About Gdansk

Gdansk is one of the most popular and most visited tourist cities in Poland.

• Gdansk – a perfect location

Located on the Baltic Sea seacoast and two rivers – the Vistula and the Motlawa. Thanks to the network of roads and highways as well as air and rail connection (there is a fast train-called ‘pendolino’- between Warsaw and Gdansk) the city is well connected with other parts of the country. Gdansk ferry port connects the city with Scandinavia – some of the ferries, apart from accommodation, offer a wide range of restaurants, conference rooms.

• A city with a turbulent history

A city with a turbulent history, for centuries the cause of a dispute between the Crown and the Teutonic Order. An important trade center, it were the merchants who set the rhythm for the city’s development. Before World War the Second, Gdansk had the status of a free city, and eventually became a pretext for the outbreak of the bloodiest war in the history of the world. After the war, Gdansk returned to the borders of Poland. In the years 1970, 1980 and 1988, it gave impetus to the fight for freedom. The legendary Solidarity social movement was born in Gdansk, which became a powerful force, thanks to which democratic changes began in Poland and Central Europe.

Currently, Gdansk together with Gdynia and Sopot form so-called Tricity, which is an ideal place to organize all kinds of events: science, business, culture or entertainment.

• The Tricity

Currently, Gdansk, together with Gdynia and Sopot, forms the so-called Tricity, which is an ideal place for all kinds of events: scientific, business, cultural or entertainment.

Gdansk is one of the leading academic centers in Poland. Every year, tens of thousands of young people study at the local universities.

Hotels

Gdansk, together with Sopot and Gdynia, has a long list of hotels with a wide price range to offer. Many of them belong to well-known hotel chains, perfectly prepared for large events: congresses, conferences and banquets. They have numerous well-equipped conference rooms with a capacity from several to several hundred people, a modern SPA and extensive restaurant and recreational facilities.

The list of several dozen categorized hotels includes among others:

 5* Hotels

• Hilton Gdansk,
• Hotel Gdansk, a boutique hotel,
• Sheraton Sopot, located by the beach and the longest wooden pier in Europe and right next to the famous promenade,
• Courtyard by Marriott Gdynia Waterfront.

4* Hotels

• Almond Business & Spa, Gdansk,
• Grand Cru, Gdansk
• Mercure, Gdansk Old Town,
• Holiday Inn City Center Gdansk,
• Hotel Nadmorski, Gdynia,
• Hotel Sadowa, Gdansk,
• Hotel Sopot,
• Qubus Hotel, Gdansk,
• Hotel Grano Gdansk,
• Radisson Hotel & Suites Gdansk, Wyspa Spichrzow Gdansk,
• Hotel Puro, Gdansk.

3* Hotels

• Beethoven Hotel Gdansk,
• Hotel Bonum, Gdansk,
• Hotel Eureka, Sopot,
• Hotel Mercure Gdynia Centrum.

Business & Conference Venues

The excellent transportation network, air and rail infrastructure makes the city extremely attractive for conference organizers. Every year, over 1,800 business meetings are held in Gdansk and the region.

The largest venues are prepared for events that can accommodate several thousand people. Companies and institutions that decide to organize a meeting in the Tri-City can choose from a wide range of typical conference venues, hotels with conference facilities and unusual, unique historical places.

Below is a list of the most important conference venues in the Tri-City:

• Ergo Arena Sports and Entertainment Hall – a multi-award-winning, modern multi-functional venue.
• AmberExpo – a place that combines modern exhibition and event space with a conference space.
• Conference Center at the Museum of the WWII in Gdansk –  the museum has a restaurant on the top floor, which gives opportunity to admire breathtaking panorama of the city.
• The Gdansk Music and Congress Center of the Baltic Philharmonic was created in line with an idea of organizing conventions, symposia and exhibitions there. An additional advantage of the venue is possibility of enriching the meeting with music attraction performed by a symphony orchestra.
• “Olivia Star “– the highest conference and banquet center in Poland, located on the 34th floor. The advantage is the spectacular view of the entire Tri-City.
• Energa Gdansk Stadion – the appearance was inspired by beauty of amber and port traditions.which resulted in a modern, irregular shape. The facility has space for meetings and conferences.
• “The Aquarium” – a modernized G-330 office building in the Baltic Port of New Technologies.
• The “Blue Lion” Archaeological Education Center, located in a historic, carefully restored granary.
• The National Maritime Museum in Gdansk located in the heart of the Main Town, in the historic Granary in Olowianka and in the Maritime Culture Center at the Zuraw.
• Art & Business Center “Zatoka Sztuki”.
• Gdansk Shakespeare Theater – a modern art center open to performances, festivals, concerts, exhibitions and conferences.
• Sassy Music & Venue Gdansk (Wyspa Spichrzow) with a roof terrace, for events for several hundred people.

Substantive support gives thriving Gdansk Convention Bureau.

Cuisine and restaurants

Gdańsk, where the influences of various European cuisines intersect, deeps into tastes known for centuries.

• Port Cuisine

Being a port city, Gdansk, for centuries enriched regional dishes with ingredients imported from all over the world. Exotic spices combined with local specialties created a delicious combination, creating the unique quality of Gdansk cuisine.

• Kaszuby influence

There are many influences on plates: Kashubian, Kociewie’s or from the post-war Borderlands. Among the most interesting regional dishes, make sure to try: salmon fish soup, tender roast beef, cod in crayfish butter, herring in all kinds, necessarily with a glass of the famous vodka with gold flecks (Goldwasser), a piece of meat in puff pastry and Gdansk waffles for dessert.

• Restaurants

The Tri-City offers a selection of restaurants with Polish, regional and international cuisine, many chefs implement to the menu the latest trends in world cuisines.

Top attractions

• Old Town of Gdansk

Gdansk is an extremely attractive city. The Old Town delights with beautiful gothic temples and beautifully decorated tenement houses. The most important of them are along the Royal Route. It starts at the Golden Gate and leads to the representative street in Gdansk. The Royal Route was the longest urban axis of the European Middle Ages. It leads through the Golden Gate to Dluga St, along patrician tenement houses with impressive facades shining with the richness of forms and originality of décor, typical of Hanseatic cities. In one of them – the Uphagen House, there is the Museum of Townhouse Interiors, in another – the Theater in the Window presents its performances attracting passing tourists.

• The Gdansk Crane 

Situated on the Motlawa River, the most characteristic Gdansk’s monument is the largest port crane in medieval Europe, as well as a fortified water gate with two massive brick towers, once protecting the city from the port side.

•  Neptune’s fountain 

The 17th-century Neptune Fountain is a symbol of Gdansk’s relationship with the sea and a charming decoration of the city’s market square. It is a favorite background on which tourists pose for commemorative photographs from Gdansk and an inspiration for painters and photographers who often hang out at Dlugi Targ Street.

• Solidarity Center

ECS (European Center of Solidarity) is an important institution on the Gdansk freedom trail in a new, experimental formula: not only a museum devoted to the history of Solidarity and the anti-communist opposition in Poland and Europe, but also a center for dialogue about the contemporary world, a meeting place for people who are close to values ​​such as freedom and democracy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe.

• Around Amber

The Amber Museum, where you can learn about a history of creation of the “Gold of the North” and inclusions, healing uses of amber, see a demonstration of its processing and finally beautiful collections, including the most valuable – objects from the collection of Georg Laue, which were created in Gdansk in the 16th and 18th centuries.

• Museum of the Second World War

Unique, monumental, very emotional – such adjectives can be used to describe the Museum of the Second World War, opened in March 2017. In one place, you can learn the history of the greatest conflict in human history, which began on September 1, 1939 in Gdansk, just a few kilometers from the museum. A huge main exhibition is waiting for visitors (one of the largest in the world!), which covers almost 5,000 square meters. Interestingly, it is located in the basement of the Museum, about 14 meters underground. Over 2,000 exhibits and 250 multimedia stands comprehensively teach us the tragic history of the 6 years of the war.

• Oliwa 

A quiet, charming district of Gdansk, picturesquely nestled in the forest of the Tricity Landscape Park, praised by the famous traveler Alexander von Humboldt as the third most beautiful place in the world. The most important building in Oliwa is the Cathedral, built as a Cistercian temple in the 13th century. The Gothic three-nave basilica is the longest church in Poland. The beautiful interiors hide many art treasures: numerous altars, a rococo pulpit, magnificent stalls, and monumental rococo organs with amazing sound and exceptionally rich sculpture.

• Gdynia 

Gdynia, known as the city made of the sea and dreams, forms the Tri-City together with Sopot and Gdansk. Just a 100 years ago it was a small fishing village here, and today it is a well-known health resort and the largest non-provincial town. The biggest attractions in Gdynia are Museum-Ship “Dar Pomorza”, Museum-Battleship “ORP Blyskawica”, the Naval Museum. Walks on Gdynia’s beach and towards wooden pier in Orlowo is a must for a leisure time.

• Sopot 

Sopot is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Polish seaside resorts, visited by tourists from Poland and abroad. The most interesting places in Sopot are a wooden pier over 500 meters long; a city promenade full of bars and restaurants, the Forest Opera and a beautiful beach.

Incentive Travel Ideas in Gdansk

Close proximity to the sea, sandy beaches, green areas and a rich cultural and entertainment offer in the Tri-City ensure attractions that meet the expectations of the most demanding participants of incentive trips.

• Water attractions 

Cruises on the Gdansk Bay or the Motlawa River, regattas, sailboats, yachts, kayaks. Cruises to Westerplatte and Hel, evenings on a ship are just to name a few.

• Tricity beaches

An evening in one of the clubs or seaside hotels right next to the beach, walks on the pier.

• Urban  games

1000 years of extremely turbulent history is a great inspiration for organizing a city game

• Around a history of the Gdansk Shipyard and Solidarity

Meeting in a post-industrial space, visiting the Gdansk Shipyard, learning about a history of Solidarity at the European Solidarity Centre, only to name some to inspire you.

• Culinary 

Craft Beer Trail (Tricity Beer Trail), vodka tasting with gold flecks, culinary workshops of Kashubian cuisine or typical dishes of the Polish coast.

• On the Amber Trail 

Visiting the Amber Museum, workshops, city game inspired by the famous lost “Amber Room”.

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