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Płock or Włocławek? Two-day visit by English-speaking tourists in Poland


Spokesrider  2 | 2  
12 Jun 2018 /  #1
Which city, Płock or Włocławek, would be a better place for two-day visit by English-speaking tourists? We'd go to and from there by train, and would need to rent a car for a day to see places in between the two cities where my grandmother and her family once lived. My wife and I will also be visiting Warsaw and Bydgoszcz and doing some of the same sorts of things there.

(I've asked the same question on TripAdvisor.)
mafketis  38 | 11009  
12 Jun 2018 /  #2
Płock or Włocławek

I've never heard a single interesting thing about Włocławek (even from people from there, maybe especially them) but I've been to Płock a couple of times and it has some interesting things; it has great views of the Wisła from the upper town and there's the gothic Mariavite church (and maybe the original colony in Felicjanów) and was a nice place to spend a couple of days (no more than that probably)

I have no idea about what the level of English for tourists would be (I would guess it would be higher in Płock but you never know)

In nice weather the train ride from Kutno to Płock is very scenic.
Dougpol1  29 | 2497  
12 Jun 2018 /  #3
Włocławek

Nice river walk for ten minutes. I thought it would be a nice town if the council renovated it. Then the truth was out when I saw a photomontage of the town before the war.

It was even worse than it is now.
mafketis  38 | 11009  
12 Jun 2018 /  #4
photomontage of the town before the war.

I thought it was mostly built after WWII which was supposed to be one of the reasons it was so boring... I dunno, I went through it by train a time or two but never got off (and don't feel the lack).

I do kind of like Płock and would recommend that (and Ciechocinek if they'll be in that area for the tężnie and the outdoor natural pool (if they still exist... it's been a while since I was there).
Dougpol1  29 | 2497  
12 Jun 2018 /  #5
I thought it was mostly built after WWII

Yes, it was built up after the oil "boom" and the establishment of the chemical industry - but the pre war buildings and atmosphere of the 1800s town centre, gleaned from the exhibition of pictures, makes the industrial cities seem like a paradise in comparison. Which is why people flocked to them I suppose.

It's also rather heavy on religious orders of a sort, but that's fine. Just a very depressing place to live if one were an outsider, though I only had an hour there so may be in error.
jon357  73 | 23133  
13 Jun 2018 /  #6
Which city, Płock or Włocławek,

Plock. It is pleasant and interesting. Wloclawek is unremarkable (if you know Scunthorpe, there's a bit of a feel of that).

Plock is one of my favourite places in Poland. There's a lot of history there, and a good cultural base (try the regional museum, the medieval RC Cathedral and also the Mariawicki Cathedral which is unusual). There are also some very good restaurants in the square (and down by the river), and plenty of hotels which are central. In Wloclawek, you won't find the same thing at all.

There's some quite nice countryside and small towns in between which are worth visiting.

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