Zrównoważona wycieczka po Gdańsku

Take a sustainable tour in Gdansk – the capital of the voivodeship.

One of the oldest and historically important cities in Poland sits on edge of the Baltic Sea – the over 1000-year-old Gdańsk – the capital of the voivodeship, a city symbol of Freedom. Here you may enjoy wonderful monuments and experience nature places as beautiful parks or forests with outstanding views.

Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia make up the Tri-City agglomeration. Were it not for the road signs informing about the borders between cities, an inattentive tourist would not even notice that he has just left Gdańsk and is already in Sopot. All three cities win in Polish quality of life rankings for those who live here, undoubtedly, it is associated with the pro-ecological policy of cities and the pursuit of sustainable development.

In Gdańsk you can spend your time actively – sightseeing, learning, and at the same time taking care of your health and physical condition. You can plunge into the oases of nature inside the city, where you can regenerate your vitality, relax, rest, and do something for your body, soul, and mind. You can exercise at one of the many public and free outdoor gyms, you can windsurf, ride a horse, practice yoga, Zumba, or pilates.

Try some local cuisine as you explore. Regional cuisine shows how multicultural Gdańsk is. The local cuisine is a melting pot of traditional Polish cuisine, Kashubian, Eastern Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Russian as well as German cuisine. Most restaurants offer vegetarian and vegan options, but of course, you will also find restaurants that specialize and offer only such dishes. Many restaurants offer traditional Polish cuisine in a new version, often lighter with a surprising combination of flavors, based on regional, seasonal products.

> Download the broschure (PDF).

Season: all year

Length: 1 day tour

Sustainable idealists

Start your journey

Główne Miasto w Gdańsku

The Main City in Gdansk - where the most important and the greatest monuments in Gdańsk are located, such as the Royal Road with the Neptune Fountain, the Main Town Hall, the Artus Court, the most beautiful town houses and a complex of representative entrance gates to the city.

Activity

2 Hour

Get to know the city through local cuisine. Pay a visit to restaurants offering traditional Polish cuisine, cuisine of the former Polish Eastern Borderlands, namely Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Russian, as well as restaurants offering Kashubian dishes. Vegans and vegetarians will not be disappointed, either.

Take a break. What is better to recuperate your body and improve your mood, if not a cup of good coffee or herbal tea or a glass of home-made lemonade? There are plenty of cafés in the area offering local delicacies such as sea buckthorn cheesecake. Splurge a little and help local community at the same time by visiting a café run by a social cooperative that employs people with disabilities as waiters and baristas. The products are made of only natural, top-quality products.

While strolling around the Main Town, you will surely reach the Long Coast, i.e. the old port at the Motława quay. A huge brick building on the other side of the river will most certainly attract your eyes. This is the Frederic Chopin Polish Baltic Philharmonic. This beautiful building, located on an island called Ołowianka, used to be a power plant. Nowadays, music lovers enjoy classical music concerts there. Walk to the island via a pedestrian drawbridge and see yourself how an industrial building was transformed into one of the most important cultural institutions in the region. Check the repertoire. Who knows, maybe some show will arouse your interest? After all, music is a medicine for the soul.

Check out what other cultural institutions in the Main Town have to offer. Perhaps you will be lucky and come across the Shakespeare Festival at the Shakespeare Theatre or an interesting show at the Wybrzeże Theatre.

Neptune's Fountain, Long Market, Gdańsk, Poland

Muzeum Bursztynu

Visit Amber Museum located in The Great Mill, which was built in the 14th century by the Teutonic Knights and operated continuously until 1945.

Activity

2 hours

In Amber Museum you can find a large collection of the most beautiful amber products, jewellery, and unique specimens of amber chunks, often with surprising inclusions. Join a guided tour or admire the exhibition on your own. At the museum you will learn how amber was formed and what its properties are.

If you are wondering what souvenir or gift to bring from Gdańsk, amber will be a great idea. You can buy amber jewellery or items decorated with this precious organic gem. Do not forget that amber has health properties, too. You may buy a liqueur with crushed Baltic amber to drink or and rub. This natural remedy is used in rheumatic ailments, bronchitis, pneumonia, fever and migraine. Pillows filled with ecological buckwheat husk and natural, rough Baltic amber will also make a unique gift. Skincare products with natural amber is also a good choice. Amber is a natural antioxidant and the minerals it contains improve the condition of the skin.

You can make purchases in traditional stores in Gdańsk, Sopot or Gdynia.

Amber Museum, Wielkie Młyny, Gdańsk, Poland

Młode Miasto

Currently, the district is undergoing a metamorphosis. Check how much it is changing. Find preserved historic shipyard buildings and other elements of the infrastructure. Some are already renewed; others are still awaiting.

Activity

1 hour

The old post-shipyard buildings have become a meeting place and event venue. Visit art exhibitions, attend to a concert, practice yoga during free lessons over summer weekends. The Young Town is a perfect place to integrate with the local community. Drop by for a cup coffee, grab lunch, join a party or chill out in the evening.

There is a street food complex in the Shipyard, which offers a wide variety of services. All dishes are prepared with passion from fresh, seasonal ingredients by young people so that guests could discover traditional dishes in new and surprising variants.

Buy unique items made by young artists-craftsmen, check out the current schedule of concerts and events, experience art, or watch a movie on the wall of the 100-year-old Shipyard building.

100cznia, Popiełuszki, Gdańsk, Poland

Garnizon

Currently, Wrzeszcz is worth visiting not only due to the revitalization projects conducted by the city, but due to interesting initiatives of green lifestyle enthusiasts, as well as new spaces that are created in post-industrial areas of the district.

Activity

1 hour

People who looking for harmony and tranquillity will surely like local yoga studio that offers outdoor classes in the historic Kuźniczki Park on warm days.

Don’t forget to visit the eco-centre selling products made by local manufactures from waste. You will also find organic food, beauty and home care products. Do-it-yourself kits are also sold, including basic ingredients you can use to make your own cosmetics or cleaning products at home. Eco-centre is not only a store. It is also a self-service coffee house, where you can brew your favourite coffee or herbal tea yourself, exactly the way you like it. Lectures and workshops are held there, for example, on how to make zero waste skincare products yourself. Additionally, it offers yoga classes for everyone. Also feel free to use one of the many outdoor gyms.

Wrzeszcz, Gdańsk, Poland

Park Oliwski

Considered the most beautiful park in Gdańsk, the historic park was founded in the 15th century by the Cistercians as a monastery garden. The park is a very popular place for relaxation, picnic and enjoying its many sights. Don't miss out on the Groty Szeptów the 'Whispering Caves' (aka. Dionysus' Ears) - try to hear each other’s whispers.

Activity

2 hours

The Oliwa Park is an ideal place for people who like to stroll leisurely and unwind outdoors. On hot days, there is nothing better than walking through arched trellis for climbing plants. You can rest on a bench or simply on the grass.

Every year in August, classical music lovely echoes in the Oliwa Park as the International MOZARTIANA Festival is held there. Usually, the event takes place outdoors and admission is free. Music lovers will also be pleased that organ music concerts in the nearby Oliwa Cathedral are available all year round.

It is also worth walking through the beautiful streets of Old Oliwa or shopping at a nearby market.

Park Oliwski, Opata Jacka Rybińskiego, Gdańsk, Poland

Pachołek

If you fancy a walk in the woods, you do not have to leave the city, just stop and visit "Pachołek Hill" - also called the Pachołek Mountain or the Tricity Landscape Park. The park is actually a forest that stretches along the moraine hills surrounding Gdańsk, Sopot, and Gdynia and further up to Wejherowo.

Activity

2-3 hours

Magnificent nature that is available for you without living the city. Take a break from traffic noise and connect with your inner harmony.

This is an ideal place for fans of long walks or Nordic walking, or cyclists who appreciate more demanding routes. There are six hiking trails, two educational paths and eight bicycle routes outlined in the park, and their difficulty level varies. There are also trails intended for cross-country skiers and professional horse-riding routes.

At the top of the Pachołek hill you can find the view point. You can spend there some time, contemplate and enjoy the view over the city, the Gdańsk Bay, the Park and Kashubia.

Discover the advantages of the Tricity Landscape Park through a forest bath.

PDF Download Image Activity Card Forest Bathing

Pachołek, Tatrzańska, Gdańsk, Poland

Choose your path for the route

One of the ways to explore the Main Town is on foot, either alone with a guidebook or with a licensed guide who will show you around the city, tell you about its history and local culture. If you travel with a larger group, play the urban game. This way you will discover the city and have fun. You can also just take a walk, wander around the streets of the Main Town, sit on a bench, feel the atmosphere of the city. The Young Town is adjacent to the Old Town, so you can continue sightseeing on foot, ride a bike or take a scooter.

Another fun way to get to know the city is from the water. Rent a kayak or a pedal boat or take a cruise on the Motława and Vistula rivers. Discover Gdańsk on board of medieval galleons, replicas of old Polish river wooden boats. The crew members are not accidental, they are passionately devoted to the city. Going on such a cruise means having an enjoyable time and supporting the local community.

See how ecologically and in harmony with nature you can spend time in the Tri-City:

Travel by bike. A very well-developed network of bicycle paths means that people cycle around the Tri-City (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia) all together. When you ride a bike, you not only care about the environment, but also about your health and physical condition

If you cannot ride a bike, use public transport, including the greenest one – trams in Gdańsk and trolleybuses in Gdynia. Move between the cities with the Fast Urban Railway (SKM). You can get from the airport conveniently by the Metropolitan Railway. The increasing number of bus lanes in critical places in cities mean that you will quickly avoid traffic jams when traveling by bus.

Your mode of travel makes a difference!

A major part of traveling is getting from place to place. Whether you are abroad or traveling in the local or regional communities. There are multiple transportation options to choose from but as a wellbeing guest, with the intention of doing good, a sustainable transport mode is to be preferred. Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the communities they serve.

In the example below, you can see how different transport choices give more or less CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometers. We hope it can help you make changes on the way you get around.

Background and assumptions to the calculation

The length of the route is 13 km.

In the examples below we have the following assumptions:

  • All drivers have a fuel-efficient way of driving.
  • The calculation for buses considers that they are operating in partial load capacity.
  • CO2 emission for electric vehicles may vary based on how electricity is produced.
  • We use a single average for biogas emissions, although it may vary according to the production mode.

Note: The transport modes below are for comparison purposes. Check their availability at your destination. Different transport modes may affect the suggested length of the route.

Choose wisely and reduce your carbon footprint!
Bike
Bike - 0 g/CO2

Best Choice, Low Impact

Electrical Bike
Electric bike - 59 g/CO2

Low Impact

Electric Public Transport
Electric public transport - 143 g/CO2

Medium Impact (provided that the Bus is well filled)

Electric Public Transport
Biofuel public transport - 107 g/CO2

Medium Impact (provided that the Bus is well filled)

Public Transport
Public transport - 351 g/CO2

Medium Impact (per person based on 60% of load capacity)

Electric car
Electric car - 268 g/CO2

Medium Impact (Medium sized electric vehicle)

Biofuel car
Biofuel car - 183 g/CO2

Medium Impact (Medium sized biogas vehicle)

Car
Car - 703 g/CO2

High Impact (Medium Sized diesel vehicle)

Do you travel climate-smart?

Calculate your trip’s climate footprint! The Travel & climate calculator will help you choose travel options with low climate impact between different destinations. You can also have an estimative about the impact of your accommodation.