Poznan and Gdansk: An insider’s guide

*Poznan has never been on the tourist trail — something it’ll prove hard to believe when you find yourself rambling through its myriad of cobbled streets or sipping a cool beer on a sweltering day in the old town square. Although parts of the suburbs are clustered with social-realist blocks of flats, the city centre’s 19th century German architecture is eye-candy for building lovers — Poznan was part of the German Reich for 150 years until it was handed back to the Poles at the end of WWII.

With a population of more than 550,000, it’s roughly the size of Belfast but one in four citizens are university students. So, if you’re looking for cool bars and clubs, frequented by hip young Poles, you won’t be disappointed. Almost all the craic unfolds around Stary Rynek (Old Town Square, left) where chic restaurants and bars populate its narrow lanes.

Poznanians are really friendly folk, although they have a reputation as being the meanest people in Poland. They follow their local club Lech Poznan passionately. Try singing ‘Heja, Heja, Hej Kolejorz’ (Hey, hey, the Railway men) — a favourite chant of Lech’s fans when you get into a taxi and you might get a more favourable fare. A 5km journey should cost 20 zlotys at most, but add another 15% to that at night. Trams and buses go everywhere, they’re punctual and cost a mere 3.40 zloty (80 cent) for a 30-minute journey.