Head to the Google reviews of attractions in the Polish city of Szczecin and you’ll come across a very strange sight indeed. The top-rated attraction in this city of nearly 400,000 people isn’t some museum, park or palace but... a cat.
That’s right, thousands of Google reviewers reckon that there’s no better attraction in Szczecin than a cat named Gacek, who lives on a road just south of the city centre. Dubbed the ‘King of Kaszubska Street’, Gacek has been gaining admirers – and even drawing international visitors – since 2020. He currently holds an average rating of 4.9 out of five. Very, very impressive, we know.
Visitors have trekked from as far as Norway to see Gacek, whose charms are essentially that he’s an overweight (and admittedly quite cute) cat that lives out of a box on the street. The weight is apparently a bit of a problem – recently, visitors have been urged to leave any gift treats in sealed packages so that Gacek’s owner can control his diet.
One positive by-product of people travelling to see Gacek is that they’ll get a chance to see the rest of Szczecin. Plump cat aside, this northwest Polish port city is known for its dazzling Ducal Castle, towering Gothic cathedral, and marvellous mish-mash of historic architectural styles.
So, cat lovers: you’ve got a new tourist spot! And a pretty brill one, at that. You can watch the video that originally brought Gacek fame here, then read about why there’s a load of cocaine hippos in Colombia.
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