A Guide to Gdansk, Poland

Gdansk, Poland

Gdansk is one of the cities that shocked me the most out of all that I have travelled to. I’d booked to go for four nights and five days, on a flight that had cost £20 and a hotel that cost £140 between two. It was booked on a whim, and a couple of people had said that 4 nights was little too long for Gdansk...they couldn’t have been more wrong.

Nonetheless, with my £20 return flight and a reasonable hotel (Novotel Centrum, which is *shock* pretty central) away I went. With a flight coming in at just 2 hours 20 mins, it's the perfect location for a brief weekend away. 

About Gdansk 

Gdansk is located in the northern part of Poland, and was previously a port town with a beautiful scenic river running through Gdansk - if you’re like me and fully a sunset fanatic fan, then it’s a great place to catch it as the light glistens and reflects. 

Whilst Krakow has become increasingly popular with British people, Gdansk appears to have been somewhat overlooked. Whilst still benefiting from a good flow of tourism, it isn’t as busy as I have heard the other part of Poland can be. Though exploring Gdansk has just made my desire to explore more of Poland even stronger.

This stunning city is a series of old streets (despite a lot being rebuilt amid the wreckage of WW2) littered with restaurants, bars and, of course, amber shops, one of the key outputs. It’s something I wish I’d purchased. 

It’s the perfect place to explore at a leisurely pace.

Eating in Gdansk

Now, let me warn you - it's hearty, there are loads of places to choose from - and it's cheap.

In the main square, you’ll find your usual chain offenders (I’m looking at you, Hard Rock Cafe), but if you wander a bit further afield you’ll stumble across some incredible places hidden away.

But there is a great restaurant scene, with a good selection of cuisines and really reasonable prices. We had a real mixture of food whilst out there, and truthfully we didn’t have a single bad experience. 

Corezze -  https://correze.pl/en/

This is arguably a mid-range restaurant, and was one of my favourite  in Gdansk, with their speciality being “meditereanean cuisine with a contemporary French twist”. 

Whilst the menu has probably changed, as it is seasonal, we had a beautiful wild boar dish each and an excellent vanilla cheesecake dessert. We paid around £40 for two mains, a beer, a glass of wine (wine is expensive) and a pudding.

Pierogarnia Mandu- https://pierogarnia-mandu.pl/en/

If you go to Poland and don’t eat pierogi then you’re missing out. We went to Pierogania Mandu on a recommendation of a friend and it was truly epic. We had a selection of barbecue chicken pierogi (fluffy yeast dough), wild boar (traditional) and hand minced beef (traditional) alongside a couple of beers and two mulled wines. It came to under £20...I am not joking.

Surf Burger - https://surfburger.pl/

One of the days, we literally just wanted a burger. We did a bit of research and a lot of people had recommended Surf Burger...and it was brilliant. Super tasty burgers, very reasonable.

Bar Pod Ryba - http://barpodryba.pl/en/

If you like baked potatoes, look no further. We headed here on our first day, when it was super cold and we wanted to warm up. There were probably over 50 types of jacket potato, quite literally filling every tick box you could want. It’s cute and cosy, and the perfect lunch stop.

PanKejk - http://pankejk.com.pl/gdansk/en/home/

A delicious and easy breakfast option. I am pretty sure, but not certain, it’s a chain with a few over Poland. It offered super fluffy and delicious pancakes, at minimal cost, and they were HUGE.

Moshi Moshi, Sopot - https://www.moshimoshisushi.pl/

If like us, you take a trip out to Sopot (you should!) I’d recommend Moshi Moshi. We popped in after looking around at our options, and as we both love sushi it suited perfectly. The fish was fresh and full of flavour. We ordered around 8-9 dishes which suited us perfectly, and we watched as they made each one in front of us.

Things to do:

Museum of the Second World War - https://muzeum1939.pl/en

This is a must if you’re here. It was, by far, a highlight of the trip for us and we ended up spending around 6 hours going around it. It was informative, fascinating and educational - all in a modern setting paying true tribute to WW2. I have to admit, I’m not usually a museum kind of person but this was truly fascinating. 

Sopot - the local beach town

Hop into an uber, it costs around £10, and head to Sopot from Gdansk. It’s a beautiful beach town, with sandy beaches and various outlets for food, entertainment and even a little shopping. We were in Gdansk in November, so not quite sunbathing weather, but still made for a fantastic day out. 

Sushi making in Sopot 

This isn’t something we did - but whilst dining here there was a class of around 6 people doing a sushi making class which we asked about. It wasn’t expensive (I cannot remember the exact price) and those doing the class seemed to really enjoy it. 

Walk, explore, take in the architecture and docks 

Gdansk is a really beautiful town; as I said, it’s a beautiful sunset town too. But if you’re feeling up to it, let yourself get a little lost and explore the beautiful windy roads, the docks, the old antique shops, the insane buildings. It really is stunning.

Other tips:

• Uber is really cheap here - we got to and from the airport for £10 each way, or to Sopot for £10 each way. If you don’t want to hop on public transport, this is a super effective way to get around 
• Wine is EXPENSIVE. I’ve found this with a lot of Eastern European countries (other than Prague). But, on the whole, it was largely good quality. 
• Zubroska is CHEAP here - and one of the best vodkas I’ve had to date. One of my Polish pals told me to have it with apple juice...game changer 
• We stayed in Novotel Gdansk Centrum - it was super cheap and easy to get to everything. We paid about £140 between us for 4 nights!