Gdansk is one of the most underrated European cities I have visited. You may also be surprised to hear that just a short train ride away there are the stunning white sand beaches of the Polish Riviera. In my opinion, this make it Poland’s best kept secret. Most people I know have chosen to visit the other Polish cities such as Warsaw or Krakow. However, if you choose to look further north, to the Polish Riviera, you will not be disappointed!
Here are the main highlights of this article:
What To See & Do In Gdansk Old Town
Where to Find the Best Pierogi
Budget Accommodation In Gdansk
Sopot Beach On Polish Riviera Town
Gdynia
What To See & Do In Gdansk Old Town
The historic city of Gdansk is where we chose to stay for our 4 nights. For 3 of these nights we opted to stay at the Mercure Gdansk Stare Miasto. This hotel is the highest building in the city and offers picturesque views over the Old Town and the famous Gdansk Shipyard.
The Mercure is just a 10 minute walk away from the heart of the beautiful Gdansk Old Town and the Motlawa River Embankment. Making this 4 star hotel the perfect place to explore the city. It’s also a great base for jumping on a train to Sopot on the Polish Riviera.
Dulgaand Miriacka street along with the river embankment are perfect places to relax and enjoy a sunny day. It’s also worth a stroll around the quaint colourful buildings and snug coffee shops and bars and restaurants.
If you like your history or even just if the weather turns there are also some great places to visit such as the European Museum of Solidarity. This museum that commemorates the revolution of Solidarity and the fall of communism in Europe, but it is also an educational, research and academic centre, an archive, library and multimedia library.
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Where To Find The Best Pierogi in Gdansk
Whatever the weather make sure you visitPierogarnia Mandu Centrum for some beautiful hand made Pierogi. These are enough flavours and fillings to please everyone.
For example, you could have 10 pieces of ‘Hand-minced wild boar meat finished with creamy mushroom sauce’ or ‘Chicken, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese finished with pepper olive sauce and chopped parsley’.
If you fancy Pierogi with more of a global influence, you could try ‘Deep fried Korean spicy dumplings with minced pork, tofu, kimchi, ginger, leek and a dash of sesame oil. Served with kimchi and ponzu sauce based on soy sauce’.
We visited at least twice in our 4 days! As you walk into the restaurant you can see the Pierogi being freshly hand-crafted. The staff are very friendly and will guide you with your selection of accompaniments and side dishes, if you need a little help.
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Budget Accommodation In Gdansk
For our final night in Gdansk, we stayed at the Ibis Gdansk Stare Miasto next door, as it was literally half the price. This was a very clean and comfortable hotel. I would highly recommend this hotel for more budget travellers.
Sopot on The Polish Riviera
If the weather is nice, I’d 100% recommend the beach town of Sopot with its boardwalk and the longest pier in Europe. It’s a great place to just simply stroll along the boardwalk and relax. Nothing more and nothing less!
The best thing about Sopot is the fantastic white sand beaches and crisp water, both of which are very clean and well maintained.
Sopot is somewhat how I’d imagine the English coastal towns to be back before people started going abroad. This place was incredibly popular with the locals and I can see why. What a hidden gem!
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Gdynia
This is much more of a traditional modern city. I imagine this is where the majority of the business type jobs are in the Tri-City. This place had nothing on Gdansk or Sopot (I have to be honest!).
We didn’t spend a great deal of time here, as we thought we’d squeeze in the last of the tri-cities in before our flight. However, we did manage to visit the harbour front where there was a display of various types of old ships due to some event that day.
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Final Thoughts On The Polish Riviera
I’ve really considered returning for a weekend visit to Sopot to stay at one of the beachfront hotels such as the Sofitel Grand Sopot. This is a very grand and luxury 5 Star hotel, with it’s own private section of Sopot beach. If you want to stay on the Polish Riviera with a sea-view, this is the hotel to book.
I’d also like to visit some more of the historical points of interest in Gdansk such as the Post Officeor Malbork Castlea 13th-century Teutonic castle and fortress a UNESCO heritage site.
How Many Days To Spend In The Polish Riviera
Taking the above into consideration, maybe 4 days wasn’t enough time in Gdansk and the Polish Riviera! However, what I did see was a very clean, quaint and friendly city. If nothing else I would go back for the Pierogi!!!
Gdansk and Sopot are hidden gems of Europe. The white sand beaches of the Polish Riviera are a spectacle of the Baltic coast. If was planning to go for the first time I would add an extra 2 days, just to stay in Sopot at the Grand Hotel Sopot.
I should caveat by saying that we had a spectacular June weather and I imagine this place could be a little rougher in the winter! Regardless of this, the Polish Riviera is fantastic value for money.
- Accommodation: 9/10
- Food: 7/10
- Environment: 9/10
- Local People: 8/10
- Value for Money: 10/10
- Weather: 10/10
How To Save Money On Your Visit To The Polish Riviera
In case you hadn’t realised, this is a money blog. As a result we know allthe best ways you can save on travel. For example, when I travel abroad I use Wise to convert currency and spend money. It’s always been the cheapest and easiest method for spending internationally. If you don’t believe me, just use the interactive tool below:
And …If you want to check out more tools to help you save money both home and away, then check out myFintech for you page.There are a couple more great alternatives to Wise and you can back yourself some free cash if the process, so check them out.
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