9 Best Things to do in Gdansk in 1 Day

Are you looking for the best things to do in Gdansk? Are you thinking of visiting the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk? Or are you looking for a day trip from Gdansk to visit Malbork Castle? Well read on and join us as we explore the historic city and find the best things to do in Gdansk…

Gdansk is a great city to visit, let’s get that out there right from the start. The Old Town is beautiful, you can explore shipyards with an open air museum, and the city has an intriguing history.

Once known as Danzig, as recently as the start of the second World War Gdansk (Danzig) was a “free city”, not belonging to any country and having its own government, constitution, and even currency.

Gdansk is where the first shots of World War II were fired as Germany invaded Poland. And hence why one of the best things to do in Gdansk is to visit the World War II Museum.

Go to the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk

One of the best things to do in Gdansk is to visit the Museum of the Second World War.

Seeing it from the outside is worth the trip alone, as it's a striking building on the waterfront. half glass and half red concrete, it leans to one side and reminds us of the Leaning Tower of Torun we saw yesterday!

The museum takes us on a timeline journey through the Second World War, from the Nazi and Soviet propaganda, personal stories of some of Poland’s heroes, and we walk through a remade wartime Warsaw street.

But one of the most poignant reminders is the Holocaust section, where photos of hundreds of Jewish victims hang 7m from the ceiling. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the things you see in museums were real and actually happened, and weren’t just something from the movies.

Some of the sections of the museum are quite difficult to see, but it’s a must visit and the story needs to be told to hopefully stop any future atrocities happening. 

For tickets and more information see the Museum of the Second World War Website

TrovenTrippers Tip... WWII Museum one of the best things to do in Gdansk

Give yourself plenty of time to look around the museum. We arrived quite late and so had to rush through the last few sections of the museum as it was closing, we'd suggest at least 2 - 3 hours to be able to see it fully.

Explore the Historic Old Town

Coming to Gdansk after visiting the beautiful Krakow and amazing hidden gem Torun, we weren’t sure if the Old Town would live up to its Polish neighbours.

But walking to our Airbnb we see there is no reason to doubt, as the small but historic Old Town is every bit as beautiful as those 2 cities.

Quite different in that the streets seem narrower and the brightly coloured buildings aren’t quite as organised, giving a jumbled look. But this gives Gdansk its own charm and character.

See Gdansk from above up the Tower of Gdansk Town Hall

The best way to see Gdansk Old Town is by going up the tower of Gdansk Town Hall. 

It’s over 200 stairs up to get to the top, but the views are absolutely worth it. We get a 360° view, seeing all over the Old Town and the pretty buildings, seeing the huge and imposing St. Mary’s Church, and we can see far into the distance.

The Town Hall also houses the Gdansk history museum, but we didn’t visit this as we wanted to explore more of the city outside of the Old Town.

TrovenTrippers Tip… Gdansk Town Hall one of the best things to do in Gdansk

Check the opening times before you visit, we went on a Monday and the museum and tower didn’t open until 12pm. And there was quite a queue of people waiting for it to open before that… but luckily most people headed to the museum first so we got the tower almost to ourselves.

Shop for Amber on Mariacka & See the Statue of Neptune on Długi Targ

Just next to the Town Hall on Długi Targ is a Statue and Fountain of Neptune which is cool to see.

And the parallel street Mariacka is famous for its amber shops, so we obviously don’t miss the opportunity for some shopping and to pick up some mementos and souvenirs of our trip!

St. Mary’s Church in Gdansk

One of the highlights of Gdansk Old Town is St. Mary’s Church. It’s one of the largest brick built churches in the World, and the interior is stunning!

There’s a really nice clock inside one of the entrances, as well as the usual altar, artwork and amazing organ. But one piece which really stands out to Paul is a memorial to the Priests who lost their lives during WWII… a sculpture of Jesus with his head in his hand and wearing a crown of thorns.

Experience Industrial Gdansk at the Imperial Shipyard

After seeing the beautiful architecture of the Old Town, the Imperial Shipyard is a really cool contrast of style.

It's very gritty and industrial... a working dockland, and if there weren't signs up making it clear that it's an open air museum, we'd feel like we shouldn't be here!

As we're walking around factory workers are going about their day, unpacking delivery trucks, moving crates around, and manning the machines which we have no idea what they are!

The main things to see are the Żuraw M3 crane is pretty cool, and further along the waterfront there are some sea sculptures. They look like something from the Terminator… machines walking out of the water and onto the shore.

There’s also a café there so we grab a coffee to wander around the warehouses.

Seeing the dilapidated state of a lot of the warehouses makes us think of the Meatpacking District in Copenhagen, and Paul says it would be really cool if this was converted into something similar.

If you're looking for a polished museum then this certainly isn't for you. But after seeing the beautiful Old Towns of Krakow, Torun, and Gdansk over the last few days, it's good to see the more raw and modern industrial side of Poland too!

Pay tribute at the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers

Close to the Imperial Shipyard is the Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers, a tall tower to commemorate 45 people who died in 1970 in protests against the Communist regime. 

And the statue stands in Solitary Square which is surrounded by memorials to victims of totalitarianism. It’s quite a poignant place.

Try Local Food at Gdański Bowke

Gdański Bowke on the Old Port in Gdansk is a great restaurant to try the local food and drinks. 

Paul gets a beer tasting board and Sneha gets a Polish gin, which she isn't much of a fan of, so steals one of Paul's beers instead!

Our food is more of a success though. We start with a sharing board of Gdański Bowke Port Specialities which has beef tartare, duck and wild boar pates, brawn, turkey, herring, and some cheeses. 

And after much deliberation and advice from the waitress, for main Sneha gets Fried Perch and Paul gets Wild Boar bacon. Both dishes are nice, and we’re both happy with our choices when we try each other’s, as for once we both prefer the dish we ordered ourselves!

Visit the Largest Brick Castle in the World… Malbork Castle

If you have a little longer in Gdansk, then about 1 hour away is Malbork Castle, the largest brick built castle in the World. 

We stop there on our way to Gdansk on our road-trip from Krakow and Torun, but it’s easy to take a day-trip from Gdansk with direct buses running from Gdansk Glowny to Malbork Castle (if you don’t have a car or want to take one of the many organised trips available).

The Castle is well worth a visit to see and explore. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site with parts of the original castle dating back to the 13th century, but it’s been largely rebuilt following huge damage during WWII.

The Chapel is the best example to see the restoration… the rebuilt parts of the wall are white plaster in contrast to the red brick original, so it’s clear to see the amount of damage that was done. While we usually like to see things as they originally were, it’s actually cool to see it the way it is.

There’s a really good audio guide which tells us all about the castle as we wander around the huge grounds, but the good thing is the guide is automatically triggered by RFC points along the way, so when we want to skip a room it knows and keeps up with our walking pace. And when we get lost on the way (the castle is pretty big!) the guide has a screen to show photos of where we need to go next. It’s one of the best audio guides we’ve ever had.

For tickets and more information see the Malbork Castle Website

Best things to do in Gdansk in 1 Day

Gdansk is another amazing city to visit in Poland! It’s unique with its history of being a free city and its role in Wars, most notably WWII. The Museum of the Second World War is a fascinating place to visit. The Old Town is full of charm and character. The Imperial Shipyard is a gritty look into Gdansk’s more modern past. Malbork Castle is only a short journey away, and there’s some amazing local food to be had in the city.

How to get to Gdansk from the UK?

Ryanair fly direct to Gdansk daily from London Stansted, and on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays from Manchester, making it the perfect weekend city break. WizzAir also fly from Luton and Leeds.

We flew one-way from Gdansk to Leeds at 17.00 Monday for £45 per person… not bad at all!

We visited Gdansk as part of a longer road-trip from Krakow, check out our other blogs…

How to Travel from Krakow to Gdansk on a 4-Day Road-Trip of Poland!

Best Things to do in Krakow in 1 Weekend

Exploring the Wieliczka Krakow Salt Mines

10 Amazing Things to do in Torun… the Best Hidden Gem in Europe!