For the weekend
When searching for a good place to spend the weekend, it might be a good idea to bring up a visit to the city of Toruń. Gothic Old Town, countless events and festivals and lively, packed summer café gardens make the local atmosphere hard to recreate anywhere else. Convenient location of the city and decently developed communication to other bigger cities of central and northern Poland make Toruń very accessible for everyone. In order to allow you to fully experience even the shortest trip we prepared a short highlight of activities perfect for weekends.
A detailed description of landmarks and their history is available in a flyer form in 13 language versions at our Tourist Information Centre on Rynek Staromiejski 25. Welcome to Toruń!
Nicolaus Copernicus
A figure unmistakeably connected to Toruń. When in need of more knowledge about our most famous resident visitors should step by his family home – the most probable place of his birth on Kopernika 15/17. Another building strongly tied to Copernicus is the st. Johns’ Cathedral where a baptismal bowl used for little Nicolaus’s baptism can be found. An impressive monument of the astronomer, however, can be spotted on the main square and it’s a hot spot for souvenir photos and meetings.
Taste of gingerbread
Toruń gingerbread has been an appreciated, local specialty for centuries. Their taste impressed many guests spending time in the city. Fryderyk Chopin himself, in one of his letters describing Toruń’s beauty, mentioned “nothing comes above gingerbreads, oh these gingerbreads, one of which I had sent to Warsaw”. Today, pierniki came to be one of the most favoured souvenirs and real symbols connected to the city. Therefore, it’s a worthy idea to visit the Museum of Toruń Gingerbread and learn secrets of this cookie’s production. You can even bake it yourself to take home and keep the sweet scent as a reminder of the visit to the “Gingerbread City”. When hoping to buy some for a snack, head to Żeglarska street, where you can buy them by gram or in various sets.
Pearl of Gothic
Toruń Old Town area is a jewel of gothic architecture. Monumental sacral buildings: st. Johns’ Cathedral, Church of St. Mary and, deemed the most beautiful of the three, st. James Church make a remarkable impression. One of the most valuable monuments is a gothic Old Town Hall. Centuries-old city gates, towers and defensive walls are also outstanding as an example of the same architectural style. One of them, the extraordinary Leaning Tower has become one of the symbols of the city. The gothic castle was brought down by Toruń’s residents in fifteenth century, although the charming ruins of this fortress remain to this day.
Sport and activities
There is one more unique way of spending free time in Toruń: a weekend in the atmosphere of sportsmanship. Toruń has a long-running, beautiful tradition in several sport categories: speedway, ice and grass hockey and basketball. Outstanding objects like Motoarena or Tor-Tor Ice Rink organize matches, during which every sports enthusiast will find plenty of entertainment. Even skydiving is available in the city area for more thrill-seeking and demanding visitors.
Toruń after dark
The city has a different feel to it after the evening lights go on and many cafes and pubs open their outdoor beer parlors and guests fill their venues. Meeting with friends in such scenery, among original gothic walls might make one feel like travelling to a time when its founders, the Teutonic Order, ruled the city. Especially charming during the night is also a landscape that can be seen illuminated from the viewpoint on the left bank of the Vistula river. This view never fails to amaze.
Watch our movie – “Weekend in Toruń”>>
