The city of Torun is situated in the northern region of the country on the banks of the Vistula River. According to the 2004 census figures, Torun's population now exceeds 280,000 people. (Many people consider Torun and its sister city, Bydgoszcz, to be a single large metropolis.) At once a modern marvel and a historical landmark, Torun is home to a dynamic local population that has responded well to recent market reforms and to Poland's inclusion in the European Union.

That said, for all Torun's modernity and sophistication, it is still a medieval masterpiece. Indeed, the Old City of Torun has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You can visit the ruins of the Castle of Teutonic Knights in Old Town as well as the leaning tower (which is only slightly less of an architectural curiosity than the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy).

Torun is home to the Cathedral of St. John, originally erected in the 13th century. This marvelous building stretches over 52 meters and supports a bell that weighs more than seven tons. This bell, which is known colloquially as "God's Trumpet," is the second biggest church bell on the entire continent.

Torun was also the birthplace of the great astronomer, Copernicus. You can visit the house of this genius, who developed the revolutionary notion of heliocentrism. This idea transformed Western thought by suggesting that the sun is indeed the true center of our solar system. To explore Torun in person, sign up for a guided tour through Poland and Beyond today.