Practical Information for visiting Greater Poland

Coverage for mobile networks is comprehensive, with 5G in Poznan and strong 4G across the region from the four national operators.

EU and EEA roaming applies at domestic rates; prepaid SIMs are cheap for everyone else.

Wi-Fi is free and fast in hotels, cafes and on trains. Poznan has a large student population and a strong cafe-working culture.

Fixed broadband is good, and the region is comfortable for remote work.

Contactless payment is near-universal, including on trams and at market stalls.

Greater Poland is safe and quiet, with low crime and no particular hazards for visitors.

• Pickpocketing at Poznan station and on busy trams, and around the market square in summer.
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• Trade-fair periods bring accommodation scarcity rather than danger, but they can leave you stranded without a booking.
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• Ticks in the pine forests and around the lakes from spring to autumn, carrying encephalitis and Lyme disease. This is the most likely thing to affect a visitor here.
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• Lakes: unsupervised swimming spots, cold deep water and weed; drownings occur each summer.
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• Winter: ice on pavements, and air quality on still cold days.
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• Trams are quiet and fast; look before stepping into the road.
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• Drink-related trouble late at night around the market square bars.

Healthcare is good, with a university teaching hospital in Poznan and a substantial private sector. EU and EEA visitors are covered by the European Health Insurance Card; everyone else needs insurance.

Vaccinations: routine cover. Tick-borne encephalitis is present in Poland and the wooded, lake-strewn parts of this region are typical tick habitat; the vaccine is worth considering for a walking or cycling trip, and Lyme disease is common. Check yourself after being in long grass or woodland.

Pharmacies — apteka — are well stocked and pharmacists knowledgeable, with duty rotas posted for out of hours.

Tap water is safe.

Winter air quality is better than southern Poland but still worth checking if you have a respiratory condition.

Summer heat is increasingly a factor in a region with little shade and low rainfall.

Greetings: dzien dobry on entering a shop, a lift or a waiting room, and do widzenia on leaving. Poles are formal with strangers and use titles; first names come later than English speakers expect.

Punctuality is taken seriously here, more so than in some other parts of Poland, and being late to an arrangement is genuinely rude.

Churches are in active use; cover shoulders and knees, remove hats, and stay quiet. The cathedral sites at Gniezno and Poznan are working churches as well as national monuments.

Give up your seat on public transport for older passengers.

Flowers as a gift: odd numbers, never chrysanthemums, which are for graves.

Toasting: na zdrowie, with eye contact.

Alcohol in public is prohibited and fined.

Emergency numbers: 112 across the EU, or 999 for ambulance, 997 for police, 998 for fire. Operators on 112 speak English.

Medical. Poznan’s university hospitals are the regional referral centres and are good. EU and EEA visitors should carry an EHIC; private clinics such as Medicover and LuxMed are quick and inexpensive.

Pharmacies post the nearest all-night one in the window.

Lost documents: report to the police for a record, then contact your embassy in Warsaw, under three hours away by train.

On the lakes, swimming areas are supervised only in season and at designated beaches; elsewhere there is no cover at all.

In the forests, trails are marked but flat and featureless; download an offline map, and check for ticks afterwards.