Szczecin rewards exploration. The old Prussian city centre — largely rebuilt after wartime destruction but still structured around its pre-war plan — contains the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes, the long Wały Chrobrego embankment along the Oder, and a collection of handsome 19th-century buildings that make the city feel more German than Polish. That mixture of identities is the point: Szczecin spent most of its history as Stettin, and the tension between the city's Prussian past and its Polish present runs through everything here.
The Wały Chrobrego is the obvious place to start — a grand esplanade with views over the wide Oder river, built in the early 20th century and still intact. Below it, the riverfront has been revitalised with bars and cultural venues. The Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes dominates the old town hill.