The Tricity area of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot is gorgeous!

I stayed in Gdańsk as it was the one I’d heard the most about, I think might be the most “historic” of the three. The canals and main streets of the old town are dotted with great architecture and history, around the canals though it seems a lot of the old buildings were too far gone to be saved, so they’re reconstructing the area using just parts of the old buildings, integrating new materials and construction methods, but keeping with shapes/designs of the old. There’s a lot of construction going on right now, so it’ll be interesting to see what it looks like in a few years. Both areas have a lot of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and jewelry (amber) stops (there’s a long history of amber being sourced in the area).

The day I went to Gdynia it was snowing pretty well, which made for an absolutely beautiful setting for a walk along the oceanfront promenade and up in the Maria and Lech Kaczyński Park.

My day trip to Sopot was a cold one! It didn’t snow but it was below freezing all day, so I didn’t spend much time at the beaches which it is known for. Instead, I walked up north to Promenada Królowej Marysieńki w Gdyni Orłowo and kept going when I saw a big green area on Google Maps. It was Kępa Redłowska, which is a great Nature preserve. There are a lot of trails for hiking through a nice wooded area and also some preserved military installations. I saw a few artillery installations (Stanowisko ogniowe), bunkers, gun pillboxes, and trenches. In the end, I walked to Gdynia and back, and am pretty sure there is still plenty to go back to see.

The area is probably better to visit in warm weather, which I will be looking to do, but I’m really glad I got to see it with a nice dusting of snow too.