Gdansk - The Harbour City of Poland

You have to start at Dlugi Targ (Long Market): it is the tourist center of the city. Check out the dozens of its amber jewelry galleries and gift stores. While strolling through all the little valleys, don't forget to visit Dom Artusa (Artus' House) and Ratusz (The Tower).

Quick Tips:

Stay at a hotel near the city center, if you can afford it. There is Hotel Hanza, Holiday Inn and Orbis Hevelius Hotel, all within a walking distance of the Long Market.

Best Way To Get Around:

As with the rest of Polish tourist cities, public transportation is cheap and reliable, however maps and schedules are available mostly in Polish. If you're going to use taxis, have the receptionist from the hotel call one for you.

This is one cool little place. Very simple, very cheap (I paid an equivalent of $14 for a room. My room was small with no thrills. Bed, desk, chair, phone, closet, no TV (however there was a TV lounge downstairs), shared bathroom with another one room (there was nobody staying there so it was all mine). Breakfast included (great home-style breakfast: eggs, sausage, cold-cuts: you pick what you want) in the price. And the best thing of all: location. The hotel is about 3 km from the center of the city, but directly on the bus line. I highly recommend it for someone on a budget. It beats hostels hands down.

You can see some photos and even book a room at URL: http://www.polhotels.com/Gdansk/Lipce/

After seeing the Malbork Castle, which usually takes a whole day, you can hop in a train and head back to Gdansk, or do what I did and spend a night in Hotel Zamkowy, which is located in the castle courtyard.

This just might have been the best hotel experience and value I have ever had in my life. For starters, this is a hotel with history... 500 year history! During the medieval times, it was used by the Knights of the Teutonic Order occupying the Malbork Castle as an infirmery. Not to worry though... you won't see any sick knights wandering the halls anymore. Rooms are small, but perfect. Dark wood walls, marble bathroom and a gothic pillar in the middle of the room give you an impression you're a guest of the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. If you ask for a room overlooking the Nogat river, you'll have a spectacular view of some defense walls and pastures.

I booked the hotel through an online site:
Hotels Poland and paid $51 for it. The room prices vary by season, but you'll usually pay about $40-60 for a single, and $50-80 for a double. It's absolutely WORTH EVERY PENNY! Not only you get a premier location (Castle is eh... 10 yards to the left), you get to stay in a room with a history, and get a breakfast fit for a king. In fact, I have to mention the breakfast in its own paragraph.

Breakfast is served in the hotel restaurant, with huge wooden tables, you'd have difficulty touching hands with the person across from you. You get a breakfast set selection, and a large choice of breakfast pastries, beverages, and other goodies. It's also an awesome place for a drink after sightseeing in the castle on the previous night.

If you'd like to learn some more history of Teutonic Knights you can start at this site. It depicts the greatest battle that ended their reign in Eastern Europe.

And by all means... Book a night in the hotel. You won't regret it, I promise.

Let me be frank right up front: my dining experience was mixed by my own fault: I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and that proved to be totally inapropriate for 'Pod Lososiem' (which means 'Under the Salmon' by the way).

The food was fantastic! I only ordered main dish which was trout in mustard sauce, but they brought me a little apetizer on the house (really little, it was a little fried tomato, wrapped with some bacon with sauce; very nicely presented, nice touch). Everything looked meticulously prepared and presented. The beer I ordered came in a gigantic stein featuring the seal of the City of Gdansk, the capuccino came with a little piece of chocolate to stir it with.

The decor of this place is awesome! Dark wood, dark interiors, expensive chandeliers, well-attired wait staff all adds to a very pleasant dining atmosphere. Which brings me to the definite low-point of my dining experience... Being totally under-dressed for the restaurant, I got a very cold shoulder from the door man, and I noticed being observed a whole time I was in the restaurant. The barman was sitting by the bar, wiping the same beer glass for about an hour. My feeling is: maybe they though I accidentally wondered into the wrong restaurant, and couldn't afford anything on the menu.

So in a nutshell my recommendation is: go and try the wonderful food and decor, but dress nicely. And try the Goldwasser if you feel like splurging a little. It's a traditional Gdansk liquor with flakes of real gold in the bottle.

This is the heart of both medieval and temporary Gdansk. When you approach Dlugi Targ (Long Market), you will come through the newly restored gate, which is really something to look at. Once inside there are many things to see around here.

Fontanna Neptuna (Neptune's Fountain) has been completely restored and looks absolutely spectacular. It's located in front of Dom Artusa (Artus' House), which houses a museum, and one of the only remaining medieval ceramic stoves in Poland, which happens to be three stories tall! Ratusz Miejski (City Tower) is a sight to see with a city museum inside. Other fabulous churches, museums and structures inhabit the Old Town here.

When you exit Dlugi Targ, you'll find yourself at Dlugie Pobrzeze (Long Harbour). There are loads of souvenir stores over here, as well as the famous Zuraw (crane). One of Gdansk's best hotels: Hotel Hanza happens to be here overlooking the harbour. And the harbour is also a good place to catch a boat tour of the city, port and Westerplatte peninsula.

There are lots of little places to eat around here as well. Try the seafood, as Gdansk is a coastal city. Nothing beats a nice plate of fish and chips with a huge mug of Hevelius beer.

Malbork Castle is the largest medieval castle in Europe. It was built between the XIII and XIV centuries to serve as the home of the Grand Master of the Knights of the Teutonic Order. It's been said it is impenetrable, a castle built for defense. In fact it's never been taken over. Only after the Teutons were driven out of Poland and the castle was abandoned, did it ever fall into enemy hands.

This place is a must see! Going through the castle complex will probably take you as it took me a whole day: about 6-8 hours. That's of course allowing for lunch and souvenir shopping. Going through the castle itself probably takes 3-4 hours. There are numerous rooms and dungeons with fascinating frescoes on the walls, and of course the guides have lots of stories to tell. There are two museums on site: one for amber jewelry (which comes from around the region) and a museum of weaponry (swords, maces and other weapons of painful and slow death...).

When it comes to the money, this place is such a bargain. Entry into the castle and museums is 13 zlotych (about $2.50) and that includes a guide in Polish. However guides are available for many other languages and will run you about $20 for a whole day for a group of up to 40 people. Quite a bargain, for about 4 hours of guided tour, wouldn't you say?

There is an on-site cafe, several souvenir stores and stands that sell everything from postcards and amber jewelry to wooden carvings and brass figurines of Teutonic Knights. There is also several souvenir stores right outside of the castle.

The castle has a web-site in english at: http://www.zamek.malbork.com.pl/eng/. If you'd like additional information about it check out: UNESCO'S web-site for the castle. The castle has been put onto UNESCO'S World Heritage List in 1997, which grants it an internationally recognized status, as well as some money for reconstruction work.

Gdansk is the world capital when it comes to amber jewelry. There are literally thousands of little stores and galleries here, and if you're looking for a ring, bracelet or even amber with inclusions (like insects or ferns): you'll find it here. You'll also pay a fraction of a price that you would in lets say Smithsonian museum for the same item. Little amber hearts go for as little as a dollar or two!!! The best place for all the amber shopping is Szeroka or Dluga Street, but any of the little streets in the Old Town will do. So do a little splurging. You won't see as much amber anywhere else in the world, guaranteed!