Gdansk (Poland): a really pretty city

I realize I’ve never written about Gdansk. Right after my stained glass internship in Chartres, I flew to Gdansk in Poland. JB and I had planned to spend a winter month there, but we changed our plans (for better weather in Malta!). I took advantage of his absence (he was in Nepal in October 2023) to do a little solo trip around Europe. I wanted a much busier itinerary, but for various reasons, I only ended up doing Gdansk, Prague, and Nice.

Gdansk is right next to the sea, so I thought it was a beach town, but it wasn’t. From the plane, you could see that the seaside was ugly, dusty, and mostly meant for containers, while the super charming “old town” side of Gdansk was inland, and we wanted to admire it from the plane (I was sitting on the right side). As you can see, the “old town” covers about 4-5 streets, and that’s it. A full day here is enough to see everything.

I stayed a few days because I was very tired, in a lovely duplex Airbnb, one street off the main drag. No neighbors above the apartment, so it was absolutely quiet. The apartment was way too big for me alone, and I appreciated having the washer/dryer to do my laundry (hadn’t had time to do it since my two bookbinding and stained glass courses). I could definitely stay longer in this Airbnb and this city, it’s just too comfortable, for 40€/night. Here’s the view from my bed:

During WWII, the entire old town was destroyed. What you see now are reconstructions, but they did a beautiful job; everything is gorgeous! Unfortunately, the cathedral’s beautiful stained glass windows weren’t restored, so you get clear windows with no color at all. Also, sadly, the restaurants I tried here, even the top-rated ones, didn’t convince me. Something was missing; it wasn’t as good as in Krakow.

What also took me a while to figure out was that the doors were always closed and weren’t glass, they were big wooden doors and you couldn’t easily tell if the restaurant or café was open or not, you couldn’t see anything. So don’t hesitate to push those super heavy doors, and inside you’ll find tons of people eating & drinking.

I have nothing else to say but to show you the photos. I wrote an article here about transportation from the airport (1.5€ by bus, but 10€ by Uber, your call), and where to get cash because I had a hard time figuring out where to withdraw without fees at first.

At one point, I noticed some pretty stained glass, and it turned out to be a Harry Potter-themed restaurant. Unfortunately, it was pricey and not good.

Same for those steamed dumplings, I went to the city’s top-rated restaurant to try them, and no, I still hate them, sniff sniff.

Anyway, go for the vibe and the buildings, not necessarily the food! 😀 Among Krakow, , Warsaw , and Gdansk, I find Gdansk smaller but prettier. Of course, Poles are always so kind and English-speaking <3 <3 <3