Szczecin is a lively city, an important seaport and a shipbuilding centre close to the border with Germany. Although the mediaeval centre of Szczecin was severely destroyed during wartime, there are still some remaining magnificent monuments of architecture, reminiscent of the times when Szczecin, as part of Prussia, was considered the “Paris of the North”. But Szczecin is mostly about water and lush verdure: rivers, lakes, woods and parks take up half of the city area.

Its architecture is often compared with Paris, as the heart of the city is a star-shaped square, with diverging avenues. There is another reason for making the comparison with Paris - Baron G.E. Haussmann, who created a town-planning project for the French capital, also designed Szczecin.

The city of Szczecin is situated close to several large expanses of open water. The Baltic Sea is within an hour’s driving, the Szczecin Lagoon, a part of the Baltic almost cut off from the open sea with a series of islands, is even closer, while to the east the city is almost surrounded by Lake Dabie.

Szczecin is on the delta of the Odra River, and several of the Odra’s confluents flow through the city.

The German-Polish frontier is close to Szczecin, and Berlin is only 120 km away. The closest border crossings are in Kolbaskowo, Rosowek and Lubieszyn.