Torun, Poland on a weekend

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One of the cities that tourists often overlook in Poland is Torun, the birthplace of astronomer Nicholas Copernicus and a city that’s famous for its delicious gingerbread. I had always wanted to go to Torun and finally did so this weekend. Let’s jump right into what my itinerary mostly looked like on a short trip to this beautiful, medieval city.

Wander in Old town (Stare Miasto)

The old town of Torun is small and easily walkable. The medieval town is lined with historic buildings and contains many important structures such as the Old Town Hall, leaning tower and castle ruins.

The old quarter is a UNESCO world heritage site and layout of the town remains mostly unchanged since the Middle Ages. It was a Sunday when we visited and there were market stalls selling traditional goods in the old town. It was lovely walking on the charming cobblestone streets of this pretty town admiring the architecture, browsing the markets and soaking in the atmosphere.

Climb Old Town Hall for great views

You’ll find this beautiful Gothic style town hall in the old town square. There’s a museum inside the town hall, however we skipped it and just climbed the tower. The 175 stairs leading to the top were all different in size and length, so it was quite a workout.

Once on the top, we were presented with panoramic views of the entire town, including river Vistula – the largest river in Poland and the new areas of the city. We were lucky with the most gorgeous, sunny weather so we spent quite a bit on the top admiring the views.

Views from the old town hall

Bake traditional gingerbread at Gingerbread Museum

Right in historic old town of Torun, you can bake your own gingerbread at a museum dedicated to the famous gingerbreads! This is most popular with school children but adults can give it a try too. There are few, daily English tours as well, just make sure to visit the website and buy tickets for the right time in preferred language. When we went, next show was half an hour later and I didn’t want to wait so we continued further with exploring.

Gingerbread museum in Torun old town

Chill out at the riverside

Since Vistula passes by Torun, riverside cafes can be found right outside the old city walls. We sat there on the stairs with some beers and chips, and enjoyed the views across the river. There are also boat tours that you can opt for. On the other side of the river, there are parks if you’re interested in picnics and taking walks.

Riverside of Torun seen from old town

Try gingerbread beer

The last thing we did while in Torun was try out their famous gingerbread beer. We ordered a selection of five different beers, two of which were gingerbread and a Torun specialty based on sour cream.

Dark one was gingerbread beer

They were all so good and we ended up buying a pack of gingerbread beers from the pub, which was also its own brewery. Gingerbread beers are rarely found in general stores here in Poland, so it was a nice souvenir to bring back to Lodz.

Exploring Torun old town

 

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