Bydgoszcz: How to get there. And other practical information
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Bydgoszcz is a city which is quite easy to get to and visit. There is a small airport and good train connections and roads. Also, many of the attractions are within walking distance, so it’s a very comfortable city for a short city break.
In this blog post, you will find all the practical tips and information that will be useful for organising your trip. Details on how to get to Bydgoszcz, public transport in the city and so on.
About Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz is located in the northwest part of Poland. To describe the location, I always say it’s exactly between the better known Gdańsk and Poznań.
From interesting facts, the 18th Meridian passes through the Bydgoszcz Old Market Square. It ‘connects’ Bydgoszcz with cities like Stockholm and Cape Town.
The city has around 350 000 inhabitants, and it’s the 8th biggest city in Poland. It’s the biggest city and capital (or co-capital, together with Toruń) of Kuyavian-Pomeranian region.
The city has an interesting long history; it received the city rights in 1346.
It’s at the river Brda, which passes through the city in the centre, but also at the biggest Polish river, Wisła (Vistula) which passes next to the Fordon neighbourhood. The location and rivers marked the city as an important trading point in water transport, especially after the Bydgoszcz Canal was built in the XVIII century.
If you look at the map of rivers, you may notice that in Bydgoszcz two international water routes connect: E40 and E70.
Bydgoszcz Waterway and Bydgoszcz Canals have had a big impact on the city’s identity and infrastructure but also on touristic attractions.
It’s one of the reasons why it’s worth visiting the city.
How to get to Bydgoszcz
Let’s see what the easiest ways to get to Bydgoszcz are.
Bydgoszcz Airport
Bydgoszcz has a small international airport (airport named Ignacy Paderewski, with the code BDG). The number of flights has recently grown a bit, so there are some direct connections.
With Ryanair, you can fly to Bydgoszcz directly from Dublin, London, Bristol, Birmingham and Alicante in Spain.
There is also a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt and a daily LOT flight from Warsaw, which are perfect for a flight with a change from many other destinations.
There are also charter flights to summer destinations like Egypt or Greek islands, especially during the summer season.
The airport is small and comfortable; it’s also quite close to the city centre. With a taxi, it will take you around 15 minutes to get to the centre.
There is also a public bus (number 80) which goes to the airport from the main train station; the whole journey takes around 30 minutes.
Other Airports
The other closest airports are Gdańsk and Poznań airports. They have more flights and connections, so they might be handier for you. From both of the cities it will take you less than 2 hours (even around 1.5 hour) to arrive in Bydgoszcz by train.
If you land at Gdańsk Airport, take the PKM train directly from the airport to Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station. Here you can enter long-distance trains going to Bydgoszcz.
From Poznań airport, you need to take a direct public bus to the train station (it takes around 20 minutes), and there you can find many long-distance trains going to Bydgoszcz.
Trains
You can easily reach Bydgoszcz with train. Not only from Poznań or Gdańsk as described above, but also from Warsaw (3-4 hours) or even Kraków, although it will be a longer trip.
There are also direct trains from Berlin and Prague.
The main train station (Bydgoszcz Główna) is in the centre, however, it’s a bit longer walk if you are staying around Old Town. I suggest taking a taxi or just tram (numbers 5, 8, 9-the stop close to Old Market Square is called Focha) to get to the places next to Old Market Square, especially if you have a bigger bag.
There are also long-distance buses, but I honestly recommend using the train, especially from the mentioned cities. It’s a quick and rather comfortable journey (to have the best experience, book the IC type of train rather than the regional or TLK). Try to book in advance to have a seat reserved, especially if you are travelling at weekends.
Car
If you rent a car, you can come to Bydgoszcz easily as well; there are quite good roads on the way from the other biggest cities.
Public transport in Bydgoszcz
The main attractions in the city are rather within walking distance. If you are in the city for a city-break visit and staying somewhere in the centre, I don’t think you will need to use public transport a lot.
If you have more time in the city, you may visit some additional attractions further from the centre, then public transport might be more needed.
Anyway, I think public transport in Bydgoszcz is rather well organised; here you can find the details of the lines. There are buses and trams as well. Trams might be your first choice for city-centre transport from the train or bus station.
The tickets are not expensive; you can buy 1-trip ticket or time tickets (also for the whole day or weekend). Tickets can be purchased in apps, in machines on stops, in machines in many trams (in the first waggon), or in shops/kiosks. Sometimes you can also buy a ticket from the driver.
Accommodation
The best is to stay in the city centre, close to the Old Market Square and around. In this blog post, I wrote detailed descriptions of places and hotels.
For a quick recommendation I suggest the following hotels: Hotel Focus Pod Orłem, Mercure Sepia, and Bohema Boutique Hotel&Spa.
When is the best time to visit Bydgoszcz
It’s rather an all-year-round city, and you will enjoy it even if the weather is not the best. Obviously, spring and summer will be the nicest when it comes to the weather and colours with a lot of green around and parks (it’s quite a green city). During this time, you will also be able to enjoy the water and river attractions the most, like water trams or renting kayaks, etc.
Bydgoszcz is also very pretty during autumn with colourful leaves. I think the architecture of the city fits this time very well.
There are 3 events that can be especially interesting to combine with a visit.
Bydgoszcz Opera Festival: organised yearly in April and May, with a lot of performances from operas, ballets and theatres from different countries. It’s quite tough to get tickets, but worth it if you like such elegant cultural events.
Ster na Bydgoszcz: the event is always organised in June (the date for 2026 is already set: 20-21 June 2026) and connected with water, rivers, and boats.
There are a lot of different workshops, shows, concerts, boats parades, etc.
Here you can see the programme.
Christmas Market: Bydgoszcz looks really pretty with Christmas lights and decorations. It’s a good moment to visit the city, especially if you like Christmas markets.
Bydgoszcz Christmas Market for a few years has been one of the best in Poland, gaining interest from tourists. Although it’s still not that well known, so it might be a good chance to see it as a hidden gem.
Usually there are more events organised in the city, for example, from sports fields, but these 3 are the most known and, in my opinion, could be the most interesting for foreign visitors.
Hopefully, this blog post has shown you that it’s quite easy to visit the city and helped you to organise the trip from a practical point of view, whenever you decide to.
