The Best Places To Visit Near GdaĆsk Poland
On episode 80, we check out the best places to visit near GdaĆsk Poland. We continue our multi-part series taking you to multiple cities in Poland. After spending 23 days traveling through western Poland, weâre excited to share our adventures with our listeners. Click the podcast player link below to listen to this episode.
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We visited GdaĆsk city center during our last podcast. It is a beautiful city – a perfect place for folks who love seaside towns. Located on the Baltic Sea, GdaĆsk along with Gdynia and Sopot, form the famous TriCity area, offering something for everyone.
Surely you can spend several days exploring the city center of GdaĆsk. However, thereâs much more to discover while staying there on day trip adventures. As little as 15 minutes away, you can begin to see beaches, castles, and more attractions within the tri-city area and beyond.
What to see nearby GdaĆsk
In our podcast episode, we take you through five nearby places to visit while staying GdaĆsk. These are options that are anywhere from a very short train ride away to about 90 minutes away. Keep on reading for day trip ideas to add to your itinerary when visiting GdaĆsk Poland.
Visit Oliwa Park and Oliwa Cathedral
Oliwa Park – The park is gorgeous and features beautiful ponds, well-maintained flowerbeds, and winding walking paths. It abounds with greenery everywhere. This park is great if youâre looking for a nearby spot to relax. Following a stroll here, head over to our next destination at Oliwa Cathedral.
Oliwa Cathedral (Katedra Oliwska) – This Roman Catholic cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The numerous altars inside are beautifully crafted – each one itself a work of art. The cathedral is designed in a three-nave design and is the longest Cistercian church in the world. Inside, take time to view the beautiful artwork spanning multiple periods including Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Classical periods.
Oliwa Cathedral Organ – Music lovers will want to admire the gorgeous organ at Oliwa Cathedral. This big and powerful organ boasts nearly 8,000 pipes that form a huge semicircle on one end of the church. Additionally, beyond traditional organ sounds, it can also reproduce the sound of animal cries, voices and even rippling water. The cathedralâs organ showpiece includes animated elements that move around the pipes as the organ is played. At the time of its construction, it was the largest organ in the world of its type. Concerts are often offered inside the church. With this in mind, check with the church during the time of your visit and plan to hear this wonderful instrument.
The best pierogis we ever ate at Pierogarnia Mandu
Pierogarnia Mandu Restaurant – After nearly a month of visiting Poland, we ate at lots of restaurants. This was certainly one of the top 3 dining experiences we had in Poland. The pierogies here are amazing. They are made on the spot, and you can watch the crew making them while you wait. Because they are handmade, youâll wait a bit for the food, but oh my, so worth it. The restaurant offers unique flavors that rotate throughout the year. During our visit, the special of the month was an Asparagus filled pierogi with asparagus sauce. The pierogis here are unique and incredibly delicious. You’ll find pierogi versions here not found elsewhere, and the preparation quality is superb.
The best places near GdaĆsk include the tri-city area
Sopot Poland – When in GdaĆsk, it is easy to get around between the tri-city area of GdaĆsk, Gdynia, and Sopot. These cities are more of the best places to visit near GdaĆsk Poland. Just hop on the KM Kolejka (commuter train) which runs more or less every 10 to 15 minutes between 5 am and 7 pm. We took a train one afternoon in GdaĆsk, and in about 15 minutes got off the train in Sopot.
Sopot is a city on the Baltic Sea – another nice seaside area for a relaxing day. Thereâs a pier where you can wander to get views of the Baltic Sea. We strolled along the pier here – and watched summer visitors spending time on the beach. Sellers near the pier offer a variety of goods for purchase including amber. The famous walking street in the area is Monte Cassino.
Krzywy Domek – Crooked House – One of the buildings of note here is the Crooked House. Itâs reminiscent of a structure at Fantasyland in Disneyland – though much bigger. The large fairytale-inspired structure houses restaurants, shops, and a radio station. Youâll find the crooked house near the corner of Monte Cassino and Morska Streets with entrances on both.
Visit the largest castle in the world in Malbork Poland
Malbork Castle – While staying in GdaĆsk, a very worthwhile day trip to schedule is a visit to Malbork Castle. This is absolutely one of the best places to visit nearby Gdansk. It takes about 90 minutes to get there by train, but trust us, it is so worth the visit. The castle is huge! It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest castle in the world as measured by the total land area (51 acres). The castle was home to the Knights of the Teutonic Order. Their monastic code guided their lives and in battle, their dress featured a black cross on white cloaks.
We spent nearly five hours exploring the castle during our self-guided tour. The audio headsets provided one of the best headset experiences weâve ever encountered at a museum. No need to punch buttons to dial in an exhibit â the headsets knew our location and automatically played narration whenever we entered a new area.
Your tour of the castle will let you see how the castle was used in its heyday – stables, armory, workshops, banquet rooms, worship rooms, and brewery. Exhibit rooms include showcases of the armor and safety dress worn by the knights back in the day. And you get the sense of the highly religious community that inhabited the castle.
Like many places in Poland, the castle suffered significant destruction during WWII, and has since been meticulously restored. If you like castles, this one is wonderful, and they donât get much larger than the Malbork Castle in Poland. Itâs a great place to visit nearby GdaĆsk Poland.
Also discussed in this episode is Chef Bogdan GaĆÄ zka – His cookbooks are worth seeking out for new takes on Polish cuisine. We ate at his cafe when it was operating at the Malbork Castle. However, during the Covid era, this cafe did not survive.
Take a Tour from Gdansk
Traveling to the best places to visit near GdaĆsk
We were able to easily travel on our day trips on trains from GdaĆsk Central train station. Here is an example of travel times from the GdaĆsk Central train station to the day trips we describe above:
GdaĆsk Central to Oliwa Park: 27 minutes
Train to Sopot: 11 minutes
Journey to Malbork: 25 to 45 minutes depending on train service
For destinations close to GdaĆsk, bus service is another option. We were able to find public transportation options via the rome2rio website. In all cases on our travels in Poland, we ventured solely via public transportation without a problem.
Where to stay in GdaĆsk
Our accommodation was at the Ibis Gdansk Stare Miasto Hotel. This was a great location for exploring the city center and nearby museums. The hotel’s location also made it easy to get to the train station.
Here are three more top-rated places to stay if you visit GdaĆsk:
Holiday Inn Gdansk City Center
Search for more lodging options through our Expedia or VRBO links below:
Books about GdaĆsk
Get ready for your visit to GdaĆsk with these books:
Rick Steves Snapshot KrakĂłw, Warsaw & Gdansk
I Went To Gdansk With Somebody: How A Northern Irishman Ended Up Living In Poland by Jonny Blair
Gdansk 25 Secrets 2020 – The Locals Travel Guide For Your Trip to Gdansk ( Poland ): Skip the tourist traps and explore like a local â by Antonio Araujo
Is GdaĆsk worth visiting?
Absolutely. The city center has some of the most beautiful streets in Europe. It’s the birthplace of the 1980s âSolidarnoĆÄâ (Solidarity) movement. You’ll see an iconic harbor area, and GdaĆsk even has its own beer street.
More things to do near Gdansk
Like on most trips, we ran out of time for sightseeing while in GdaĆsk. If we had more time, here are more things we would like to do in GdaĆsk.
Museum of the Second World War
Westerplatte – where the first shots of WWII happened
Upside down house in Szymbark Poland â about 50 minutes west of GdaĆsk
Plan your trip to Poland
DK Eyewitness Poland – This is the book we referenced to help craft our three-week Poland itinerary.
More books to plan your trip to Poland
More Articles About Places in Poland
The Best Things to do in Gdansk for Curious Travelers
Torun – Two Days in Torun, Poland
WrocĆaw – The Best Places in Wroclaw Poland
More Travel Resources from The Places Where We Go
The Places Where We Go Travel Resources
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Inspiring Your Future Travels
We hope this episode of the best places to visit near GdaĆsk Poland inspires a future trip for you. Check out our companion article:
The Best Things To Do in Gdansk Poland
Which activities will you plan on your trip? Drop us a line if you have an adventure in this Polish city.
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Gdansk is super. I also love the sidetrips to Tczew, Malbork, Pelplin, Starogard Gdanski, Kokoszkowy, Sopot and Gdynia! Safe travels. Jonny
Thanks for stopping by Jonny. Gdansk made an incredible impression on us. Fantastic city for sure. We enjoyed Malbork and Sopot – and need to return to see the other places you mention. Hopefully sooner rather than later.