Philadelphia Boulevard in Toruń

Philadelphia Boulevard (Bulwar Filadelfijski) is roughly 2 km of Vistula riverfront at the foot of Toruń's Old Town: Gothic walls, gates and granaries on one side, the broad river on the other. This is the best place to take in the panorama of the UNESCO-listed city, and since a rebuild finished in 2024 it has become a comfortable promenade for walking, cycling and evenings on the riverside steps.

History: from port to promenade

From the Middle Ages there was a river port here, where boats tied up on their way to Gdańsk, Warsaw and other towns. In 1878 a railway line was laid along the quay, running from Toruń Miasto station to the Winter Port. The boulevard you see today was created in 1973 as part of the preparations for the 500th anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus's birth: the old harbour quay was demolished and through traffic was moved out of the Old Town to the riverbank. The former Nadbrzeżna Street (German: Uferstraße) was renamed in the mid-1970s after Philadelphia, Toruń's twin city.

The 2022–2024 rebuild

Work began on 28 June 2022 and the last section reopened on 14 May 2024. According to the city, the project cost about PLN 46 million, of which PLN 30 million came from the government's Polski Ład programme. It brought a riverside promenade, cycle paths, terraced steps down to the water and two glass pavilions at the ends of Łazienna and Żeglarska streets, with toilets, tourist services and equipment rental. The pavilions were controversial: Poland's General Conservator of Monuments warned they could spoil the view of the Old Town ensemble. During the works, the lower section of a 19th-century-demolished wall (Grodza I) and an air-raid shelter from 1943 came to light; the shelter was documented and then filled in again.

What to see along the way

• The Old Town gates – Bridge Gate, Sailors' Gate and Monastery Gate (Mostowa, Żeglarska, Klasztorna), leading from the boulevard into the Old Town, plus towers and granaries.
• Racławice Barracks (Bulwar Filadelfijski 18), built in 1820–1822 as part of the Toruń Fortress.
• The limnigraph house from 1892, which recorded the rise and fall of the Vistula.
• A mural about the film "Rejs" ("The Cruise") – the cult Polish comedy by Marek Piwowski was shot here, as was Aleksander Ford's "Ludzie Wisły".
• Landing stages for tourist boats and the "Katarzynka" boat, where river cruises start in season.

Interesting facts

In 1973 a municipal lido opened on the boulevard, with five pools and paddling pools for around 2,500 people – then the largest in Toruń. The last pool closed in 2008, and a hotel now stands on the site. Under the green by Monastery Gate there is still a shelter dating from 11 October 1943, with a zigzag corridor for about a hundred people. In 2006, after dead swans tested positive for bird flu, a tongue-in-cheek "monument" went up here: a gold-painted pipe topped by a straw swan, a nod to the Polish comedy "Miś".

Tripto tip

The boulevard is at its best in the evening, when the low sun lights up the brick walls and the Old Town is reflected in the Vistula; for a photo of the full skyline, cross to the opposite bank beyond the Piłsudski Bridge. Allow 45–60 minutes for a walk between the railway bridge and the road bridge, or half a day if you add the gates and a boat trip. The promenade is flat and easy for pushchairs, wheelchairs and bikes; leave the car in a paid car park outside the historic centre. During Toruń Days and other open-air events it gets very crowded.