1 Day in Gdansk. Things to do in 1 Day

Ночной город, 1 день в Гданьске

Night in the city, 1 day in Gdansk

I spent 1 day in Gdansk, beautiful Polish port city by accident.

From Gdansk, we were going to fly to Norway, and to see the city better, we decided to arrive the day before the departure. And, we did not regret spending one day in Gdansk. At the moment, Gdansk is my favorite city in Poland, despite the fact that I visited about 20-25 of them.

Arriving in Gdansk

Apartments in Gdansk

We arrived in the city separately. I was traveling from Minsk through Warsaw. We were going to stay in the apartments in the center of Gdansk, near the picturesque embankment. The owner of the apartment was also the owner of one hostel slightly away from the city center. So, to take the keys to the apartment, I had to go to the hostel.

The day in Gdansk started with a walk through the whole city. With a backpack full of food for 3 days and clothes for any possible weather in Norway, I went through the old town to the hostel. At first glance, I really liked the city, and I realized that it does not look like other Polish cities. It’s hard to explain why it is so special. More light, quiet and does not look so industrial like many other port cities.

Pirate and pirate ship, Gdansk in 1 day

Along the way, I noticed several places worth visiting. I saw a man dressed as a pirate, next to a beautiful ‘pirate’ ship, where people were already sitting at the tables, ready to leave. Also, I thought about driving on a stylish Ferris wheel called ‘Amber Sky’, amber products are sold here everywhere.

Things to do in 1 day in Gdansk

Watch this nice video of what you can do in Gdansk in 1 day and read, what I did after.

1 Day in Gdansk

24 hours in Gdansk. What to do in Gdansk in 1 day.

In the hostel, it turned out that it was still too early to get the keys to the apartments, so I waited a bit, asked the girl at the reception desk about the places to visit in Gdansk in 1 day. She recommended to visit a couple of beautiful streets and interesting attractions, as well as to climb to Gradowa hill behind the train station, warning that it was painted with Ukrainian nationalist slogans (which we didn’t find later).

Gradowa hill fort, 1 day in Gdansk

Streets of Gdansk

Mariacka Street, Gdansk in 1 day

The city is very compact, all the attractions can be quickly bypassed in the old town, but here, unlike other Polish cities, you can simply endlessly walk around and find all the new beautiful streets. Tourists walk along the main trails between sights, but you can stroll along the parallel, no less beautiful streets. We really liked Mariacka Street, which looks like some mystical streets of Prague, but it’s better. It is very old, almost in every house, there are amber galleries and workshops. Unusual staircases with railings lead to each entrance.

Gradowa Hill

Bunker in Gradowa hill, Gdansk

No less we liked the Gradowa hill, which was located behind the railway station, which in itself is a tourist attraction. There was the Jerusalem Bastion located on the hill, which defended Gdansk from attacks from the west. Above on all buildings grows grass, that saved the buildings from being seen from the air. In some rooms, there were installations and information some parts of the bastion’s activity: protection, broadcast, etc. In addition to its historical value, it offers an excellent view of the city. So, I recommend it to anyone!

Gradova hill and panorama of Gdansk in 1 day

Museums of Gdansk

European Solidarity center in Gdansk

In Gdansk, there are many museums connected with history, wars, trade past and many others. You can spend the whole day in Gdansk visiting local museums. But, many similar museums exist in other cities of Eastern Europe. And, where I wanted to go was the European Center of Solidarity. In Gdansk, this Polish opposition movement began. The museum itself looks like a rusty piece of iron from the outside, but inside it is very original.

City Panorama

Gdansk city panorama

Another mandatory point to visit in Gdansk and any other city is getting on some rooftop to see the city from the height. Yes, we’ve already been to the Gradowa hill, but it’s different. We wanted to get to the roof of one of the high points in Gdansk. There are 3 city halls and a lot of churches in the city. We climbed up a basilica. 409 steps led us to the top. The view was great, but the basilica was too high and the city seemed really small. Maybe, a better option would be to go up one of the city halls.

Present for a belly

Burger from Surf Burger

Before expensive Norway, I wanted to eat some food not from a bag or a can, so I asked in the hostel about food to try and places to eat in Gdansk. I was advised to visit the Surf Burger restaurant, which from the food-truck has grown into a chain of restaurants. We decided to have a lunch there.

In a small room, absolutely all the seats were occupied and there was a large queue at the cash desk. Still, we decided to stand it and later found a place. About 20 minutes later we got our burgers. I’d say: burgers like burgers. A good sauce, but dry meat. Maybe in the food-truck they cooked everything with a soul and trying to do it perfectly, but the taste while cooking in bulk is so-so.

Another culinary attraction was Kult Kebab, another fast food restaurant. There, I liked the food better. It was the most expensive kebab I ate in Poland (18 zł, almost 5 euros), but it was very tasty. Fresh vegetables, curd cheese with basil and all of it poured with lemon.

Gdansk Embankment

Gdansk embnkment

Long enough we walked along the embankment. In Gdansk, it is very beautiful. You can just spend a day on the waterfront, and the next day visit the city’s attractions.

Invitations to strip clubs

Sunset in Gdansk city center

In the evening, when I met all of my friends I was going to travel to Norway with, we decided to go out for a walk in the night city. After making a small circle in the center of the city, a dozen of people asked us to go to some strip clubs. It’s hard to anger me, but this was that time. Did we really look like their potential customers?!

End of day in Gdansk

Lion, symbol of Gdansk

That’s how our day in Gdansk has finished.

In the morning, we went to the airport to fly to Haugesund, Norway.

We really liked Gdansk. As I said, it became my favorite city in Poland. Similar to the Netherlands, Germany and Czech republic, it looked surprisingly unique. The city is not very small, but it is great for relaxed leisure time and walks along the waterfront. Altough, we spent just 1 day in Gdansk, I recommend you to stay there longer. I will definitely come back there again!

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1 day in Gdansk, Poland. Things to do in 1 day

Comments
  • I was in gdansk and i visited on Bike . All Old town. Next day i was in Malbork Teutonic Castel. Recomend. All info about tour find in city tour gdansk

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