The Heliodor Laskowski Battery in Hel is a pre-war Polish coastal artillery battery hidden in the pine forest at the very tip of the Hel Peninsula, a few hundred meters from Hel Lighthouse. In September 1939 its four Swedish-made Bofors gu…
St Bridget's Basilica in Gdańsk is a Gothic church in the Old Town known as the "church of Solidarity". In the 1980s it was one of the key centers of anti-communist opposition in Poland, and today it also draws visitors with its monumental…
Of the entire ring of Malbork's medieval town walls, only two gates survive: St Mary's Gate and the Potters' Gate. Both are Gothic towers from the second half of the 14th century that came through sieges, fires, the French and the fighting…
The Seaside Boulevard (Bulwar Nadmorski) in Gdynia is a promenade of about 1.5 km (1 mile) along the Bay of Gdańsk, running from the city-center beach to the beach at Redłowo beneath the wooded slopes of Kamienna Góra hill. It is one of th…
The Blücher Bunkers in Ustka are a surviving German coastal and anti-aircraft battery from the late 1930s, hidden among pine trees on a dune just west of the harbor in this Polish Baltic resort. Today the underground shelters house a moder…
Canpol Wonderland near Człuchów (say: CHWOO-hoof) is a family amusement park in the village of Sieroczyn in Poland's Pomerania region, part of a roadside complex that also includes a free zoo, a go-kart track, a restaurant and a hotel. Kid…
The Experyment Science Center in Gdynia (pronounced roughly "ex-PEH-ri-ment") is a hands-on science museum in the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in the Redłowo district – a place where you don't just look at exhibits but touch, tes…
This small church on a hill in Bytów has changed denomination more often than most churches in Pomerania. It began as a burgomaster's private chapel, became a Protestant church where sermons were preached in Kashubian, and since the 1980s…
In the waters of Puck Bay near Rewa and Osłonino lie the remains of several ships, which divers call the Cmentarzysko Wraków (Shipwreck Graveyard). The best known is the wreck of the "Helena" – a wooden coastal sailing vessel that sank in…
The Hel Headland is the sandy tip of the Hel Peninsula (say it like "hell"), the spot where a 35 km sand spit north of Gdańsk finally runs out and the open Baltic meets the Bay of Gdańsk. Since 2013 a stone cairn called the Kashubian Mound…
Built at the Gdańsk Shipyard, this sail training ship was meant to be the prototype for a series of vessels for Soviet maritime schools — instead it became the successor to the legendary Dar Pomorza, "built through the efforts of Polish yo…
Dar Pomorza (roughly "dar po-MO-zha," meaning "Gift of Pomerania") is a three-masted full-rigged sailing ship moored at the South Pier in Gdynia, next to Kościuszko Square. Known in Poland as the "White Frigate," she trained generations of…
The best-known viewpoint in Władysławowo is the tower of a socialist-realist hotel built for fishermen, which now houses the mayor's office. The Fisherman's House (Dom Rybaka) at ul. Hallera 19 has two viewing terraces at 45 and 63 m above…
Uphagen House in Gdańsk is a small museum of burgher interiors at 12 Long Street (ulica Długa), and the only place on the Royal Route where you can walk through a furnished 18th-century merchant's home. Instead of display cases you get a s…
Artus Court in Gdańsk is one of the grandest civic interiors in Poland: a Gothic hall where the city's wealthy merchants once met, feasted and did business. It stands on Long Market (Długi Targ), right behind the Neptune Fountain, in the h…
A red-brick building with a 50-metre clock tower is the first thing most people see when they arrive in Gdańsk by train. Gdańsk Główny station, built in 1894–1900, is one of the city's best-known landmarks, and in front of its entrance sta…
The maize here grows almost 3 metres tall, and the paths of the maze, laid out over more than 4 hectares of field, change every year. Farma Alexa in Charbrowo near Łeba calls itself Poland's first agricultural education and amusement park:…
The Hewelion lion figures in Gdańsk are a free city trail of small bronze lions hidden around the Baltic port city, from the historic Main Town to the beach, the zoo and even the airport. Each lion wears a different costume – sailor, pilot…
The Neptune Fountain (Fontanna Neptuna) in Gdańsk is the city's best-known landmark: a bronze statue of the Roman sea god, trident raised, standing on Long Market (Długi Targ) in front of the Artus Court since the 1630s. It sums up the sto…
Funlandia is an inflatable amusement park in Łeba at ul. Tysiąclecia 10 – almost 700 m² of bouncing, sliding and obstacle courses. Much of the fun takes place under cover, so the park comes in handy on family holidays by the Baltic when th…
Gdańsk Zoo in Oliwa (Gdański Ogród Zoologiczny, roughly "guh-DAHN-skee OH-groot zoh-oh-loh-GEECH-nee") is the largest zoo in Poland by area, set in the forested Leśny Młyn valley inside the Tricity Landscape Park on the edge of Gdańsk. You…
Gradowa Hill in Gdańsk (pronounced roughly "grah-DOH-vah") is a 46-meter (151 ft) hill right behind Gdańsk's main train station, and one of the best free viewpoints over the historic Main Town. Its slopes hide a 19th-century brick fortress…
On a hill just outside Pelplin stands a 33-metre steel cross, clad in shiny metal that reflects the landscape of the Kociewie region. The height is no accident – it symbolises the years of Jesus's life. Here, on 6 June 1999, Pope John Paul…
On a hill in Piaszno, in the Tuchomie district south-west of Bytów, stands a wooden viewing tower built not by the local authority but by a local farmer. Leman's Hill rises to 220 m above sea level and the tower is 20 m tall – from the pla…