The place they call Shout!'Wrzeszcz' translates as 'shout!' or 'scream!' imperative, although its actual etymology is less exciting, being related to 'wrzos', or heather. The now fully urbanised terrain used to be a woody area with patches of heather-covered heathland, but the settlement goes…Read More

The place they call Shout!

'Wrzeszcz' translates as 'shout!' or 'scream!' imperative, although its actual etymology is less exciting, being related to 'wrzos', or heather. The now fully urbanised terrain used to be a woody area with patches of heather-covered heathland, but the settlement goes long way back – to the Teutonic Knights' agricultural estates and even before them, the Pommeranian Piasts of 13th century.

Modern Wrzeszcz developed in earnest in the late 19th and early 20th century, with the coming of the railways and the foundation of what is now Gdansk Technical University. The administrative division of Gdansk separates Wrzeszcz into the Lower and Upper (Dolny and Gorny) sections, while to the east of the main Wrzeszcz area are districts of Strzyza, VII Dwor and Bretowo.

WRZESZCZ DOLNY

Located between the coastal district of Brzezno and the railway, Lower Wrzeszcz is an old residential district with some industry (like the old brewery for example) and some post-war housing estates thrown in. The streets are lined with tenement houses, there are some small green spaces, parks and squares, and in many of the streets one can find the echoes and reminders of the old Gdansk. For the casual leisure visitor, this district is of little value and one is unlikely to come here unless passing through.

WRZESZCZ GORNY

This district lies south-west of the railway line and forms the very heart of Wrzeszcz. It has long been the main shopping and commercial area of Gdansk, which, despite having a lovely Old Town doesn't really have a defined 'town centre' with various functions spread out along the city's spine and even in the outlying branches.

Upper (Gorny) Wrzeszcz focuses on the Grunwaldzka street, a busy street full of traffic, people, shops and offices.

Anybody intending to do some serious shopping in Gdansk will sooner or later find themselves in Wrzeszcz. Two major modern Gdansk shopping centres are located in Wrzeszcz, Centrum Handlowe Manhattan (over 100 stores) and Galeria Baltycka (over 200 stores). Grunwaldzka itself features a selection of shops of all kinds as well as restaurants and bars.

Wrzeszcz is the home of the Technical University of Gdansk as well as the Miniatura Puppet Theatre and (on the border with Aniolki district) the Baltic Opera and Philharmonia.

Jaskowa Dolina, leading from Grunwaldzka to the estates of upper terrace in Bretowo district and beyond, is one of the most attractive streets in Gdansk, especially in its lower reaches easily accessible from the centre of Wrzeszcz, with lovely villas built in the style of mock-castles, hunting lodges and mini-palaces. There is even a woodland park with an open-air summer stage in Jaskowy Gaj and a tourist route 'The Hills of Tri-city' (Wzgorzami Trojmiasta) passes through the area too.

BRETOWO

West of Wrzeszcz and south of Oliwa, Bretowo is a varied, fairly large administrative district situated on the post-glacial hills of Oliwa Hills.

The housing ranges from the concrete high-rises of Niedzwiednik to the individual houses of Matemblewo and everything in between. Quite a large part of the district is, in fact, covered by the woodlands of the Tri-city Landscape Park (Trojmiejski Park Krajobrazowy) and even has a nature reserve within its remit.

Apart from the woods, a visitor to Bretowo can find remains of disused railway lines, old trench lines and a woodland-surrounded Sanktuarium Matki Bozej Brzemiennej (The Sanctuary of the Pregnant Holy Mother of Matemblewo), marking a place of a miraculous apparition of a pregnant Holy Mary to an 18th century poor man trying to reach a doctor for his labouring wife. The sanctuary became a place of pilgrimage by the pregnant and the infertile and in more recent times, the Catholic church put its money where its anti-abortion mouth is and established a home for young single mothers in need of help and support.

All of this is relatively low key, but somebody who stays longer in Gdansk might find some interest in Bretowo, and extensive walks in the Oliwa Woods will invariably bring one to this district.

STRZYZA

The second-smallest administrative district of Gdansk, Strzyza is named after the stream flowing nearby and lies between Wrzeszcz and Oliwa next to the main Gdansk-Gdynia transport artery. It's a residential district of mixed housing, with comfortable villas, pleasant apartment blocks and decent tenements. For a visitor, it has nothing special to offer.

VII DWOR

Neither large, nor populous district between Oliwa and Wrzeszcz, VII Dwor consists largely of the wooded hills of the Tri-city Landscape Park (Trojmiejski Park Krajobrazowy) as well as some residential areas. The district is located near the main campus of the University of Gdansk and thus might offer a possibility of budget accommodation, especially in the summer months. The only building of note is the Tri-city mosque, one of the only four mosques in Poland and apparently the only one with a minaret. It caters to the small Muslim community of Polish Tartars, whose group settled in Gdansk after the WW2. The mosque was built in the 1980s and it's now used not only by the dwindling Tartar community but also foreign expat Muslims.    Close

Relics of Old GdanskAlthough Srodmiescie (Town Centre) district houses most of the popular sightseeing attractions, the visitors interested in the more elusive, off the beaten track and atmospheric if sometimes rough and a bit unsavoury remains of Old Gdansk can find those relics in the…Read More

Relics of Old Gdansk

Although Srodmiescie (Town Centre) district houses most of the popular sightseeing attractions, the visitors interested in the more elusive, off the beaten track and atmospheric if sometimes rough and a bit unsavoury remains of Old Gdansk can find those relics in the small districts adjacent to the town centre and those stretching south of the city past the Brama Nizinna (the Lowland Gate) and along the Trakt Sw Wojciecha, once the main route entering the city from the south, leading to Tczew, Grudziadz, Torun and Lodz.

ANIOLKI

Literally 'Little Angels', Aniolki sit between Wrzeszcz (to the north) and Srodmiescie (to the south), separated by the railway from the shipbuilding area of Mlyniska. The district's housing comprises apartment blocks, some interesting old tenements and villas as well as more modern individual houses, but a visitor to the city is most likely to visit this area when travelling from Srodmiescie to Wrzeszcz, participating in an event that takes place on the open-air stage and fair area called Plac Zebran Ludowych, risking life and limb at one of Lechia Gdansk football matches or – hopefully least likely – attending the vast teaching hospital complex that belongs to Gdansk Medical University.

Most residents of Tri-City are likely to refer to the Aniolki area by the name of the SKM city train station Gdansk Politechnika, and indeed the venerable buildings of Gdansk University of Technology are nearby (though not strictly in the Aniolki district).

The Grand Avenue, a tree-lined old route between Gdansk and Wrzeszcz starts in Aniolki, and the Steffens' Park as well as the tank monument can by found by the side of this busy communication artery.

The proximity of the technical and medical universities means that several studenty clubs, including Kwadratowa and Medyk are nearby, while on the Opera and Philharmonia as well as a large Multikino complex sit on the borders between Aniolki and Wrzeszcz.

ORUNIA

Or, to give it the full name, Orunia, Sw Wojciech and Lipce, is the southernmost district of Gdansk with a long history. Initially developed along the Radunia Canal, dug in order to provide water to Gdansk, Orunia prospered as the entry point to the city, with mills and locks. Among the most illustrious residents are the Polish king Jan Sobieski who had his summer residence here, as well as the author of the Polish national anthem Jozef Wybicki and the parents of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who was in fact born in Orunia.

Modern Orunia has less illustrious connotations, being traditionally very much a working-class, poor area of often very low-quality housing, especially in the sections closest to the centre of the city. Even now, some pre-war tenements look as if they have not been touched since the times of the Free City, and parts of the post-war communist era developments also turned into something of sink estates. Orunia has been traditionally considered a rough area although parts have gentrified considerably in the period following the change of the system in 1989.

The district is not without its attractions tough, the chief of which is Park Orunski, once among the grandest in the city and now slowly regaining its former glory.

Further south, Lipce and Sw Wojciech are semi-rural suburbs with agricultural activity still in evidence, though being surpassed by housing developments. Lwi Dwor (Lions' Mansion) that stands by the Trakt Sw Wojciecha in Lipce is an excellent example of an inn, typical of the buildings constructed by the Dutch settlers of the area in the 17th century.


OLD CHELM

The southern part of the administrative district of Chelm situated on the hilly upper terrace of Gdansk has a fairly long history going back to at least the 15th century. In the 18th century, following the 1st partition of Poland, the area boasted a town of 10,000 people that competed with Gdansk. This was completely burned down during the Napoleon's siege of Gdansk in 1807 and the area remained a bit of a wasteland.

In the 1930s housing for the shipyard workers was constructed in the part now known as Stary Chelm (Old Chelm) while the nearby Bishops' Hill (Biskupia Gorka) which straddles the borders of Srodmiescie and Chelm boasts good views of Gdansk, some old fortifications and many pre-war and 19th century tenement houses, now often inhabited by rough council tenants. Old Chelm is also a location of the oldest Jewish cemetery in Gdansk, for a long time a dilapidated and ruined wreckage but recently - from 2008 tidied up and a more fitting remainder of the Jewish role in the history of Gdansk.
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These districts skirt the older parts of the city in a crescent of mostly communist era housing developments with very little to offer to a visitor. If you really must visit communist era block sprawl, Przymorze and Zaspa (covered in 'Concrete Sprawl by the…Read More

These districts skirt the older parts of the city in a crescent of mostly communist era housing developments with very little to offer to a visitor. If you really must visit communist era block sprawl, Przymorze and Zaspa (covered in 'Concrete Sprawl by the Sea') is a better option.

Piecki-Migowo

Piecki-Migowo district is known more popularly among Gdansk inhabitants as Morena (the whole area is located on the upper terrace, about 100m above the sea level). It has been developed in the 1970s and 1980s as a gigantic area of housing estates (then filled with communist-style concrete blocks) and new estates (slightly prettier but still of soulless apartment blocks) are still raising. There is nothing for a tourist or a casual visitor to Gdansk here.

Suchanino

Located to the east of Piecki-Migowo, Suchanino is another part of the inner ring (not quite a full ring, but still) of communist era blocks that sit between the older residential and industrial districts of central Gdansk and the newly developed outlying areas that used to be countryside villages only thirty years ago.

Suchanino is no different from other estates of this sort like Morena (Piecki-Migowo) or new Chelm and has little to offer to a tourist. Its claim to fame is being the location of the legendary Burdl, (The Brothel), an indie rock music venue where a lot of bands loosely belonging to the Gdansk alternative scene in the 1980s and early 1990s played and socialised. The Burdl is no more, and thus Suchanino is a desert for visitors with no redeeming oases of interest.


Siedlce

This a relatively small district located along the Kartuska (Kartuzy Road), a street that extends west out of the centre of Gdansk towards Kashubia region. Siedlce have a fairly long history, but the pre-war buildings (predominantly wooden) mostly burned down in the last stages of the WW2. Most of Siedlce now consists of 1950s tenements along the main drag of Kartuska as well as some later communist era prefab concrete blocks. It's historically and currently a working-class area of no particular interest for visitors, though those hunting the relics of the old Gdansk will find some old tenement buildings and a mill complex dating to the 19th and early 20th century.


New Chelm

Chelm is by far the most populous district of Gdansk, housing close to 10% of the city's population. It is also a fairly extensive district, stretching south and south west of the centre of the city between Siedlce and Lostowice in the west and Orunia in the east, all the way to the Tri-city ring road.

Old Chelm has some interest for visitors, and is covered separately. New Chelm and nearby districts of the southern Gdansk are one, vast dormitory area of housing estates, many of them communist-era concrete prefab blocks dating to the 1970s and 1980s, others more modern developments. It's a popular area of Gdansk to live in, and with decent transport links (the main, mostly dual-carriageway road into the city skirts Chelm) but as far as tourists go it's a veritable desert.   Close

The two easternmost districts of Gdansk are Gorki Zachodnie i Krakowiec at the eastern end of Wyspa Portowa and, beyond there, Wyspa Sobieszewska. These mark a transition from the industrial wasteland in the harbour and harbour-surrounding districts to gentle pleasures of the Vistula Delta waterways.…Read More

The two easternmost districts of Gdansk are Gorki Zachodnie i Krakowiec at the eastern end of Wyspa Portowa and, beyond there, Wyspa Sobieszewska. These mark a transition from the industrial wasteland in the harbour and harbour-surrounding districts to gentle pleasures of the Vistula Delta waterways.

Gorki Zachodnie & Krakowiec

Krakowiec is a sub-district of Gdansk located on the Port Island (Wyspa Portowa), between Stogi and Gorki Zachodnie. It is bordered by the Martwa Wisla branch of the Vistula delta but large parts of this stretch of the river are degraded by industrial development and thus the whole area has little to offer to a tourist. On the Wyspa Portowa better alternatives are Gorki Zachodnie for sailing and the beach and Stogi for the beach.

Gorki Zachodnie (literally Western Hills) is the easternmost district of Gdansk before Wyspa Sobieszewska, but as the latter is separated from Wyspa Portowa on which Gorki Zachodnie sit by the wide expanse of the Wisla Smiala (you need to take a fairly round-about route to Sobieszewo), Gorki Zachodnie feel like the end of the town.

It's a very non-urban area, mostly covered by thin pine forest growing on the coastal sandy hills and is a location of several of the Gdansk yacht clubs as well as a small shipyard. I have a something of a sentimental attachment to Gorki Zachodnie as I used to come here both by land (a very long journey!) and by sea from Gdynia during my young sailing days. Sailing is pretty much the only reason why anybody would make their way to Gorki Zachodnie now, as it is a good starting point for exploring the waterways of Vistula Delta all the way to the Vistula Lagoon and south to the lakes.

WYSPA SOBIESZEWSKA

The truly easternmost district of Gdansk, and the largest, Wyspa Sobieszewska (Sobieszewo Island) doesn't feel like part of the city but rather a separate place of its own. The district is cut off from the rest of the city and the surrounding areas by the waterways of the Vistula Delta. In the north, it is bordered by the waters of the Bay of Gdansk, in the south the Martwa Wisla separates it from the Zulawy area, in the east Przekop Wisly divides it from Mikoszewo and in the west Wisla Smiala forms the border between the island and the district of Gorki Zachodnie.

I love Wyspa Sobieszewska although it's probably less special than I tend to think, with my perceptions coloured by the magic light of childhood holidays and other outings. It was only included in the Gdansk administrative borders in the 1970s and it still retains a lot of its village character. It also forms a link between the city and the waterways of the Vistula delta (the island literally sits between the two branches of that delta that empty its waters into the Baltic sea), through Wisla Krolewiecka to the Vistula Lagoon.

Sailing and motoring is good in this area, with plenty of nice places to stop overnight (though the mosquitoes are relentless).

The island itself owes its isolation and relative lack of development to poor transport links: there are only three ways to get there (the bridge over the Przegalina lock, the pontoon bridge in Sobieszewo and the Mikoszewo-Swibno ferry) and none of them can carry many cars.

The Island has several localities and tourist attractions of which the most important are the bird reserve Ptasi Raj in Gorki Wschodnie, the long, clean, sandy beach that stretches all the way from the reserve to the eastern end of the island at Swibno. The fishing villages are turning into residential suburbs, but the process is slower here than in other parts of the city and outside the high holiday season you can find strangely compelling peace, isolation and subtle beauty in many places on Wyspa Sobieszewska.

Not an A-list tourist area, but one that definitely merits exploration if you spend more time in and around Gdansk- you might find yourself falling in love with it.   Close

The districts covered in this chapter are among the least interesting for a leisure visitor to Gdansk. They are all residential areas, most of them heavily developed after the fall of communism, and although more desirable and slightly better looking than some of the inner-city…Read More

The districts covered in this chapter are among the least interesting for a leisure visitor to Gdansk. They are all residential areas, most of them heavily developed after the fall of communism, and although more desirable and slightly better looking than some of the inner-city communist-era estates, they often entail long commute times and have less infrastructure than older dormitory districts.


OSOWA

Osowa, only included within the administrative area of Gdansk in the 1970s is the northernmost district of the city and the only one that actually borders Gdynia. It is in fact located around 20km from the centre of the city and not very well connected by public transport. Its natural and historical links are with Oliwa as well as outlying districts and villages near Gdynia (Chwaszczyno, Wielki Kack).

It is a largely residential district, and fairly aspirational one, with the majority of housing being of single-family house variety; many detached houses, streets of modern terraced dwellings and some post-communist, low-raise apartment blocks.

As most residential suburbs, Osowa is not a place where many tourists or short-term visitors will find themselves as it doesn't boast any special attractions. The Osowa shopping centre is the nearest out-of-town shopping area to Sopot and Oliwa, but is not a particularly exciting one even for those who like shopping centres.

Osowa leans towards Kaszubia and not only is situated significantly higher than the sea-board districts (140m above the sea level) but also has hotter summers and colder winters. Maybe that is why the two lakes in the district (Osowa Lake and Wysoka Lake) have always been a popular sun-and-swim destination for the inhabitants of the Gdansk and Gdynia suburbs nearby, although the visitors tend to prefer the sea beaches.

All in all, a pleasant and mostly well-heeled if still a bit in-the-making residential district of Gdansk, marred by poor public transport connections and inadequate road access; but with no attraction for the tourist.


MATARNIA

Matarnia is one of the outlying districts of Gdansk, mostly residential but with significant sections of still-agricultural countryside included. The area is bisected by the Tri-city ring road and it contains the Tri-city Lech Walesa airport: and it's thus a visitor is most likely to find himself in Matarnia when travelling into or out of Gdansk, either by plane or car.

The district doesn't have much to offer to a sightseer/visitor, although one notable draw for many people is the Matarnia shopping area and mall, the largest in the Tri-city with over 50 shops boasting Ikea, H&M, OBI, BOMI supermarket, and numerous others.


JASIEN

Another of the suburban residential districts of Gdansk, most of it recently developed (by recently I generally mean after the change of system in 1989) with modern residential blocks, individual terraced and detached houses as well as some relics of the district's fairly recent agricultural past (especially in the Szadolki area). Mostly inoffensive but of no interest to leisure visitors.

KOKOSZKI

The second-largest of Gdansk's administrative districts (after Wyspa Sobieszewska which doesn't feel like part of Gdansk at all), Kokoszki covers the westernmost part of the Gdansk metro area, south of Osowa and Matarnia and west of Jasien. The whole of the district lies outside the Tri-city ring-road and its recent rural roots are apparent throughout. Nowadays, Kokoszki present a mixture of industrial and commercial plots, woodland and residential estates, with some relics of old villages still presents. Most of it is dominated by large warehouse and wholesale complexes. The housing estates are predominantly modern and fairly upmarket by Polish standards, comprising individual dwelling-houses and low-raise apartment blocks. It's a varied district and not without its charms (the proximity to the Kashubian countryside being the chief of them) doesn't have much to offer in the way of tourist attractions.

WZGORZE MICKIEWICZA

A small, compact estate comprising around 800 of individual houses, including detached, semi-detached and terraced. It's a pleasant if very much regimented-suburban district of no interest to a tourist whatsoever.

UJESCISKO and LOSTOWICE

As most of the residential suburbs that reach out from Gdansk west and south-west towards the uplands of the Kashubian lakelands, the Ujescisko and Lostowice districts are consists mostly of new housing estates built since 1989 to a standard a tad higher that the old communist-era blocks, and usually not of concrete. These combine with detached, semi-detached and terraced individual houses to create a new layer of dormitory spread in what was fairly recently very much a countryside. The tourist doesn't have much to seek in these districts. The largest cemetery in Gdansk is located in Lostowice, but it's neither a historic or otherwise attractive place and one hopes a visitor will not have a need to use it.

OLSZYNKA

Olszynka is a low-lying district located on the outskirts of Gdansk, adjacent to the industrial area of Rudniki and the Orunia district. Geographically, it belongs to the Zulawy lowland (some of it is even below sea level) and is largely situated on the floodplain which prevented any significant urban development. Although in itself Olszynka lacks in tourist attractions, covered in allotments and dotted with individual houses, its relative proximity to the areas of Gdansk most attractive to visitors (the lower reaches of the Old Town are just across the Motlawa river) means there is some reasonably priced holiday apartments and rooms available in the area.
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Most of the industrial districts of Gdansk are located around the vast harbour area to the north-east of the city. Majority of them have very little to offer to visitors, although there is an odd gem here and there: half-decent beaches at Stogi and Brzezno…Read More

Most of the industrial districts of Gdansk are located around the vast harbour area to the north-east of the city. Majority of them have very little to offer to visitors, although there is an odd gem here and there: half-decent beaches at Stogi and Brzezno and an edgy art institute in the old Gdansk Shipyard.

BRZEZNO

Originally a fishing village owned by the Oliwa Cistercian abbey and later on a seaside resort, Brzezno saw a development of communist-era housing estates of concrete blocks. Its proximity to the harbour district of Nowy Port and being surrounded by mostly industrial areas of Lower Wrzescz and Letnica meant that it was always a working-class district, albeit with a less fearsome reputation than the Nowy Port next door.

The resort character of Brzezno, especially the areas immediately adjacent to the coast, has been revived since the 1989, and it now boasts an attractive pier, and a good town beach popular with locals and inhabitants of other Gdansk districts. The beach is also what might bring a tourist here, as it's fairly easily accessible from the centre of town. There are some new hotels and although not yet perhaps a first-class summer destination, Brzezno is reviving its resort credentials.

2012 will undoubtedly boost Brzezno visitors as some matches of Euro 2012 Football tournament will take place at the newly built PGE Arena in nearby Letnica.

LETNICA & MLYNISKA

Letnica is an industrial district of Gdansk, adjacent to the Nowy Port harbour district as well as residential areas of Wrzeszcz, Brzezno and Zaspa and the industrial (mostly shipbuilding) district of Mlyniska.

In the post-war communist era, the troublesome council tenants and those who were in long-term rent arrears were rehoused in Letnica. This didn't help the reputation of the area and it has always been considered rough and poor.

Some revival might come now as the newly built PGE Arena in Letnica will feature in Euro 2012 Football tournament, but one doubts whether it will be a significant change.

Mlyniska (lit. a place of great mills, originally an area called Szelmeja) is a predominantly industrial district of Gdansk that most people probably refer to using the name of the SKM train stop: Stocznia, or the Shipyards. Indeed, a lot of the district is taken up by the shipyards, including the Gdanska, Polnocna and Remontowa as well as other industrial installations and factories.

Some disused parts of Stocznia Gdanska (Gdansk Shipyard) now form a venue for artistic and cultural activities. The Art Institute Island (Instytut Sztuki Wyspa) is located in the old shipyard and offers numerous cutting-edge events and exhibitions that often creatively use the old industrial spaces.

There is also a small residential area in the so-called Green Triangle (Zielony Trojkat) with typical communist era blocks.

Those on the hunt for international connections might notice a disused train stop called Nowe Szkoty: New Scots – clearly a reminder of a significant settlement in Gdansk dating as far back as the 14th century!

NOWY PORT

Nowy Port translates as the New Port and it includes within its boundaries most of the port of Gdansk together with its residential districts. The only situation in which a leisure visitor to Gdansk would come here is if they were arriving or departing by ferry as the Gdansk ferry terminal with connections to Nynashamn is located in the Nowy Port district.

Apart from the port installations, the area has housing estates: dilapidated pre-war tenements and not much better communist era blocks. It's considered to be a rough district and it's not recommended to visit it after dark – although apart from the ferry terminal, there is no reason to visit it at all, really, unless you have business at the port.

PRZEROBKA

Przerobka is another of the industrial districts that surround the Gdansk harbour areas. Adjacent to the more residential Stogi, Przerobka is predominantly industrial, although it also has an estate of the typical concrete prefab communist era blocks. But most of it is either the port of Gdansk or other industrial facilities, including chemical plant Fosfory and a huge railway and tram repair plant. Unless you are fond of visiting industrial and harbour areas, there is nothing for a visitor in Przerobka at all.

STOGI

Stogi is one of the less savoury districts of Gdansk, full of communist-era blocks that were used in the after the war period to re-house the slum dwellers - and many still remaining as council flats rather that privately owned ones. The district wouldn't thus have much to recommend itself if it wasn't for the popular beach - the nearest and among the most accessible from the central area of the town. There are other and better beaches in Gdansk, but this one isn't half bad either.

RUDNIKI

Located south of Stogi and Przerobka on the southern bank of Martwa Wisla, Rudniki is a very much an industrial district occupied to large extent by the installations and buildings of the Gdansk Refinery (LOTUS group). The only situation in which a leisure visitor to Gdansk would find themselves in Rudniki is when entering or exiting the city by Elblaska Street, towards Elblag and Warsaw.    Close

Many residents of Gdansk live in the area of concrete sprawl bordered on one side by the waters of the Bay of Gdansk and on the other by the main Gdansk-Gdynia road and the railway. Counting down from the borders of Sopot, this area is…Read More

Many residents of Gdansk live in the area of concrete sprawl bordered on one side by the waters of the Bay of Gdansk and on the other by the main Gdansk-Gdynia road and the railway. Counting down from the borders of Sopot, this area is divided administratively into Jelitkowo & Zabianka, Przymorze and Zaspa. Most visitors will not find themselves in those districts, unless connoisseurs of communist-era urban planning and architecture. They are not, overall, bad places to live and many prefer them to the newer estates that grow out of Gdansk inland towards Kashubia and Zulawy regions.

JELITKOWO

Jelitkowo lies by the sea at the border of Gdansk and Sopot. Originally a fishing village later turned a seaside resort, Jelitkowo is still very much a seaside place, particularly for the inhabitants of the neighbouring communist-era block sprawling south and south-west of Jelitkowo in the Gdansk direction. There is a pleasant park with some ponds near the seaside promenade. The promenade and the bike path now extends both ways towards Sopot and its border with Gdynia in the north and towards coastal districts of Gdansk, Brzezno and Nowy Port to the south.

The beach is quite pleasant at Jelitkowo, but then the whole strip of beach that stretches for miles along the Bay of Gdansk - from Redlowo cliff all the way to Brzezno – is quite pleasant and there is nothing particularly enticing in Jelitkowo as such. There are many hotels, pensions, holiday homes and camp-sites in the area and you might simply end up here if looking for budget accommodation in Gdansk (or on the borders of Sopot for that matter).

ZABIANKA

This is an area of Gdansk located near Sopot borders that is almost exclusively residential, comprising mostly of high-rise communist era blocks and some newer apartment blocks and lower-level housing. It is considered to be a pretty reasonable area to live in, as far as sprawls of concrete blocks' estates go, but it has really nothing that might attract a tourist, a sightseer or any other brief visitor.

PRZYMORZE

Przymorze comprises of two districts of Gdansk's urban sprawl squashed between Zabianka in the north and Zaspa in the south. Technically it is divided into Przymorze Male (Small Przymorze) and Wielkie (Large).

Przymorze Male, between the main Gdansk-Gdynia road and the Chlopska artery that connects Zabianka to Wrzeszcz via Przymorze and Zaspa is among the most relentlessly hopeless residential districts of Gdansk. Most of it is communist-era blocks (although there are some streets of individual houses as well as several new developments of modern apartment blocks) and date to the 1960s, the era famous for windowless kitchens and cramped, low-ceilinged flats. The blocks are mostly low and medium rise, though some are among the highest in the city at 16 floors.

The area has no permanent attractions, though the round, two-level 1970s church of Najswietszej Maryi Panny Krolowej Rozanca (The Holy Virgin Mary, the Queen of Rosary) is among the largest in Poland and still remains an interesting example of modern sacred architecture.

The Gdansk Exhibition Fair buildings are also located in this part of Przymorze as well as a decent shopping centre called Alfa and one of the largest Gdansk open-air markets.

Przymorze Wielkie is adjacent to Przymorze Male and although overall is as grim and concrety as its 'small' counterpart, it has one advantage which is that, true to its name (Przymorze means literally Bythesea in Polish), is adjacent to the golden strip of beach that crescents its way along the shore of Tri-city. The beach is flanked by the protective strip of dunes and pine trees, and along that runs a bike path. Disused areas near the sea were in the early years of the 21st century developed into a huge (the largest in Gdansk) park with play parks, ponds and other facilities. The whole park is named – can you believe it!!!! - Park Ronalda Reagana (Ronald Reagan Park) but I think so far it's a public and free to use area rather than privatised and charged-for one.

Another claim to fame Przymorze Wielkie has are the huge 1970s residential blocks known as 'falowce' ('wavy ones'). Although only 11 storeys high, so not very high high-rises, they are very long – the longest around 1km (over half-mile) long and housing 4,000 people. These were the showcase of housing in the 1970s Poland, eerily reminiscent of many British housing estates. Unusually for Polish blocks, these ones have outside galleries rather than interior corridors (I could never understand why, but blocks with these always seem more grim) while the flats are tiny, cramped and low ceilinged. Many people originally housed in these blocks were council tenants re-housed from old slum accommodation (unlike flats in blocks in nearby Zabianka and Zaspa, which were privately or co-operatively owned) and the whole area doesn't have the best of reputations.

All in all, although Przymorze Wielkie might appear on the radar of a visitor, especially a longer-term one due to its proximity to the beaches and attractive sea-side areas, there is nothing special in the district itself to make one linger.

ZASPA

Part of the 1970's sprawl of mostly high-rise apartment blocks built on the area that used to be the old Gdansk airport, Zaspa Mlyniec is exclusively residential and fairly grim although not considered especially dangerous or unsavoury. The district has nothing to offer to a tourist, sight-seer or explorer and although I have spent a substantial part of my teenage years here (my two best friends lived in Zaspa) I cannot really think of anything of real interest. True connoisseurs of modern sacral architecture might want to have a look at the local church, though it's not that special.

The Rozstaje section of Zaspa is a location of the cemetery where the victims of Nazi persecution in Gdansk are buried, including the defenders of the Polish Post in Gdansk, railway workers and custom officers from Szymankowo and Polish activists from Gdansk.

Many blocks of the Zaspa district, especially those facing the main street (Al. Rzeczpospolitej, formerly Rokossowskiego) boast interesting murals – some by cutting-edge Gdansk artists , some of milder but still enjoyable decorative character.
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Gdansk is the city of half a million people and is administratively divided into 34 districts. A tourist on a brief (or even longer) sight-seeing visit will only come across some of them, as many are largely or exclusively residential. Others are out-of-the way but…Read More

Gdansk is the city of half a million people and is administratively divided into 34 districts. A tourist on a brief (or even longer) sight-seeing visit will only come across some of them, as many are largely or exclusively residential. Others are out-of-the way but hide some gems worth pursuing by those who stay for longer. The two districts that even the brief visitors are likely to see are Srodmiescie and Oliwa.

SRODMIESCIE

The modern Srodmiescie (literally Mid-town) district of Gdansk is the very heart of the city and it's also where the majority of the tourist sites and sights is located. From the Dluga Street and Dlugi Targ (Long Market) with the fabulous restored, high-gabled merchant houses to the lovely Dlugie Pobrzeze (Long Quay) with the sequence of famous gates, the sightseeing boats and the Maritime Museum with the brick medieval Crane, the Srodmiescie district is certainly where all the visitors should start their tour of Gdansk.

The best museums are also here, from the National Museum to the Maritime one as well as ones devoted to archaeology and amber and the town-house interiors displays at the Uphagen House.

Many restaurants, cafes and bars are also located in Srodmiescie, not all of them tourist traps.

All in all, the very centre of everything that's interesting and unique in Gdansk and a must-see on a national (or maybe even international) scale.

OLIWA

After the centre of the town (Srodmiescie) area of Gdansk, Oliwa is the district that should come next on the list of most tourists. The origins of Oliwa are almost as venerable as Gdansk's and go back to the 12th century. Oliwa was the name for the village that grew near the cystercian abbey here and it was an entity separate from Gdansk until the 1926. It is, in fact, the northernmost district of in the urban fabric of Gdansk (though part of the countryside Osowa stretch further north towards Gdynia) and is actually closer to Sopot (which it borders) than to either the centre of Gdansk of even the Wrzeszcz commercial district.

Oliwa is partially surrounded by the wooded hills of the Oliwa Woods, part of the extensive TRi-City Landscape park and it has a distinct - and rather charming - character of its own.

Towards the sea, estates of high-rise blocks mar the citiscape, but there the residential part of old Oliwa is still delightfuly shabby, though in the process of gentrification.

The district is the site of the main campus of the University of Gdansk as well as a large big-box shopping area located near the University, but the main attractions for the tourists are in the Old Oliwa area.

This boasts the best park in Gdanks (Oliwa Park, with streams, ponds, Abbots' Palace, modern art sculptures dotted around and even a modest tropical Palm House); one of the two best churches in Gdansk (Oliwa Cathedral with its soaring, beautiful interior and the world-famous organ) and the Water Smithy. Abbots' Palace and the Abbots' Granary respectively house two branches of the National Museum in Gdansk (modern art and etnography) while further out, is the Gdansk Zoo, where a variety of animals live in large enclosures among the trees and hills of the of the Oliwa Forest.

Oliwa is probably my favourite part of Gdansk and one that I return to most often when visiting Tri-city. Lower-key and less obviously spectacular than the restored Old Town of the city centre, it is nevertheless very much worth visiting and could easily occupy a whole day, especially if you include the zoo or a walk in the woods.    Close

Gdansk has plenty of dining options, from numerous snack and fast-food places scattered around the tourist areas to casual eateries to expensive fine dining. The quality can be variable, but there are some reliable places for most tastes and pockets. In the very centre, Czerwone…Read More

Gdansk has plenty of dining options, from numerous snack and fast-food places scattered around the tourist areas to casual eateries to expensive fine dining. The quality can be variable, but there are some reliable places for most tastes and pockets.

In the very centre, Czerwone Drzwi offers consistently high quality of Polish and European cuisine. Targ Rybny is best for imaginatively prepared fish. Still on the aquatic theme, the traditions of Pod Lososiem go back 400 years (the Gdansk liquier Goldwasser was apparently invented here) and the restaurant is still one of the top choices for fine dining and possibly the most famous restaurant in Gdansk. Goldwasser, in a hotel of the same name, has old-Gdansk style and International food in old-Gdansk style surroundings. Nouvelle Polish dishes can be sampled at Villa Uphagena: well worth a journey out of the centre. Kresowa has parise-worthy dishes from the eastern areas of Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania, while Kuchnia Rosyjska continues the same theme. Traditional Polish peasant and home cooking can be sampled at Swojski Smak.

For those bored with Polish and Eastern European fare, Masala has decent Indian (as well as Thai and Chinese) food despite tired décor, while Kansai serves good Sushi. Napoli is simple but undoubtedly the best pizzeria in town, while other budget options include the vegetarian Greenway, the Green Dragon bistro and an unusual venue in Poland: a bar devoted almost exclusively to baked potatoes, called somehow confusingly Bar Pod Ryba.

Pi kawa is one of the best Gdansk cafes, with a great ambience and good choice of coffees, teas and home made deserts. Other good Old Town cafes include Cafe Ferber and Indygo: a warm, cosy place great for hot chocolate. Kawalerka has food, drinks and milkshakes in stylish surroundings and prime location while Arbat Cafe is a good place for tea, coffee or pierogi in Oliwa.
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Gdansk has a thriving cultural scene, and a number of permanent cultural institutions as well as recurring festivals and events. The best-known event in Gdansk is the St Dominic's Fair, a 750 year old, annual fortnight of crafts, bric-a-brac, tourist tat, street performances, music and…Read More

Gdansk has a thriving cultural scene, and a number of permanent cultural institutions as well as recurring festivals and events. The best-known event in Gdansk is the St Dominic's Fair, a 750 year old, annual fortnight of crafts, bric-a-brac, tourist tat, street performances, music and visual arts. Annual Sea Days bring a parade of sailing ships to the Bay of Gdansk as well as smaller gatherings into the heart of the city itself. The city has several multiplex cinemas, showing current international releases (most films are subtitled, so accessible to anybody knowing the languguage of the original). Teatr Wybrzeze is the town's and region's principal rep theathre, with the main and studio stages, as well as being one of the main venues for the city's Shakespeare Festival. Theathre, dance and drama both traditional and avant-garde are big in Gdansk. Every summer, the city hosts large and very popular festival of street theatre FETA, while all year round Miniatura offers puppet and actor shows for children and adults.

Gdansk's Opera and Philharmonia are the major stages for classical music and ballet, while Hala Oliwia doubles up as an in-door sports arena, ice rink and a venue for pop and rock performances. July sees the city's largest rock and pop festival, MTV's Gdansk Dzwiga Muze while October the star-studded festival of Polish music videos Yach Film. The best names of Polish jazz can be heard at Blue Time jazz club while many of Gdansk's clubs and pubs have live music from local rock, pop and indie acts.

Gdansk's club scene is dominated by students' clubs. It's a big academic centre, with four universities, and has several decent clubs catering particularly to students' and graduates' audience (but open to general public): Autsajder, Kwadratowa, Mechanik, Negatyw, Wysepka and Medyk.

Cafe Szafa, right in the centre of the city, offers a three-level space ranging from quite cafe upstairs to dance floor in the basement, while nearby Cico offers supreme chill-out vibes and in sophisticated surroundings (in addition to clubbing, it also has a bar and restaurant open all day - and good breakfast options). Miasto Aniolow has a more grown up audience than typical Gdansk studenty hang-outs, while Yesterday offers classic rock tunes. City-centre Intro has a separate non-smoking, air-conditioned room.

Like many old cities, Gdansk abound in cellar pubs and bars (as well as many above ground). Irish Pub in the basement of the Old Town Hall is now a Gdansk institution, full of students, convival drinking atmosphere and with frequent live music. Dolce Vita is a good pre-club venue in the centre, while Mon Balzac and Absinthe are cafes cum bars that will do for daytime coffee as much as for a night-time of drinking. Degustatornia is a special beer-house with a huge selection of international beers, good for when you tire of endless Polish lagers, while Piwnica Krugera is one of the best slightly alternative pubs/clubs in Gdansk.
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