Poznan Palm House

The palm house in Wilson Park has been growing since the beginning of the twentieth century and is now a chain of connected pavilions, each held at a different climate, from desert succulents through subtropical to full humid tropics. The tallest hall carries mature palms high enough that you look up at their crowns from a walkway, and elsewhere there are fern and orchid sections, a hall of useful plants and a set of freshwater aquariums with large tropical fish. It is essentially a botanical collection under glass rather than an attraction built for entertainment, which makes it calm, and in a Polish winter it is one of the few warm green spaces in the city.

What you actually see

• The tall palm hall - mature palms under a high glass roof, viewed from ground level and a raised walkway.
• The succulent pavilion - a dry, bright hall of cacti and desert species, a sharp contrast to the tropics.
• The aquarium section - large freshwater tanks with tropical river fish set among the plant halls.
• Wilson Park - the surrounding public park, with old trees and a rose garden, free to walk through.

When to go

Winter is when it earns its ticket, since it is warm, humid and green when everything outside is grey, and it is a standard wet weather plan in Poznan. Weekday mornings are quiet in any season. Weekends and school holidays bring family crowds into narrow paths. Allow the humidity to fog a camera lens for the first few minutes inside.

Honest expectations

Some pavilions and their fittings are visibly dated and the maintenance shows in places. The humidity in the tropical halls is heavy and glasses and lenses fog immediately. It is not large enough to fill more than about ninety minutes, paths are narrow when a school group is inside, and prices have risen faster than the displays have been updated.

Nearby

Wilson Park surrounds the building, and central Poznan with its old market square is ten minutes away by tram.