Gdańsk is located on the North of Poland, on the Baltic Sea coast. Is a city of more than 1000-year historical tradition, Poland's principal seaport, the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

Together with the city of Sopot and Gdynia forms a metropolitan area called the Tricity.

Gdańsk

Population: 461,489

Climate:

Due to surrounding hills and the Baltic Sea, climate and weather in Gdansk is diverse. During the summer the sea and its cool breeze contribute to temperature drop. The opposite situation takes place in the winter, when the sea reduce the temperature drop. Usually the coldest month in Gdansk is February (-3°C, but -15°C is not rare), and the warmest July and August (+18°C, but 25-30°C at times). An average winter provides splendid weather for skiing in the Polish mountains and an average summer is a mix of heat waves and showers.

Opening hours: 

Groceries, such as Lidl, Auchan, Carrefour, Biedronka, Piotr i Pawel are open between 6-9 a.m. and close between 9-10 p.m. You may expect shortened opening hours of small local shops and during the weekend. As for shopping centers, they open at 10 a.m. and do not close till 10 p.m., seven days a week. During public holidays all supermarkets and shopping malls are closed. Gas stations are open non stop and they usually allow limited shopping. Bank are usually open between 10 a.m. and 6-7 p.m. 

In Gdansk there is a few markets where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables. One of them is close to the University and dormitories on Wyspianskiego Street. For other greater shopping needs there are two major shopping centers in the Tricity: Galeria Bałtycka (Baltic Gallery) and Riviera in Gdynia. In Gdansk you can find also: Madison Shopping Gallery in the city center (Gdańsk Główny), Manhattan in Gdansk-Wrzeszcz, Alfa Centrum in Gdansk-Przymorze. In case you need to buy something in the middle of the night there is supermarket Tesco and several pharmacies.

Some fast facts:

  • In 1980, Gdańsk Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement, whose opposition to the Communist regime led to the end of Communist Party rule in 1989, and sparked a series of protests that successfully overturned the Communist regimes of the former Soviet bloc.
  • a historical church - St. Mary's Church - a Roman Catholic church is currently the second largest brick church in the world
  • the city also hosts St. Dominic's Fair, which dates back to 1260, and is regarded as one of the biggest trade and cultural events in Europe

Public transport

Public transport in Tricity (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia) is delivered by busses, tramways, trolleybuses, (in Gdynia) and Fast City Rail (in Polish SKM), connecting the Tricity.

As a rule, tickets should be bought at newsagent's booth, from the driver (but you need the exact amount) or ticket machines on stops and stations. The tickets for tramways, buses and trolleybuses must be validated in a puncher immediately on boarding the vehicle. The puncher, usually an orange box at the eyelevel, stamps the date and time on your ticket. Tickets for Fast City Rail you have to punch before you get on in the machines on stations or city rail tunnels.

There are many types of tickets available, including long-term and time-limit tickets. The expected length of the trip is indicated on the timetable at the stop/station. Brace yourself for ticket controllers, dressed casually, appeared suddenly and rarely communicated in English. They have to have ID tags.

Students aged below 26 are entitled to discount in most means of public transport. In municipal transport it is 50% discount and a 37% discount on transportation via national railways; necessary document: a valid Polish student card (sometimes the International Student Identity Card - ISIC).

Students who have already received their student cards can use them as season tickets for Gdansk municipal transport. To do so, they should fill in the following form: wniosek and submit it along with the student card at one of the branches of ZTM (Zakład Transportu Miejskiego), e.g.:

After submitting the documents, the student receives a confirmation, that will be valid for 5 days, which will allow him to travel in the municipal transport with student discount.
More information you may find  https://www.gdansk.pl/

Gdynia

Gdynia is a relatively modern city. Its architecture includes the 13th century St. Michael the Archangel's Church in Oksywie, the oldest building in Gdynia, and the 17th century neo-Gothic manor house located on Folwarczna Street in Orłowo. The city also holds many examples of early 20th-century architecture, especially monumentalism and early functionalism, and modernism.[12] A good example of modernism is PLO building situated at 10 Lutego Street.

The surrounding hills and the coastline attract many nature lovers. A leisure pier and a cliff-like coastline in Kępa Redłowska, as well as the surrounding Nature Reserve, are also popular locations. In the harbor, there are two anchored museum ships, the destroyer ORP Błyskawica and the tall ship frigate Dar Pomorza. A 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi)-long promenade leads from the marina in the city center, to the beach in Redłowo.

Gdynia hosts the Gdynia Film Festival, the main Polish film festival. The International Random Film Festival was hosted in Gdynia in November 2014. Since 2003 Gdynia has been hosting the Open'er Festival, one of the biggest contemporary music festivals in Europe. The festival welcomes many foreign hip-hop, rock and electronic music artists every year.

Gdynia also hosts events for the annual Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival.

For more see: https://www.gdynia.pl/

Sopot

Sopot is a major health-spa and tourist resort destination. It has the longest wooden pier in Europe, at 515.5 meters, stretching out into the Bay of Gdańsk. The city is also famous for its Sopot International Song Festival, the largest such event in Europe after the Eurovision Song Contest. Among its other attractions is a fountain of bromide spring water, known as the "inhalation mushroom".

Interesting places in Sopot:

  • Sopot Hippodrome in the Karlikowo district
  • the Sopot beach
  • Krzywy Domek ("Crooked House") at the Monciak
  • Forest Opera
  • Dom Zdrojowy ("Spa House") with the adjacent garden and the State Art Gallery (Państwowa Galeria Sztuki)