can still be seen today, especially when comparing the richness and majesty of the architecture. Fires did not spare the New Town so few original townhouses remain, and most are now buildings rebuilt in the 19th century.

At the New Town Square, you can see the “Pod Lwem” (Under The Lion) Pharmacy, founded in the 17th century. When the city’s two older pharmacies closed in the 21st century, this one, “Under the Lion,” officially became Torun’s oldest pharmacy. Above the entrance to the building, you will notice a gilded lion, still remembering the time when the pharmacy was founded.

Nearby is the “Pod Modrym Fartuchem” Inn, founded back in the 15th century, where Polish King Jan Olbracht, among others, frequented. It is possible that in 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte himself looked here for a sip of honey and good beer. In a wave of small hunger, you can look here for a butter bun and good bread.

In the centre of the square stands the former Trinity Evangelical Church from the 19th century, which was formerly the seat of the New Town authorities. After the two parts of Torun merged, the place lost its importance – first, it became an auxiliary seat of the authorities, then a commercial warehouse, and finally an Evangelical church (in the meantime, demolished and built anew).

From the eastern part of Novomiejska Square emerges St. James’s Church, whose history dates back to the 14th century. It is one of the most important medieval temples that have survived in modern Poland. In this church, you may see a painting with an image of the devil. It is said to be hit only by those who are not focused enough in the church. I noticed him right away… 😉

There is no shortage of valuable monuments in St. James Church. Worth seeing is the painting of the Passion of Christ from the 15th century, a Gothic cross from the 14th century, the painting “Last Judgment” by Anton Möller from 1603, or the painting “Crucifixion” by the Torun artist Strobel from 1634.

5. The Museum of Torun Gingerbread and the Live Gingerbread Museum

pol.: Muzeum Toruńskiego Piernika, Żywe Muzeum Piernika

One can venture to say that gingerbread determined the power of medieval Torun. All of Europe knew about the mysterious delicacy made of even more mysterious dough, but the secret of making gingerbread belonged exclusively to the bakers of Torun.

Consisting of flour, honey and precious spices, gingerbread dough matured in the cellars of Torun and was often passed as an inheritance from generation to generation.

Gingerbreads were magnificent and expensive sweets and served as gifts for the most important figures of the time. In the hands of Tsarina Catherine II, Torun deposited a gingerbread man measuring… 2 meters by 30 centimetres. If someone received a gingerbread, it was a clear sign that Torun wanted to make a big impression on that person. To this day, it is a local tradition to give newlyweds not flowers but just gingerbread.

At the Museum of Torun Gingerbread (Muzeum Toruńskiego Piernika), located in a 19th-century gingerbread factory, you will learn about the three stages of creating gingerbread masterpieces – making dough according to a secret recipe, preparing wooden molds, and finally decorating the finished gingerbread. Gingerbread baking molds that still remember the Middle Ages and a collection of old packaging are my favorite parts of the exhibition. During the tour, you can taste gingerbread of the most recognizable shape, the Catharine.

The second gingerbread place worth visiting is the Living Gingerbread Museum (Żywe Muzeum Piernika). The key to visiting this place is gingerbread workshops aimed primarily at children. Families will have a pleasant time here, and after their visit, they will go out on the town with gingerbread they have prepared themselves. Thanks to its unconventional exposition, the museum has won several awards.

Torun’s gingerbread tradition is recalled by the Monument to the Gingerbread Maker, which was erected at the beginning of Male Garbary Street, near the Museum of Torun Gingerbread. You can shop gingerbread at many points in the city, including the Kopernik Toruń company stores in Artus Court, the Museum of Torun Gingerbread and many larger and smaller stores in the Old and New Towns.

6. The House of Nicolaus Copernicus (Dom Mikołaja Kopernika)

What would a visit to medieval Torun be if it did not include a peek into the home of the greatest of Toruns? On Nicolaus Copernicus Street stands a tenement house dating back to 1370, where a Polish great astronomer is believed to have been born. He probably spent the first 7 years of his life in it, and later the Copernicus family sold it.

The tenement houses the museum “The House of Nicolaus Copernicus” (Dom Mikołaja Kopernika) which focuses on three themes: the life and work of Copernicus himself, ancient and modern science, and the daily life of bourgeois families in the Middle Ages. A visit to the house is a pleasant experience, because the place is unique – the so-called granary, which was both a place to live and a storehouse for the family.

A visit to the Nicolaus Copernicus House is time well invested. An exhibit on science and the bourgeoisie could be boring and predictable, but this Torun exhibit draws you in and encourages you to explore more rooms thoroughly. It’s multimedia, the information is consistent and undiluted, and much of it stays in your head for a long time. You can visit the Copernicus House with an audio guide, which you buy at the ticket office.

7. Tenement House “Under The Star” (Kamienica pod Gwiazdą)

Wandering around the Old Town Square, you’ll probably turn your attention to the Tenement House under the Star, whose top of the facade is decorated with…. a golden star. Its facade and interiors are some of Torun’s most interesting representatives of old bourgeois architecture. The building was built at the end of the 13th century – so it is more than 700 years old! Over the years, it has been rebuilt and renovated several times.

As soon as you step inside to buy admission tickets to the Far Eastern Art Museum, you will be struck by the beautiful winding staircase made of wood, built-in 1697. This work of art still looks amazing, even though it is more than 300 years old.

In the Tenement House “Under the Star” you will see “World of the Orient” exhibition with exhibits from faraway Asia. The variety is considerable – from paintings and ceramics to swords and pieces of samurai weaponry. In summer you can also visit the Oriental garden with a tea room.

8. Townhouses and museums of the Old and New Towns

Torun’s Old Town is quite a challenge for a blogger – it’s difficult to collect all its attractions and interesting nooks and crannies in a compact way. However, after a few days of wandering probably every street of the Old Town, I’ve collected a few points worth snagging when visiting Torun.

I didn’t know I’d ever write this, but I recommend you take a look at Biedronka grocery store. One of the thousands of stores of the Biedronka chain operates on Szeroka Street, but this particular spot has something special about it. As you enter the store’s first floor and head towards the nuts, you’ll see beautiful frescoes on the walls.

In the northern part of the centre of Torun, near the Wilam Horzyca Theater, you will find two connected Gothic tenements from the late 14th century. These are the so-called Rösner tenements belonging in the 18th century to the then mayor of Torun. The eye is drawn to the beautiful facades decorated with flowers.

At Old Town Square 7, you can also look out for Jakub Meissner’s Palace, a structure built in 1739 for the mayor of Torun. Wandering further afield, take a look at Pauline Bridge Street. This is an interesting place, which used to be a bridge connecting the Old and New Town. Today it’s just an ordinary street, and building No. 2/10 stands on the remains of the bridge.

In search of interesting architecture – not only Gothic, but also Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau – take a look at Male Garbary and Wielkie Garbary streets. At 7 Wielkie Garbary Street you’ll find the former St. Peter and Paul Hospital housed in three tenements – Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque, respectively. At number 17 stands the Leopold Labbes tenement, the first Art Nouveau building in Torun.

In addition to the well-known museums within the Old Town in Torun, you will also come across several smaller sites that may interest you. In the list below, you’ll find their brief descriptions – enough for you to decide if you want to look into them.

• Museum of Toys and Fairy Tales – a collection of more than 1,000 toys dating back to the 19th century. A good place not only for children but also for adults wishing to experience a sentimental journey back to the days of childhood in communist Poland. Check ticket prices and opening hours on the museum’s website.

• House of Torun Legends – if you like legends and urban myths, visiting the House of Torun Legends is a must. In 45 minutes, you’ll learn some interesting stories that have become part of Torun’s identity. Read more about the tour on the House’s website.

• The Museum of Knights and Soldiers – located in a building dating back to the 15th century, presents two expositions. One is devoted to the appearance and equipment of Polish troops from the 10th to the 18th century, and the other is devoted to the figurines of soldiers from 1960 to 1994, of which more than two thousand have been collected. Details of the tour can be found on the website.

• Interactive Stained Glass Museum “NISZA” – Torun is a city known for its stained glass-making traditions. You will learn how these amazing works of art are made at the museum. You can take part in stained glass workshops that last for several hours. More on the website.

9. Gates, walls and granaries of the Gothic Old Town

Torun’s impressive medieval urban complex is only a small part of the city’s former power. Of the city’s 12 gates, 3 have survived to this day, of as many as 54 defensive towers, only 9 have survived, and the city walls, stretching for 3 kilometres, are today less than a kilometre long. The reason is obvious – warfare in various eras, including the Swedish Deluge, devastated the city.

As part of your walks through medieval Torun, it’s worthwhile to look at the area around the 14th-century Monastery Gate (Brama Klasztorna), under which an air raid shelter has been located since 1943. Today it is called Wisla Bunker (Bunkier Wisła) and can be visited. Details of the tour can be found on the website.

Another of the surviving gates, the Bridge Gate (Brama Mostowa), used to lead to a wooden bridge over the Vistula, which in the 15th century was one of the few structures that allowed people to cross the river. The gate itself was built in 1432 and was rebuilt in the 19th century with the addition of a bomb-proof ceiling.

Also surviving is the Sailors’ Gate (Brama Żeglarska), dating back to the 14th century, which was the main representative city gate at the time. Here, city authorities welcomed monarchs and important guests (to whom Torun gingerbread was usually given as a gift).

The Watch Tower is a well-preserved tower, part of which is the so-called Bourgeois Court (former residence of the Brotherhood of St. George). The tower was originally part of a Teutonic castle and is the oldest of the city’s surviving towers. It was built in the 13th century.

On Podmurna Street, you’ll still find the 13th-century Cat’s Head Tower (Baszta Koci Łeb), named after the legendary cat that warned Torunians of an attack by Swedes and Monstrance Tower (Baszta Monstrancja) – the only one built on an octagonal plan, not a quadrilateral like the others.

Wandering down Philadelphia Boulevard (Bulwar Filadelfijski) along the Vistula River, you’ll come upon the Dovecote Tower (Baszta Gołębnik), built in the early 14th century. Measuring almost 20 meters, it is the highest point of the city walls stretching over the river.

Several granaries formerly serving the needs of the port have been preserved in Torun. During the heyday of the Hanseatic League and Torun, there were more than 100 of them in the city. They were located mainly in the Old Town, as it was the center of Torun’s trade. One of the most impressive is the one at 4 Piekary Street (from the 14th century). Another stands right next door, at 2 Piekary Street (from the early 17th century).

Also, take a peek at Mostowa 1, where the white Swedish Granary stands today and houses the highly rated Granary Hotel. After the porch was flipped from it to the Zuraw tower, it became one of the largest in Poland. The Granary was also the Esken House on Lazienna Street (more about it below), which was converted today into the Museum of the History of Torun.

10. The Leaning Tower (Krzywa Wieża)

Torun boasts one of Poland’s two crooked towers – the other can make the residents of Zabkowice Slaskie in Lower Silesia. Torun’s Leaning Tower is one of 54 defensive towers that once decided to take advantage of the unstable ground under its foundations and…. get a bit crooked.

The Leaning Tower is 15 meters high and deviates from the vertical by 1.5 meters. Of course, several legends have been created around its curvature. The truth, however, is mundane. Building on waterlogged land can lead to what we see today as one of the city’s most peculiar attractions.

Don’t forget to take a photo of it, highlighting this inclination. The Leaning Tower, along with the Copernicus monument, is one of the most photographed landmarks in Torun. It also attracts many tourists, so if you want to avoid the crowds, come here in the morning or late afternoon.

11. Museum of the History of Torun “Esken House”

pol. Muzeum Historii Torunia

Originally built for the mayor of Torun, Henryk Hitfeld, the Gothic bourgeois palace was bought by the Esken family in the 16th century (which is why the building at 16 Lazienna Street is today referred to as the “Esken House”). In the 19th century, it was converted into a granary, and by the 20th century, it had become the Museum of the History of Torun.

In the museum, you can learn about the turbulent and centuries-old history of the city on the following floors. It’s interesting and not overwhelming – in 1.5 hours you can assimilate much information about Torun and explore it more knowledgeably later. The higher the floor of the museum, the closer you get to the story to the present day, ending with a room dedicated to the communistic People’s Republic of Poland (PRL).

Standing in the shadow of its great neighbour – St. John’s Cathedral – the Esken House is an important place for inquisitive tourists who want to see and understand Torun. If you get the chance, start your adventure with the city right at the Museum of the History of Torun. I had a great time here.

12. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, known by Torunians as “St. Johns Cathedral” for short, is Torun’s oldest and most important church. The Gothic, hall-like church began to be built in the 13th century and gained its present shape in the 15th century. The construction thus took more than 200 years.

The cathedral is monumentally impressive. The cross vault inside the church is 27 meters high. If that weren’t enough, there’s a 52-meter tower above the church, at the top of which you’ll find a vantage point. It won’t be easy, though – you’ll have more than 200 stairs to climb before you get there.

As you climb, you will notice a huge bell. It is the Tuba Dei, or Trumpet of God – weighing 7.5 tons, the largest medieval bell in Central Europe. It was hung in St. John’s Cathedral in the early 17th century. The cathedral itself is full of monuments remembering distant medieval times.

In the church, you’ll find sculptures, stained glass and paintings from the 14th century, the main altar from 1506, or the rafters’ clock (Digitus Dei, or Finger of God) from the 15th century with a dial 5 meters in diameter. The clock faces the Vistula River to inform those working on the river at what point of the day they are at.

13. Cruises on the Vistula River

And since the clock on St. John’s Cathedral served those on the Vistula, I recommend you go to Philadelphia Boulevard (Bulwar Filadelfijski) and walk along the city walls of Torun. In the time of the Hanseatic League, seagoing merchant ships used to arrive here. From the Monastery Gate, cruise ships departed on the Vistula River. Such a cruise can be an interesting enrichment of a walking tour of Torun, and I recommend it, especially in good weather.

During the 40-minute cruise, you can see from the Vistula River level all the coastal buildings of Torun’s medieval urban complex and the city’s wild southern side with Kępa Bazarowa and the ruins of Dybow Castle.

14. Dambski Palace (Pałac Dąmbskich)

If strolling down Żeglarska Street you catch a glimpse of a facade richly decorated with floral motifs, you have arrived at the Dambski Palace. Until the 18th century, it was an occasionally used private residence of the wealthy family of the Kuyavian bishop Stanislaw Dambski.

The building was originally built as Gothic, then converted to Baroque, and in 1874-1887 another reconstruction destroyed its Baroque character, placing an officer’s casino in it. At the end of the 20th century, it was fortunately restored to its original facade. In addition to the rich façade, the portal, full of ornaments, and the ground-floor terrace (the so-called “foreground”) are worth noting.

15. The ruins of the Teutonic castle

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes the Old and New Town of Torun and the ruins of Teutonic Castle located right on the banks of the Vistula River. The first traces of settlement in the area of the castle were found in the area of modern Torun, dating back as far as 1100 BC.

Thus, Torun is a city of two castles – in addition to the Teutonic Castle, you will find the ruins of Dybow Castle on the other side of the Vistula River. The Teutonic castle in Torun was the place for the Teutonic Knights to launch their attacks on Prussia.

As proof of the disobedience of Torunians to the Teutonics, in 1454, the castle was captured by the townsfolk (which was the beginning of the Polish-Teutonic war). The castle suffered during the war, and later the city council of Torun decided to demolish it, not wanting to create good conditions for any troops stationed there.

The dansker of the castle is well preserved, along with the tower, which you can pass while wandering along Przedzamcze Street. The dansker used to serve as an architecturally attractive…. castle toilet, and the tower additionally served a defensive function.

16. Ruins of Dybow Castle

Following suit and taking in Torun’s castles, it’s worth moving to the other side of the Vistula and seeing the ruins of Dybow Castle. The castle was erected by order of the Polish king Wladyslaw Jagiello in 1424 as a show of strength in the face of the constant threat from the Teutonic state.

The town of Nieszawa, which competed with Torun in trade, was located under Dybow Castle. As early as 1431, Torun destroyed the town with the support of the Teutonic Knights, and under their pressure, King Casimir Jagiellon decided to move Nieszawa up the Vistula River.

Admission to the remains of Dybow Castle is free. Its outer walls and the entrance gate leading to the courtyard are well preserved. Be careful – the area is tidy, but there are some unevennesses. The road bridge over the Vistula is well visible from the northern part of the castle.

17. Viewpoint on Kępa Bazarowa

Once you’ve hopped on a Torvelo city bike and reached Dybow Castle, extend your tour to the vantage point on Kępa Bazarowa. You can get a great view of Philadelphia Boulevard (Bulwar Filadelfijski) and the buildings of medieval Torun from here. You can also reach Kępa Bazarowa by boat “Katarzynka”, which connects the two banks of the Vistula River.

Driving here from the vicinity of Torun Glowny train station, you will cross a bridge over the Little Vistula River. All around is the Kępa Bazarowa Nature Reserve, which protects a riparian forest with huge willows and poplars. This side of Torun is much wilder and closer to nature. It’s a good alternative to the beautiful but crowded Old Town centre during the season.

18. The Fortress of Torun and Torun Fortress Museum

pol. Muzeum Twierdzy Toruń

The attractions associated with the buildings of one of Europe’s largest fortresses are a major treasure of Torun. The impressive 19th-century fortress comprises a total of more than 200 buildings – including 15 forts, which were built on a perimeter of more than 22 kilometres. The Torun Fortress Museum, located in the former barracks of the Chelminska Gate, tells the story of these fortifications.

The museum tells the history of the construction of the Torun fortress, starting as early as the Middle Ages and focusing on the 19th-century Prussian investment. The exhibition also tells about the further fate of the buildings during World War I and World War II and the impact of the fortress’ existence on the city. Thanks to the model of the fortress, you can realize the magnitude with which it was built and the large area it covered.

Fortress Torun was so effective in deterring potential enemy threats that it was never used in combat conditions. The only firing was made in 1914 from Fort I towards Russian army positions, and the only shell victim was a foal from a farm in a nearby village.

Of the 15 forts built in Torun, some are in private hands and used for purposes other than tourism. Forts have been designated for more or less regular tours:

• fort I “John III Sobieski”

The only armoured-type fort in central Europe was built in 1892 as the youngest part of the Torun Fortress. It was heavily armed – the cost of building one 150 mm calibre cannon was the same as the… the cost of building Torun’s St. Stephen’s Church. The fort’s rooms were connected by underground corridors.

After World War II, the fort became the home of the Central Import Wine Cellars, and you’ll be able to see a collection of some of the bottles (unfortunately empty) in one of the rooms of Fort I. It’s much cooler inside than outside – be sure to bring an extra layer of clothing even in summer.

• fort IV “Stanislaw Zolkiewski”

Construction of Fort IV was completed in 1884 in the northeastern part of Torun. The building was prepared to withstand up to a six-month siege, having the task of, among other things, protecting nearby railroad stations. It is the best-prepared part of the Torun Fortress for tourists.

Details of the tour of Fort IV can be found on the website. The tour has its own atmosphere – a Prussian soldier will guide you through the underground corridors, showing you, among other things, the barracks, the moat bottom protection posts and several other fort-like rooms. For example, you can stay overnight at Fort IV in an officer’s suite.

19. Invisible House (Niewidzialny Dom)

A visit to the Invisible House is an experience that is difficult to repeat – it is one of the unusual attractions of Torun. To make sighted people more aware of the everyday life of blind people and the challenges they have to face, the Invisible House is visited in absolute darkness, hearing only the voice of the guide next to it.

As requested by the Invisible House, I won’t tell you in detail what visiting the place entails. You enter the attraction without any light sources, leaving your phone and glowing watches in the cabinets at the ticket counter. The whole adventure lasts about an hour and strongly changes awareness about not only blind people but also the principles of our senses.

20. The Tony Halik Museum of Travelers (Muzeum Podróżników)

Travel enthusiasts should not miss this point on the map of sightseeing in Torun. The famous Polish traveler Mieczyslaw Sedzimir Antoni Halik, more widely known as Tony Halik, was a native of Torun. In a former granary from the 18th century, a Travelers’ Museum named after him has been organized in commemoration of Halik’s adventures.

Hosted by Halik and Elzbieta Dzikowska, the program “Pepper and Vanilla” attracted thousands of Poles in front of their TV sets, who were thirsty for any kind of travel during the communist era. Halik’s ones, including a several-year car trip from Buenos Aires to Alaska, were completely abstract and very interesting.

The museum has collected over 800 mementoes of Dzikowska and Halik’s travels. The exhibition is rich, but it was organized rather monotonously. Maybe you will bring better impressions from visiting the museum, but to me, the place reminded me too much of old museums, where exhibits are hidden from visitors behind thick glass, and the information to read is not very captivating.

21. Planetarium

In the city of the great astronomer can not miss the planetarium. On the dome with a diameter of 15 meters, you will watch spherical presentations about the cosmos, including the Universe’s structure, the mysteries of planets and galaxies, and popular constellations. The Torun planetarium has been operating in the city since 1994 and initiated its activities on the anniversary of Copernicus’ birth.

The planetarium building was built in the 19th century and was part of the city’s gasworks. In its new incarnation, as a place dedicated to the Universe, it will allow you to view space-related material in unique conditions and, among other things, to become a member of a mission to Mars for a while.

22. Ethnographic Museum

I used to associate visiting an ethnographic museum with going out of town and walking among country cottages recreated in an idyllic setting. In Torun, you can visit an unusual attraction – the Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa Ethnographic Museum, which operates in the very centre of the city, right next to the UNESCO-listed medieval urban complex.

There’s no denying it – I’m not a fan of such attractions and expected that the tour would not be passionate for me. I was happy to find out that the assumption was wrong. Supplied with an exhibition plan, I strolled with curiosity among the sites recreated or moved here from Kashubia, Kuyavia, Kociewie and Tuchola Forest.

You could enter most of the huts and see the arranged furnishings of the chambers. In the Ethnographic Park you will find 19 objects of rural architecture built mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are 3 full homesteads restored, a working windmill from 1896, a water mill and even a fire station with a fire engine.

23. Bydgoszcz Suburb (Bydgoskie Przedmieście)

Although the Gothic centre of Torun is charming and can be explored for long days, I recommend heading west for a while and visiting a more unusual and obvious attraction – the Bydgoskie Przemiescie district. It used to be an exclusive neighbourhood, inhabited by the city’s wealthy, full of greenery and Art Nouveau architecture.

Bydgoskie Przedmieście declined during the communist era when the structure of residents quickly changed. The artistic bohemia was exchanged for a more haphazard mix of residents, and the charming architecture began to be simplified and redeveloped. However, many mementoes of the turn-of-the-century heyday remain today.

On Bydgoskie Przedmiescie stretches the City Park – Torun’s largest and oldest park, established in 1817. It occupies more than 20 hectares of undulating terrain not far from the Vistula River, making walks and bicycle ride through the place quite a pleasant experience.

You’ll find quite a few interesting townhouses from the 19th and 20th centuries by walking along Sienkiewicza Street. You will come across many interesting examples of modernist architecture on Mickiewicz Street. Noteworthy among them is the building at Mickiewicza 9 – the Regional Directorate of State Forests.

At 38/40 Slowacki Street, you will see the modernist Kraus House, built in the so-called ship style. Between numbers 44 and 78, a complex of opulent villas – not only modernist but also built in the style of manor houses.

Lovers of modernism will like this part of Torun because the architecture here is diverse – both in form and in the purpose of the buildings. A clinic with a stained-glass decorated staircase made a great impression on me. It’s not meant to be toured, but you can walk in there like any other patient and get a glimpse of the modernist flavour.

24. Torun murals & street-art

While exploring the Bydgoskie Przedmieście area and exploring it by bicycle, extend your trip to the Mikołaj Rej and Fałat estates to the north. This is one of Torun’s basins of murals – another of Torun’s unusual attractions. Many walls of blocks of flats have been covered with them, adding a rather stodgy tourist character to the rather stodgy big-panel housing estate.

You will find the most interesting “specimens” of street art in the area of Yuri Gagarin and Nikolai Rej streets. The themes of the murals are varied, although several features, of course, Nicolaus Copernicus, Torun’s biggest “celebrity”. I recommend you to have another look around Nicolaus Copernicus University (Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika – UMK). On the wall of the UMK auditorium, you will find a colourful mosaic – an art installation.

If the murals aren’t enough for you, you might also be interested in the Na Skarpie housing estate in the eastern part of the city, where I managed to locate a dozen or so such works. Your best bet is to get there by city bicycle, dedicating a day to exploring Torun’s murals and street art. It will be a good break from the Gothic, which is “touch and go” in Torun.

25. Signs of the Times – Center for Contemporary History (Znaki Czasu – Centrum Historii Wspolczesnej)

Signs of the Times is a place dedicated to contemporary art, which has been operating in Torun since 2008. The Contemporary Art Center can be visited regularly, as the exposition in temporary exhibitions changes every 2-3 months, and every 3 weeks a new object appears in the art gallery.

There is also a cinema in Torun’s “Signs of the Times” Contemporary Art Center – you can check its repertoire and choose a screening on the date of your visit to Torun. If you’re lucky, you may attend one of the festivals held at Znaki Czasu, such as the PLASTER International Poster and Typography Festival. I would love to participate in it, so…. there is the motivation for another visit to Torun. 😉

26. Theaters in Torun – Baj Pomorski, Wilam Horzyca Theater

A visit to Torun is a good opportunity to attend performances in the city’s theatres. In the northern part of the Old Town, not far from the Planetarium, you will find the Wilam Horzyca Theater, and near the ruins of the Teutonic Castle – the Baj Pomorski Theater.

The Wilam Horzyca Theater formerly occupies a richly decorated building from 1904, which the Germans rebuilt and simplified in 1941-42. The main hall of the theater, where the most important plays in the repertoire are staged, still makes quite an impression. Being in Torun, we watched the play “Career of Nicodemus Dyzma”, in which the main role was played by Arkadiusz Walesiak. Great fun!

Baj Pomorski is a place I would recommend especially to families with children. The theatre focuses on plays using puppets, animation, multimedia techniques and acting by actors. Your attention will certainly be drawn to the theatre’s facade, which has been arranged as a wooden cabinet full of fairy tale characters. After days full of gothic, such a variety made a big impression on me.

27. The Harmonium (Harmonijka) and Cosmopolis fountain

Harmonijka is officially known as Collegium Minus, a building belonging to Nicolaus Copernicus University, which was built in the interwar period in the modernist trend. It owes its name to its facade, composed of vertical parallel stripes. Before it fell into the hands of the University of Krakow after the war, it housed within its walls, among other things, the Municipal Savings Bank. For fans of modernism, it is a must-see in Torun, while for others, it is an unusual and unobvious attraction.

A Cosmopolis fountain has been operating in front of the Harmony since 2008, consisting of jets arranged in the plan of the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the central Sun. This is a reference to the work of Copernicus, in which he proposed the now recognized model of the heliocentric system.

In the evening, you can watch a multimedia fountain show using light, sound and water gushing from the jets. Everything is done, among other things, to the accompaniment of the song “Cosmopolis”, written especially for the show by Krzesimir Debski. If you don’t have an idea for an evening in Torun, you’ve just found it ;).

28. Former Reichsbank (Collegium Maximum) and Rapacki Square

Located next to Harmonijka, Rapacki Square is a place worth visiting as a break from the medieval centre of Torun. At the square, you will find a Torvelo city bike station, so you can set off from here, for example, to conquer Bydgoszcz Suburb or cross the Vistula River to the ruins of Dybow Castle.

On Rapacki Square stands the former Reichsbank, which was built in 1906 as the headquarters of the German Reichsbank. Today in the building, you’ll find the UMK Collegium Maximum with the UMK University Museum, available for free. You can read more about visiting the place on its website.

On your way to Rapacki Square from the Old Town, you’ll hit the Caesar’s Arch tenement. It’s a 14th-century Gothic building whose first floor was pierced after 1910 and later expanded to include the adjacent first floors of townhouses for the streetcar that passed through there. Eventually, the streetcar was withdrawn from there, as it was harmful to the historic fabric of the Gothic Old Town.

On the other side of John Paul II Avenue, lovers of post-war modernism will find an interesting treat – a one-story MZK ticket outlet with a corrugated roof. It was built in 1964 and managed to be preserved without any structural changes. Also preserved at Rapacki Square is a fragment of Poland’s oldest city wall, which was built around 1262.

How much time to spend exploring Torun?

It is worth spending at least 2 full days exploring Torun. This will allow you to see most of the Old and New Town attractions, although the pace of sightseeing will be quite fast. If I could make a suggestion to you, in Torun, I would recommend staying at least 2 nights and sightseeing at a more leisurely pace, giving yourself more time to relax.

You need at least 3-4 nights in Torun to see all the places mentioned in the article. I’m assuming that you won’t fly into museums and similar facilities “like a storm”, but will give yourself some time to explore the exhibitions consciously.

It seems to me that by coming to Torun only for a few hours, you lose a lot of the city’s atmosphere. If you have no other option, hook up with the city for at least a while. It’s always a better option than completely giving up sightseeing in the city, but it will definitely leave a lot of unsatisfaction.

You can visit the most interesting corners of Toruń with a local guide. Below are some suggestions for the most interesting tours, but you can also check the full list of available tours.

Where to stay in Toruń? Recommended hotels & apartments & accommodations

The accommodation base in Torun is powerful, as thousands of tourists from Poland and around the world come to the city every year. Your best bet is to stay in a hotel or apartment in the Old and New Town area – then you’ll have the most important sights of Torun at your fingertips.

Booking.com

I have prepared a list of 3 suggested accommodations for you. I think that with such help you will easily find the perfect place for you.

Where to eat and drink in Torun? Recommended restaurants and cafes

On the interactive map of Torun, I have marked a dozen or so restaurants and cafes that I recommend. I have selected a few of them here for you to make it easier for you to find your way among the considerable number of establishments in Torun’s Old and New Town.

Recommended cafes in the centre of Torun:

• NAPAR – one of the most recommended coffee shops in the centre of Torun. Varied coffee – several types of beans available, dedicated barista. Cool cafe atmosphere with an interesting seasonal menu but very little seating (inside and outside).

• Grande Coffee Torun – a place that reminds me a bit of Green Cafe Nero in terms of decor. Aromatic americano, plenty of space to sit and work with your computer. It’s been open since the morning, so you can still stop by before another day of sightseeing in Torun. Several locations on the map of Torun – I visited the one on Old Town Square.

• Kona Coast Cafe – tasty coffee from local roasters, lots of seating (lower floor also available). The cafe also serves breakfast, so it’s worth visiting in the morning. For breakfast, coffee is available at discounted prices. Good, distinctive flat whites.

• FONTE – a cafe right next to the Torun Miasto train station. Just in time if you have to wait longer for the train (there are no cafes or restaurants at the station). The cafe has its own beans. Tasty and very cheap coffee, nice atmosphere, but quite a little seating.

My recommended restaurants in Torun:

• Patio Restaurant – a spacious, pleasing to the eye restaurant with a picturesque garden among the former city walls. Delicious food, good service and a lunch menu make it possible to have a two-course dinner here at a good price.

• Bread and Wine Restaurant – a restaurant on Old Town Square with a view of the Old Town Hall from the garden. Several dishes are on the menu, and vegetarian dishes are also available. You can also have breakfast here or have a look at something stronger (quite a selection of spirits).

• Jan Olbracht Old Town Brewery – a restaurant with homemade beer. A tasting board is available for beer lovers. Quite a few dishes on the menu (great roast duck), efficient service, pretty decent prices.

How to get around Torun? Transportation in the city – bicycles and public transportation

The medieval layout of Torun, consisting of the Old Town, the New Town and the ruins of the Teutonic Castle, is so compact that exploring it on foot is not a big problem. There is no public transportation in the city centre – its stops can be found on the streets surrounding the centre, including John Paul II Avenue, Sikorski Embankment and Leon Szuman Street.

A good way to explore Torun is to rent the city’s Torvelo bicycles and take day-long bike tours around the city. To rent a city bike you need:

• register on the Torvelo website,
• make an online deposit of min. PLN 10 deposit into your Torvelo account,
• log in at the selected city bike station with your PIN and password and rent a bike.

When you finish your bike tour, you put your equipment back in special racks at the bike stations. Just to be sure, you can log into your Torvelo account and check that the bike has definitely been returned.

Using public transportation in Torun is easy thanks to jakdojade.pl. There you will plan your trip from point A to point B, embracing the required transfers as well. The public transportation network in Torun consists of buses and streetcars.

You have just learned about my list of the most interesting places and things to do in Torun. Every point on this list is worth seeing, but if you’re pressed for time – focus on Torun’s Old Town and find a moment to step outside the walls of the ancient medieval city. Sightseeing in Torun will give you a glimpse into different chapters of the city’s history – this diversity is something that tourists really enjoy. I wish you a successful exploration of Torun’s most interesting attractions!