All right guys, so I will start with some information about the city I was born in - Gdańsk. Gdańsk is the biggest city of northern Poland and together with Sopot and Gdynia they merge into an aglomeration that's being called Tri-City (Trójmiasto in Polish). All right, let's do this:
WHAT TO SEE?
If you haven't ever been in Gdańsk, I'll recommend you see the Old City first. You can be surprised by the fact, that Gdańsk, unlike most of the european cities, does not have anything like a main city square. The Długa street, the main arteria of Gdańsk's Old City, is about a kilometer long, but from the beginning to the end it's about a 20 meters wide, with beautiful tenements on both sides, accompanied with nice cafeterias and restaurants. You just can not visit Gdańsk without taking a walk along Długa and basilica, Artus' House or the Golden Gate. (no, it's nothing similar to that San Francisco bridge!)
Besides the Old City, the former shipyard could be a nice place to bump in. Have you ever witnessed a real communist spirit, comrade? Unfortunately after the political system change nobody cared enough to renew the shipyard, so now it became something like a living memorial of communism.
And of course - the Baltic! Polish beaches may not be as beautiful and water is not as warm as those in Croatia, but they are still worth a look. But be careful - the gulf is sometimes contaminated with cyanosis. Watch out for flags at the beach. Red means no. Just no.
TRANSPORTATION
- by train: Gdańsk Główny station is located in the exact centre of the city, located not further than 800 meters from the Długa Street. This is where most of the SKM trains start. SKM is a suburban rail line that rides from Gdańsk to Gdynia every 15 minutes (7 minutes in rush hours), making it the easiest and fastest way to get along Tri-city. SKM is frequently referred as the Tri-city underground, besides it rides on the ground.
- by plane: the Gdańsk Lech Walesa Airport is located about 30 minutes from Wrzeszcz, the second biggest district of Gdańsk, and about 40-45 minutes from the city centre. You can get to Długa street getting in the bus no. 210.
- by tram/bus: you can get almost anywhere by them, but usually there is no transportaion system maps on the bus stops. One hour ticket costs 2,80 zł (~0,70 euros), the day ticket costs 11 zł (~2,65 euros)
WHERE TO SLEEP?
The best option to sleep in Gdańsk is to hire a room from one of the private room renters. There are dozens of them in Gdańsk. If you want to have a higher standard, there are some big world-wide known hotels, such as Mariott. The cheapest option is to hire a room in the Scout's House (Dom Harcerza) next to the Długa Street. You can sleep there for 20 złotys or so (about 5 euros), but the standards are very low. If you want a camping site, I'm afraid you will have to go to Sobieszewo Island, that is located about an hour by bus from the city centre. But on the other side - you will be camping not more than 300 meters from the beach!
YAY, PARTY!
It would be too hard for me to pick just some of the clubs or pubs in the Old City, but the one I prefer: check out Miasto Aniołów if you want to dance, but be aware of those bald guys. If you just want to drink some good beer with friends, go to Brovarnia. It;s a microbrewery that serves the best regional beers. Prices start from 2 euros a beer here.
If you want to party in Wrzeszcz, you have two options: you can get into one of the many student clubs, such as Autsajder, PRL, Kwadratowa. If you do not want to drink cheap beer with drunken students, go to Scruffy O'Brian's. Have fun!
If you have any questions about Gdańsk, feel free to ask!
Wrzeszcz by night.
