Time

Time difference between Poznan and Greenwich is one hour in winter and two hours in summer.

Climate

The climate in Poznań is temperate, under the influence of air masses coming from the Atlantic. The summer average is about 22 degrees Celsius, sometimes going up to 30, the winter average (January) is minus 1 degrees Celsius, falling down to minus 10 at times. Poznań has the lowest precipitation level among all Poland's cities.

Food & Drink

There are numerous pubs, bars and restaurant in the centre of Poznan where you can eat quickly or sit for a while or even spend the whole evening pleasantly. On Old Market Square we recommend Bordo Bistro (28 Żydowska Str.), you can eat inside or in the pavement café. If you like salad, you must go to Zielona Weranda, there are two of such restaurants in Poznan: one at 10 Świętosławska Str. and another at 7 Paderewskiego Str. If you get hungry while stralling along Święty Marcin Str., you can drop in Bernardino, 40 Święty Marcin Str.).

Among traditional Polish dishes there are: bigos (meat and cabbage stew, originally Lithuanian dish), pierogi (dumplings stuffed with a variety of ingredients, dish characteristic for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland), buckwheat groats with pork scratchings, (also characteristic for the countries mentioned above), pickled cabbage and pickled cucumber (characteristic for Northern Slavic as well), red borsch, sometimes served with ravioli (Lithuanian dish), sour rye soup (typically Northern Slavic), cabbage soup, peas soup, traditional Polish meat stew called flaki, mushroom soup, czernina (Polish soup made from poultry blood and broth), kutia (sweet grain pudding), Easter cake (originally Belorussian and Lithuanian), poppy-seed rolls and cakes and honey (actually, it was already produced in Ancient Greece times).

Newer cuisine often has French and German origin, however it has also become extremely characteristic and popular all around Poland:

pork chop (schabowy) - which is German Schweineschnitzel, steak (originally French), piece of boiled beef with horseradish sauce - German Tellerfleisch or Tafelspitz, purée (originally French), boiled potatoes and fresh cucumber salad (originally French again), pork knuckle (German Schweinehaxe), sausages which originally come from Germany, but have been adopted and developed into a variety of flavours and types e.g. Silesian, Hunter's, Cracow and many others, blood sausage, pancakes (typically Slavic, possibly adopted from Austria), gingerbread (typical for Hanseatic cities among which there were Polish cities of Gdansk and Torun).

Holidays and free days

On religious and public holidays all shops are closed. On some of them restaurants, cinemas, theatre and museums are closed, too. Summer vacation in Poland is in July and August, most theatre are closed during this period. During the rest of the year theatre are normally closed on Mondays. On Sundays only shopping malls and supermarkets are open.

All shops are closed on the following holidays: 1 January - New Year, 6 January - Epiphany Easter (Sunday and Monday, moveable feast), 1 May  - Labour Day, 3 May - Constitution Day, Pentecost (Sunday, moveable feast), Corpus Christi (Thursday, moveable feast), 15 August - Assumption, 1 November - All Saints, 11 November - Independence Day, 25 and 26 December - Christmas Days.

Shopping

In Poznan, just like in most Polish cities, there are lots of shopping malls where you can do the shopping from morning until evening. You can go either to Centrum M1 at 14 Szwajcarska Street, open Monday - Saturday 9am - 9pm, Sunday 10am - 7pm; or Poznan Plaza shopping and entertainment mall at 1 Kaspra Drużbickiego Str., open Monday - Saturday 9:30am - 9pm, Sunday 10am - 10pm; or Galeria Malta at 8 Baraniaka Str., open Monday - Saturday 10am - 10pm, Sunday 10am - 8pm. Besides, there are many souvenir shops, like in any other city centre.

City for children

A visit to Malta Lake will satisfy our children's all needs. You can take a ride on Maltanka narrow-gauge train. During the journey between Maltanka Station, located near Rondo Środka, and Zwierzyniec Station, located near New Zoo, you can admire not only the lake itself, but the splendid Malta Ski Recreation and Sports Centre, with its all year ski slope, summer sleigh run, stylish Park Hotel, numerous bars and restaurants, playgrounds, rollerblading and cycling tracks as well as hiking paths. Maltanka train can be taken between May and the end of September, daily between 10am and 6pm, every hour on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends and holidays.

You can also visit New Zoo, located on the south bank of the lake. Animals live there on spacious pens, similar to their natural habitat. It is open: April - September 9am - 7pm, March and October 9am - 5pm and November - February 9am - 4pm. Ticket prices: regular 11 PLN, discount 7 PLN.

At 72 Bolesława Krzywoustego Str. there is Avana artificial climbing wall. Opening Times: 10am -10pm daily.