Start on Wały Chrobrego, the terraces above the Oder, then cross to the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle and climb its bell tower. Take the lift up the cathedral tower, go underground at Przełomy and in the wartime shelter by the station, and book a night at the Philharmonic. Eat a pasztecik on Wojska Polskiego. Two days covers the city; a third buys Wolin or the Crooked Forest.
Updated · Wimup Editorial
Szczecin is Poland's port on the Oder, upriver from the Baltic and closer to Berlin than to Warsaw. It was the German city of Stettin until 1945, which shows in the star-shaped squares and the terraces above the river. Most visitors skip it, so the castle, the concert hall and the bars are yours.
Half a kilometre of terraces about 19 metres above the Oder, laid out between 1902 and 1921 on the site of a demolished fort. The National Museum and the regional government sit on top; come at dusk, when the facades and the river turn gold.
The seat of the Griffin dukes, rebuilt after the war around two courtyards that are open daily and free. The Bell Tower is the reason to pay: about 200 steps to a terrace over the cathedral, the embankment and the river.
A white glass block of pointed gables by Barozzi Veiga, opened in 2014 and winner of the EU Mies van der Rohe Award in 2015, the first for a building in Eastern Europe. The gold-leafed main hall is the payoff, so see it with an orchestra in it.
A National Museum branch built under Solidarity Square, named World Building of the Year in 2016. Its name means Breakthroughs, and it walks through the city's 20th-century turning points; the sloping roof above it is a public square.
The cathedral's tower stands about 110 metres, and its top was rebuilt in 2008. A lift runs to a terrace about 56 metres up, the only way in, since the stairs are closed to visitors.
A Second World War air-raid shelter beside the main station, walked with a guide through its long tunnels. The Second World War route and a separate Cold War route fill different parts of the bunker.
Opened in 1901 and modelled on Hamburg's Ohlsdorf, it is the largest cemetery in Poland at about 170 hectares. It was laid out as a park, with avenues and hundreds of tree and shrub species.
A plane-tree lawn in front of City Hall that runs into Kasprowicz Park, the city's largest at 27 hectares. Różanka, the rose garden at its far end, dates from 1928; come in March for the crocuses.
Historic trams, buses, cars and motorbikes parked across 16 tracks in a former tram depot. It is the best rainy-day museum in the city for anyone travelling with children.
The bar that made the pasztecik szczeciński, a deep-fried yeast roll with a meat or vegetable filling, on this site since 1975. Order it with a cup of red barszcz, as the regulars do.
Planetarium and interactive sea-science halls in a 122-metre hull, opened 2023.
French, Italian and Polish plates on Piłsudskiego, best known for its desserts.
Purple carpets cover the lawns of Jasne Błonia and the embankment. Look from the paths.
One of Poland's oldest theatre festivals, traced back to a theatre week in 1966.
One Saturday when the museums stay open into the evening.
Concerts at the Rose Garden and a parade, for the 1945 handover to Polish administration.
Four days of crafts, food and music at the cathedral, around the feast of its patron.
Tall ships along Wały Chrobrego, concerts, and two-hour cruises under sail.
A World Match Racing Tour regatta sailed on Lake Dąbie.
Stalls on Aleja Kwiatowa and two central squares; the 2025 market ran to 21 December.
About 45 km northeast. A Polregio train runs from the terminal to Szczecin Główny in under an hour, but only a few times a day.
Szczecin Główny sits below the old town. Trains to Berlin are replaced by buses between Angermünde and Szczecin while the line is rebuilt, likely until late 2027.
ZDiTM runs the trams and buses. Pay by card on board or in an app; the Szczecin Tourist Card adds free rides.
The castle, the Old Town Hall, the cathedral and Wały Chrobrego sit within a 15-minute walk of each other.
Fish, rice and tomato spread created in Szczecin in the 1960s.
Baltic and lagoon fish, smoked and sold along the coast.
Dumplings with potato and cheese, meat or cabbage.
Sour rye soup with sausage and egg.
Polish baked cheesecake made with twaróg.
A deep-fried yeast roll with a meat or vegetable filling.
Clear beetroot soup, sipped from a cup beside a pasztecik.
Herring in oil, cream or vinegar, the standard Polish starter.
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