Szczecin – suggestions for a family weekend

Well, let’s fly to Szczecin! They probably say everyone, and few actually get there ;) That’s why today we will disenchant the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and show that despite the distance, it is worth coming here.

Ashamed to admit that this is only the first blog post describing places in West Pomerania. Until now, it has been one of the provinces we have least explored, but that has thankfully changed. All thanks to an invitation to quite an event – Sails 2021, held in late July and early August. Of course, we wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t take the opportunity to see what interesting things Szczecin has to offer, especially in terms of family-friendly places with children.

We had two full days at our disposal, with the focus on the main event, the aforementioned Sails 2021. On both Saturday and Sunday we showed up at the waterfront, where sailing ships and yachts were moored. We participated in side events, animations and visited children’s zones. Fortunately, we had time to look at some interesting places, get to know the city both by day and by night, as well as from different perspectives: from a height and from the water ;)

Below we show the places we saw in Szczecin with a few sentences from us, location and prices. At the end we add a list of places we didn’t get to, but you were the ones who suggested them to us, so we throw in for inspiration and memory.

Museum of Technology and Communication in Szczecin

We have one problem with this museum – we regret that it is in the process of expansion, and unfortunately this description will become obsolete rather quickly ;) Currently, renovation work is underway to enlarge the museum site with a new building, and for this purpose the tenement building next to the depot will be used. Because it’s worth knowing at the outset that the museum is located right in the historic streetcar depot on ul. Niemierzyńska 18A.

All exhibits are viewed in one large hall. Here you will see vintage streetcars, buses, cars, motorcycles and uniformed service vehicles. Younger visitors will be delighted to see fire engines or motorcycles hanging overhead, while older visitors will recall how it used to be to travel in streetcars or Fiats, which are now considered antiques.

Particularly noteworthy are the vehicles produced in Szczecin: Stoewer cars and motorcycles: Junak and Iskra. The museum has an entire section devoted to machines and vehicles that were produced under the Stoewer banner; there are cars, bicycles, sewing machines, typewriters, and memorabilia and symbols related to the company.

Due to the pandemic, exhibits cannot be touched, and parts of the exhibit are off limits.

Address:
Museum of Technology and Communication – Art Depot in Szczecin
Street. Niemierzyńska 18A
71-441 Szczecin

Prices:
Normal ticket – 12 zloty.
Discounted ticket – 6 zloty.
Children under 4 years of age enter for free.
On Tuesdays, entry to the museum is free for everyone.

Różanka City Park

The Rose Garden in the Różanka city park is a flowery refuge in the city, a place for various events and concerts. The garden was established in 1928; at that time some 8,000 rose bushes were planted here. A few years later, a Bird Well was placed in the park, with a fountain depicting 4 birds taking flight. For many years the park served the residents of Szczecin, but through lack of funds it began to deteriorate and fall into disrepair. The current garden, which is pleasing to the eye, was rebuilt and put into use in the spring of 2007.

Today you can admire about 100 different species of roses and more than 9,000 shrubs. Although we were here in the summer, we were late for the apogee of rose blooming. This doesn’t mean that there was a lack of flowers – because there were still plenty of those, but being probably a month or even two months earlier we would have had an even more colorful display.

We must admit that the area is beautifully arranged: there are rectangular and square flowerbeds full of shrubs, pergolas, there is no shortage of benches for relaxation (including benches even surrounded by roses), and you can admire exotic trees and shrubs here.

While you are with your children, you can take a look at the playground located among the trees in the southern part of the park. Next door is Kasprowicz Park, the largest park in Szczecin.

Address:
Różanka city park
Pawel Jasienica 8
71-899 Szczecin

Prices:
Admission to Rosanka Park is free.

Holiday Park Szczecin

The Holiday Park Szczecin amusement park is located on Lasztownia Island, on the shore opposite the Chrobry Embankment. A multitude of attractions for both young and old were set up in a relatively small area.

Let’s start with the biggest ones, visible from a distance. Sure to catch the eye is the Wheel of Szczecin, or Ferris wheel, as high as 60 meters. It is currently the largest such facility in Poland! It’s worth taking the carriage and slowly ascending, from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire city. It is a safe and slow ride, even small children can enter.

The other high attractions are no longer so quiet, in fact the opposite! These are thrilling and adrenaline-filled rides, for those who need a little more excitement while riding. There is an 80-meter high carousel with chained chairs, a 55-meter high hammer and an 80-meter high tower with drooping seats.

Of course, there are extreme rides, but if you prefer something closer to the ground and calmer, you will find selfie cars, merry-go-rounds, a scare house or trampolines. Even small children can enter some of them (even a two-year-old will get a lot out of them).

Just next door to the funfair live the Jwigosaurs…. The name alone will attract children ;) Cranes are three antique harbor cranes from the 1930s. The 1920s, which almost come to life after dusk. That’s when they are lit up and their dance begins, equally visible from the Chrobry Embankment (unfortunately, the cranes don’t move).

Address:
Holiday Park Szczecin
Street. Wendy 8
70-655 Szczecin

Prices:
In order to use the various attractions, tokens must be purchased at any of the cash registers at the Holiday Park. 1 token costs £5, while the cheapest attraction costs 2 tokens and the most expensive costs 7 tokens.
NOTE, the amusement park is seasonal, this year operating from July to early September.

A walk along the boulevards and the Chrobry Embankment

Let’s start with the Embankment of the Brave – once the most important and representative place, because it was here that ships arrived and here that arriving guests were welcomed. In fact, to this day it is still the most distinctive place in Szczecin, so how could it be missing from this list?

The fountain and the terrace above it, called Haken’s Terrace before the war, attract attention. Noteworthy here are the terrace walls and the coats of arms of Pomeranian port cities carved on them. Above the terrace emerges a building built in the early 20th century, where the National Museum now has its headquarters. Often unnoticed and passed over are the twin columns, which resemble lanterns.

From the Chrobry Embankment you can start walking along Szczecin’s boulevards, a place for rest, recreation, meeting with friends. The walk is not only an opportunity to view moored ships, but also to look for sculptures (such as herring barrels or navigational instruments) and monuments to sailors – which can be great fun combined with education, especially for children.

Of course, you can’t forget about the water attractions! Admittedly, you won’t jump into the Oder River here, but you can take a cruise to see the city from a different perspective. We sailed in a small boat of a few people, and as part of the hour-long excursion we saw, among other things. Szczecin Shipyard and Lake Dabie.

If you have enough time, it is worth going to the Oder River in the evening to see the illuminated illuminations.

Sails 2021

As mentioned at the beginning, we came to Szczecin for Sails 2021 – an event that took place instead of the famous Tall Ships Races 2021. Unfortunately, the times we have everyone knows and many mass events cannot take place. However, it was decided to hold a slightly different event, on a smaller scale, but still full of sailing ships and accompanying events.

More than a dozen ships and sailing vessels arrived in Szczecin for the occasion, among them the most famous and largest, the Dar Młodzieży. It was this sailing ship and the ORP Poznañ that attracted the most interest among visitors (it is possible to board the ships, although one must expect to stand in line).

But Sails 2021 is not just about sailing ships. It is also concerts, a fair, animations, exhibitions, food trucks and rest areas. Sails prepared several booths for the youngest. At Lasztownia there was a zone organized by the Water and Sewerage Board educating about water and its role in our lives. In the process, the children were able to play small builders and artists. The main animation zone, in Adam Mickiewicz Square, also featured animation, sports, exhibitions, and a stage where children and young people performed.

Although here we have to admit that a bigger attraction than the dedicated zones were the sailing ships and the amusement park :)

Grodzka Island

Grodzka Island is located between Wały Chrobrego (Chrobry Embankment) and Lasztownia and can be accessed by a bridge from just Lasztownia.

We first saw this small island of 15 hectares from above, from the Ferris wheel. The division into two parts is immediately striking: by far the larger part is occupied by allotment gardens, and to the south there is a beach and a small marina. There’s a so-called “”in” here. Summer City Zone with deck chairs, playgrounds, bar. Admittedly, you won’t benefit from swimming in the river (or rather, the sea, since it’s only at the level of the Castle Route that the inland sea waters end), but there is room to play in the sand and relax.

Sports and cultural events are held here.

I Create Myself

Finally, a place that is an art gallery, but for us it’s more of a place full of education, stimulating the senses and spending time creatively. At the outset, it must also be emphasized that this is a place for children, and admission is free (registration applies).

Two rooms have been organized here in a small area: a room where children are introduced to the exhibition, classes and workshops are held here, and a part where the target exhibition is.

Currently it is an exhibition titled Emotions, Silence and Music, and it is about it that we will write a few words, but we will immediately point out that it will soon be completely changed. This exhibition pays special attention to the ecology of silence and environmental protection. And we must admit that the former was a completely unfamiliar term to us…. So even as caregivers, we had the opportunity to learn something new and enter two different worlds: one full of trash, noise, artificial and harmful materials, and another full of flowers, natural colors, peaceful sounds. For the children, it was, on the one hand, an adventure in the footsteps of a mysterious heroine, and on the other hand, an opportunity to observe different worlds and draw conclusions. For smaller children it will be fun in an interestingly arranged space and for older children an interesting lesson.

We definitely recommend it! Despite the fact that the place is really small is the educational dimension very in plus, and for the rest of the day we were accompanied by a super heroine ;)

Address:
CREATE!
Żołnierza Polskiego Square 2
70-556 Szczecin

Prices:
Entrance is free, but you must sign up by email for a specific time.

Other recommended places in Szczecin

Unfortunately, a weekend is definitely not enough to prepare a post about all the attractions in Szczecin. During our preparations, we read a lot of articles and got many tips from you on what to see and where to go. We leave below a list of places, we hope that both you and us will be useful in the near future :)

• Emerald Lake with a tour of underground bunkers
• Deep Lake
• Arkona forest and aquapark Arkonka
• Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes
• National Museum in Szczecin – Breakthroughs Dialogue Center
• Szczecin Venice
• Underground Routes of Szczecin
• Be Happy Museum

Szczecin for children

Finally, we would like to recommend to you a book and an interesting cafe that are sure to appeal to the traveling family.

• Fikama’s book on Szczecin- beautifully illustrated book about Szczecin, which shows the most interesting places walking along the Seagull Route. You can buy it online(link) or stationary at Fika bookstore (Aleja Papieża Jana Pawła II 8, Szczecin)

• Fun and Coffee Café – a combination of a café and a playroom, so an ideal place for parents who want to enjoy a cup of coffee while the kids run wild in the monkey grove. Address: Mazowiecka 13, Szczecin.

Summary

In Szczecin, we liked it very much!

There are many interesting places to discover here, and if you want to follow a particular route it is worth getting a special map of Szczecin for children, which are available at tourist information centers.

You can set off on the trail of castles, become explorers or throw yourself into an adventure, or, like us, just pick a few places that interest you the most and set off to conquer the city!

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Are you looking for attractions all over the country because you like to travel with kids? :) We recommend above all:

• Illusion Farm
• Magic Gardens
• Julinek Amusement Park
• JuraPark Krasiejów
• Clement’s Orchards