Town Square - Old Town
Town Square - Old Town
Town Square - Old Town
4.5
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1,187 reviews
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Daniela-Carlo_Udine
Udine, Italy4,640 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
We visited it by train from Poznań (there are very few 1.5 h intercity), then arriving in the city by bus. The city is very pretty, having maintained unchanged the "flowery" Baltic Gothic architectural style, with a rather large old town. The tall churches stand out, with large leaded windows and sumptuous baroque organs (with brand new pipes), which suggests that it is still the land of organ makers and glassmakers. The local specialty is gingerbread, in fact an important part of the shops sell cookies. Nice city, but if the center was car-free instead of Ztl, it would be more so.
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Written August 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pawel_hbg
Sopot, Poland16,786 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
For centuries main square of Toruń was a site of trade, tournaments and parades, announcements of sentences and performance of public executions. In centre of square you can find monumental Town Hall. Over 150 year ago, a monument of Copernicus was placed on the market, alongside a monument of a violin-playing rafter, a protagonist of a local legend.
Written June 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mikołaj B
Gdansk, Poland12 contributions
Sep 2020 • Couples
One of the most beautifull oldtown in Europe and i say this as a person born in Gdańsk! Its really huge, you can walk for hours and dont see all those beautifull streets. Choice of bars and restaurants its bigger than you can imagine. From Creol restaurant(Luizjana), through restaurants brewery(Jan Olbracht) where there is place for almost 200 people and its every time full, to breakfast place where they bake own bread on your eyes(bread house). The proces are low and quality is really high. I recommend Toruń for everyone who enjoyed Gdansk or Kraków
Written September 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelingjohn123
Peterlee, UK3,144 contributions
Jul 2024 • Couples
Beautiful old town square, probably one of the best in Poland and Europe. Stunning architecture and a fantastically busy place with amazing vibe. Lots of bars and restaurants and also concerts etc in the summer. Due to historic quirk they is also original unlike other cities in Poland which where destroyed in WW2 and rebuilt.
Written July 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kevin o
Brighton, UK78 contributions
Jan 2020 • Business
Beautiful town. Would recommend anyone to visit this place. Just walking the old streets were a joy. I was there 29th January and Christmas decorations along with a few Christmas trees were still on show. For a strange reason it made the town look even more beautiful.
Written January 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
barrystuart2017
Bedford, UK20 contributions
Aug 2020
Lots of coffee shops, restaurants around the very large central Town Hall. Try the excellent pancake restaurant in one corner of the square "Mannekin". Possible also to go to the top of the main tower, getting excellent views over Torun. Don't forget to get your selfie in front of the Copernicus statue too!
Written September 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
graemeb69
Durham, UK141 contributions
Oct 2019
Been lucky to visit here twice, the latter being last October. It's a wonderful town on the banks of the River Vistula. The town itself has many beautiful buildings with plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants. There also lots of shops from small quaint souvenir shops to larger stores.
Written March 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CJTravelerTexas
Texas9,284 contributions
May 2013 • Friends
Old Town Torun is well worth visiting. It has a number of historic buildings, beautiful churches, shops, pubs, and restaurants. In fact, if you are in Poland and Torun is not your destination, consider making a detour to visit this historic city, where that great polymath Nicolaus Copernicus was born and baptized. Old Town Torun is an excellent place for photographers.
Written June 1, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelling always
Sydney, Australia49 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
Lots of history, beautiful architecture. Find a spot in one of the many restaurants and relax and enjoy the old town. There’s more to explore in Toruń than just gingerbread!
Written October 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
retireeVancouver
Vancouver, Canada1,825 contributions
Jun 2018 • Couples
The red brick building that takes up most of the space on the old town square is the massive Town Hall. It is actually made up of 4 connected buildings in the shape of a quadrangle with its own courtyard in the middle. There is nothing of architectural interest on its facade to warrant the time to walk around it. Instead, walk through the middle opening, past the courtyard to enter the door for the museum which is housed in the Town Hall. There are displays on 3 floors ranging from Medieval sacral art, to artefacts showing medieval craftsmanship, to historical paintings, and to portraits of important Torun citizens and Polish Kings. Displays are worth spending 1/2 to 1 hour of time and, on Wednesday, entrance is free. Inside, visitors will also see the long white halls with their whitewashed low vaulting. The ground floor was used for merchant stalls, the first floor for council administrative rooms, and the second floor for entertaining important people like the king when he visited. The size of Town Hall attests to Torun's importance as a commercial center in medieval times.
All around the square are the pastel plastered burgher houses so common in medieval times. One outstanding house - House with the Star - had a pale yellow facade filled with rococo style stuccoed fruits and vegetables with a golden star on its gable. The other outstanding building surrounding the square was the red brick Artus Court, dating back to medieval times when wealthy merchants wanted their own social club. This building is also associated with the signing of the Second Peace Treaty that ended the rule of the defeated Teutonic Knights in 1466. The ground floor of this building now contains a popular gingerbread cookie shop. Out front of this building is the Gingerbread Walk of Fame. Plaques in the shape of the original gingerbread cookies (6 bumbs) show the signatures of outstanding people associated with Torun who have made a contribution in their specialized field like economics, astronomy, acting.
Just like other squares, patio cafes surrounded the old town square. Similarly, the square had its popular meeting places. One was at the base of the very tall Copernicus statue in front of the town hall, or at the smaller Rafterman's Monument where a bronze fiddler is surrounded by brassy frogs spouting a narrow stream of water.
The square had other bronze monuments as well, but these were placed at its corners. On one corner stood the small bronze Dog and Umbrella Monument which commemorated Torun's popular post-war cartoon caricaturist for his comic strip of a dull-witted professor and his dog, Filus. On the corner opposite the Copernicus Statue was a monument to the town's unique pillory - a bronze donkey with a strip of raised metal along its backside which injured wrongdoers when they sat on it and allowed the public to hurl ridicules at them.
Unlike other squares, the white church, across from the fiddler and frog monument/Rafterman's Monument, was not the main church which was 1 block away. The Church of the Holy Spirit was bare of decoration inside due to a Lutheran affiliation in the past, but the baroque altar with gilded statues, marble columns, and gilded sunburst made it worthwhile for a quick visit. The organ loft and the pulpit were also highly gilded - very attractive. On a side wall was an unusual display of many different types of rosary beads, judging by the 8 accompanying crests, from different areas around Torun. On another wall a plaque was hung as a tribute to those soldiers who had lost their lives at the hands of the Russian army in the Katyn forest. The church is now used by the Jesuits - no admission.
We started our sightseeing from the Town Hall. Torun's grid pattern of streets made it easy to find the attractions; however, allow time walking to them as they are scattered around the old town. We opted to view a few of the attractions located between the old town square and the Vistula River on our 1/2 day visit. The main cathedral - St. Johns - was 1 block away from the square while the best preserved defensive walls along the Vistula River with its 3 city gates were 3 blocks away. The Leaning Tower was a further 2 blocks away. Further afield, were the castle ruins. We found it useful to walk on a circuitous route from the Town Hall to the Leaning Tower to the Castle ruins and back to the Town Hall. The sights on this route were associated with the commercial and political history of Torun. Teutonic Knights in 1332 built their first castle here and then expanded their holdings from it while protecting their city with the red brick defensive wall, towers, and gates. Torun was an important trading center during the time of the Hanseatic League when goods like copper, grains, and logs were floated down the river to Torun, stored in the granaries, and from there shipped to other areas in the East. When we visited in June, the Copernicus House was not open.
There were many other atractions to see in the old town, but on a 1/2 day visit we chose the above sights. Torun's claim to fame is its connection to the Teutonic Knights and their defensive system of walls, towers, and gates, its connection to Copernicus, its delicious gingerbread, as well as its importance as a trading center on the Vistula River during the times of the Hanseatic League - all good reasons to visit Torun.
All around the square are the pastel plastered burgher houses so common in medieval times. One outstanding house - House with the Star - had a pale yellow facade filled with rococo style stuccoed fruits and vegetables with a golden star on its gable. The other outstanding building surrounding the square was the red brick Artus Court, dating back to medieval times when wealthy merchants wanted their own social club. This building is also associated with the signing of the Second Peace Treaty that ended the rule of the defeated Teutonic Knights in 1466. The ground floor of this building now contains a popular gingerbread cookie shop. Out front of this building is the Gingerbread Walk of Fame. Plaques in the shape of the original gingerbread cookies (6 bumbs) show the signatures of outstanding people associated with Torun who have made a contribution in their specialized field like economics, astronomy, acting.
Just like other squares, patio cafes surrounded the old town square. Similarly, the square had its popular meeting places. One was at the base of the very tall Copernicus statue in front of the town hall, or at the smaller Rafterman's Monument where a bronze fiddler is surrounded by brassy frogs spouting a narrow stream of water.
The square had other bronze monuments as well, but these were placed at its corners. On one corner stood the small bronze Dog and Umbrella Monument which commemorated Torun's popular post-war cartoon caricaturist for his comic strip of a dull-witted professor and his dog, Filus. On the corner opposite the Copernicus Statue was a monument to the town's unique pillory - a bronze donkey with a strip of raised metal along its backside which injured wrongdoers when they sat on it and allowed the public to hurl ridicules at them.
Unlike other squares, the white church, across from the fiddler and frog monument/Rafterman's Monument, was not the main church which was 1 block away. The Church of the Holy Spirit was bare of decoration inside due to a Lutheran affiliation in the past, but the baroque altar with gilded statues, marble columns, and gilded sunburst made it worthwhile for a quick visit. The organ loft and the pulpit were also highly gilded - very attractive. On a side wall was an unusual display of many different types of rosary beads, judging by the 8 accompanying crests, from different areas around Torun. On another wall a plaque was hung as a tribute to those soldiers who had lost their lives at the hands of the Russian army in the Katyn forest. The church is now used by the Jesuits - no admission.
We started our sightseeing from the Town Hall. Torun's grid pattern of streets made it easy to find the attractions; however, allow time walking to them as they are scattered around the old town. We opted to view a few of the attractions located between the old town square and the Vistula River on our 1/2 day visit. The main cathedral - St. Johns - was 1 block away from the square while the best preserved defensive walls along the Vistula River with its 3 city gates were 3 blocks away. The Leaning Tower was a further 2 blocks away. Further afield, were the castle ruins. We found it useful to walk on a circuitous route from the Town Hall to the Leaning Tower to the Castle ruins and back to the Town Hall. The sights on this route were associated with the commercial and political history of Torun. Teutonic Knights in 1332 built their first castle here and then expanded their holdings from it while protecting their city with the red brick defensive wall, towers, and gates. Torun was an important trading center during the time of the Hanseatic League when goods like copper, grains, and logs were floated down the river to Torun, stored in the granaries, and from there shipped to other areas in the East. When we visited in June, the Copernicus House was not open.
There were many other atractions to see in the old town, but on a 1/2 day visit we chose the above sights. Torun's claim to fame is its connection to the Teutonic Knights and their defensive system of walls, towers, and gates, its connection to Copernicus, its delicious gingerbread, as well as its importance as a trading center on the Vistula River during the times of the Hanseatic League - all good reasons to visit Torun.
Written August 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hola este domingo visitaremos Torun en ruta hacia Gdansk y querría saber sobre el aparcamiento en la ciudad, dónde recomendáis hacerlo o qué parking es más aconsejable. Muchas gracias
Written August 24, 2019
Proponuję parking na placu Św. Katarzyny.
Written August 25, 2019
Est-ce agréable de visiter en février ou à déconseiller ?
Written November 6, 2016
It will be a bit cold and less people in the streets, that's for sure, but, you will enjoy more quite landscapes.
A bientot!
Written November 8, 2016
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