For couples: Szczecin

Things to do for couples in Szczecin: over forty places to stroll and spend an evening, from Grunwaldzki Square to the Philharmonic and the Dźwigozaury.

Szczecin works well as a city for two, because its main assets lie close together: star-shaped squares, theatres, the quays of the Oder and Lake Dąbie. There are places for a short walk after lunch, for an evening at the theatre and for a whole day by the water. The Old Town has the most addresses, but the city centre and Dąbie are surprisingly well represented too.

Where can couples go for a walk in Szczecin?

Begin in the Old Town and Centrum: most of the squares and stages sit there. Further out are the Oder quays with the port and Łasztownia, and Dąbie with its yacht harbours. The choice depends on whether you prefer cobblestones and townhouses or open water.

The Old Town has eleven of these places, the city centre (Centrum) eight, and the New Town (Nowe Miasto) and Dąbie five each. Four addresses lie on Międzyodrze-Wyspa Pucka, three in Pogodno and three in Śródmieście-Północ. With a single afternoon it is best to stay in one district, because Dąbie and the centre are two separate directions. A wider overview of places tagged for couples is on the Dla par page, and for the city as a whole see Szczecin.

Which Old Town squares are good for a walk for two?

In the Old Town it is easiest to join Rynek Sienny (Hay Market), Rynek Nowy (New Market) and Plac Orła Białego (White Eagle Square) into one route, because they lie next to each other. These are cobbled squares with rebuilt frontages, a fountain and a town hall, and theatres operate nearby.

Hay Market in Szczecin is a rectangular, cobbled square with the Old Town Hall. Before 1945 it carried the German name Heumarkt, and part of its frontage was reconstructed during the 1990s. Walk north-east and you reach New Market in Szczecin, an irregular square where eight streets meet. It appeared after the fire of St Nicholas' Church, and the frontage was rebuilt while the foundations of former townhouses were uncovered. The exposed foundations show the outline of the earlier buildings.

From New Market it is a short way to Targ Rybny. It is a forty-nine-metre lane paved with granite setts, linking New Market with Środowa Street. Its name changed from Buttermilk Market through Vegetable Market to Fish Market, and the historic name was restored in 1999.

Further on lies White Eagle Square, the former Horse Market, with the Globe Palace (Pałac pod Globusem). In the middle stands the White Eagle Fountain in Szczecin, Szczecin's oldest preserved Baroque fountain. Johann Friedrich Grael, an architect from Berlin, designed it, and it went up between 1729 and 1732 as the earliest piece of the town's water network. Nearby is Mariacki Square in Szczecin, a modest rectangular square where St Mary's Church once stood, beside the birthplace of the future Catherine II. Finally, walk to Polish Soldier Square, a former parade ground that closes the Old Town to the north, refurbished in 2011-2012. A tourist information pavilion stands there, so you can stop and ask about the route ahead.

What is the best way to see the downtown star squares?

These squares are best taken in order along the axis of Piłsudskiego Street: from Szarych Szeregów Square, through Odrodzenia Square, to Grunwaldzki Square. It is a late 19th-century layout where streets radiate from a central point and the townhouses form uniform frontages.

Szarych Szeregów Square is one of Szczecin's star-shaped squares, with five streets radiating from it. It used to be called Arndtplatz, and a monument to Józef Piłsudski stands on it today. Next is Odrodzenia Square, a roundabout square designed in 1882, with eclectic townhouses. Until 1945 it was called Friedrich-Karl-Platz.

The route ends at Grunwaldzki Square, the largest and most imposing star-shaped square in the city. Eight roadways converge on it, among them Jana Pawła II Avenue, Piłsudskiego Street, and Rayskiego and Śląska streets. The layout of the square became the emblem of the city's 2016 cultural-capital project.

If you want one more square, step onto Lotników Square, the former Augustaplatz. Its centre is a pedestrian zone, and the Italian mercenary captain Bartolomeo Colleoni sits on horseback there. Close by you can find the Ptak Sculptural Accent, a sculpture of a sitting dove from 1982, one of ten surviving on this square. On the way you also pass Rodła Square, an important traffic hub with the Pazim complex, and on the 22nd floor of the office tower is Café 22. The café serves coffee, cakes, desserts and bar drinks, and its main draw is the panorama of the city. Its website has a reservations tab.

Where can you spend an evening at a theatre, opera or philharmonic?

For an evening for two, Szczecin has several stages with different characters: a philharmonic in a new building, an opera in the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes, a drama theatre inside a museum, the alternative Kana and a puppet theatre that also plays for adults. All of them are in the centre or the Old Town.

The Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin at Małopolska 48 performs in a white block from 2014, designed to recall an iceberg tip. The Secession-style Konzerthaus that stood here was destroyed in the war. Concerts are given in a symphonic hall with 953 seats and a chamber hall with 192.

Opera at the Castle occupies the southern wing of the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle, where it has stood since 1978, although the company dates back to 1956. An orchestra, a choir and a ballet company work here, so the programme mixes opera, ballet and concert evenings.

The Contemporary Theatre performs inside the National Museum at Wały Chrobrego. It runs three venues: a large stage, the Nowe Sytuacje stage and the little Teatr Mały on the Deptak Bogusława promenade. Kana Theatre began in 1979 as an alternative company that started out among students. It sits in a townhouse numbered 4/5 on Piotra i Pawła Square, beside the church of the same name, and brought home an award from Edinburgh. Pleciuga Puppet Theatre has operated since 1958 and since 2009 from a building on Teatralny Square. Besides shows for children it stages adaptations of world literature for adults. Around the building stretches Teatralny Square in Szczecin, named in 2008.

On warm evenings check the Helena Majdaniec Summer Theatre. It is an amphitheatre in Kasprowicz Park, set on a natural slope above Lake Rusałka, with more than 2,700 seats. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2022, and besides concerts it also serves walkers.

What can you see together along the Oder: the port, Łasztownia and Grodzka Island?

Along the Oder it is best to walk the port, Łasztownia and Grodzka Island as one loop, using the bridges. The atmosphere is that of a port city: cranes, quays, bridges and ships, with a view of the Chrobry Embankment from the other bank.

The Port of Szczecin still operates as a commercial harbour on the sea and the river, which means most of its quays are closed to visitors. What you can enjoy is the riverside embankments, Łasztownia with its old duty-free port, and ship cruises across the harbour basins. On the Łasztownia quay stand the Dźwigozaury (Harbour Cranes on Łasztownia), three historic port cranes from the 1930s. Since 2009 they have belonged to the National Museum in Szczecin, they were renovated in 2016-2017, and since 2018 they have been lit every night. After dark it is a good reason to go down to the water.

You reach Łasztownia over the Sobieski Long Bridge in Szczecin, the oldest crossing in town, which joins the centre to the island over the West Oder. It was rebuilt in 1959, and earlier structures stood on the same spot, from a wooden one in 1283 to a drawbridge in 1903. A different kind of structure awaits at the Bridge to Jaskółcza Island in Szczecin, a steel truss from 1920-1921 and the sole bridge in the city to come through the Second World War intact.

Wyspa Grodzka lies opposite the Chrobry Embankment and covers about fifteen hectares. Nobody lives there, but the island holds a 150-berth marina, a pile-built mooring and the Municipal Summer Zone.

Where to go to Dąbie and the lake?

Dąbie is a good direction when the centre is crowded and you want to see water and sailing boats. The marina, the landing stage and the yacht harbour lie next to each other on Przestrzenna Street, on Lake Dąbie, so they are easy to join into one walk along the shore.

The Sailing Centre in Szczecin (Przestrzenna 19) was set up in 2015. It has a kayak rental, the programme includes cruises and windsurfing lessons, and you can stay the night: the centre has rooms, cabins, a camper site and a youth hostel. The neighbouring Pogoń Marina at Przestrzenna 3 can take up to three hundred vessels and lies where the branches of the Oder meet the lake. There is a harbour tavern where you can have lunch. The Dąbie Marina Yacht Harbour is run by the Sun & Sail foundation. A campsite stands beside it, and the rental offers kayaks, pedal boats and SUP boards, so you can paddle out together.

Further west stands the Cłowy Bridge in Szczecin, which carries traffic across the Regalica between the two banks, where a medieval customs post once stood. The bridge was reconstructed after it was destroyed in 1945, and again after its removal in 2017. The Lubczyna Marina lies outside Szczecin, in the Goleniów municipality. It has a landing stage, a beach about two hundred metres long and a pedal boat rental. Add it to the plan only if you have a whole day.

Where can you find a view of the city?

Szczecin has no single great viewpoint, but a few places let you see the city from above. The most accessible is Café 22 in the centre, while the viewpoint in Stołczyn is more of a walk. Not every place is always open, so check before you set out.

The Viewpoint on Górska Street sits at the rim of the Warszewo Hills in Stołczyn and looks out over the Oder valley and Lake Dąbie. The hills are of moraine origin and largely covered by the Wkrzańska Forest, so the way up may lead through woods.

The Bismarck Tower in Szczecin (Gocław Tower) stands on Zielone Wzgórze in Gocław. Built of reinforced concrete and 26 metres tall, it has a viewing terrace and dates from 1921. The tower is under renovation and guided visits are suspended, so check its status first.

Which lesser-known spots in the neighbourhoods are worth adding?

Outside the centre there are neighbourhood squares suited to a quieter walk: Pogodno has two, and the New Town has several less familiar ones. They are a good break from the busier places.

In Pogodno lies Jakub Wujek Square in Szczecin. A big, round square, it was the heart of the old Neu Westend estate. Villas from 1902-1907 ring it, and two playgrounds stand on the square itself. Nearby is Walerian Pawłowski Square in Szczecin, with a concert shell, which hosts markets, a flea market and a yearly cycle of philharmonic concerts. At the entrance to the Municipal Stadium waits the Florian Krygier Bench in Szczecin, cast in bronze in 2023.

In the New Town see Plac Zwycięstwa, where two churches stand and the irregular square passes at the Port Gate into Plac Brama Portowa. By the junction with Wojska Polskiego Avenue stands the “Labirynt” Sculpture in Szczecin, a modernist fountain-sculpture from 1997, in ruinous condition for years and no longer working as a fountain. The little square Tobruk Square in Szczecin holds the Anchor Monument and an old pump from the 1800s, close to the Red Town Hall. At the Port Gate stands Posejdon Center, a 1928 building that once housed a department store and the UFA Palast cinema; a green wall now sets this office block apart.

Frequently asked questions

What can couples see in Szczecin in one evening?

For one evening the Old Town works best: a walk around Hay Market and New Market, then White Eagle Square and an evening at the opera in the castle or at the Contemporary Theatre. The Dźwigozaury are lit every night, so finishing by the Oder also makes sense.

Is there a viewpoint in central Szczecin?

Yes: Café 22, at the top of the Pazim tower on Rodła Square, offers a view over the whole city. The Bismarck Tower in Gocław is under renovation and guided visits are suspended. An alternative is the viewpoint on Górska Street in Stołczyn.

Where can couples go when it rains?

When it rains, choose a theatre or the philharmonic: the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic, the Opera at the Castle, the Contemporary Theatre, Kana or Pleciuga.

Can you combine Dąbie with the centre of Szczecin in one day?

You can, but they are two separate outings. Dąbie with the marinas on Przestrzenna Street needs a trip from the centre, and people usually stay by the lake for longer. If you have only an afternoon, choose one part of the city.