Gdańsk — the Hansa, amber and history on the Motława.

Gdańsk is one of the most historically important cities in Poland — for centuries a wealthy Hanseatic port at the mouth of the Vistula, a place with an identity of its own, a burghers' identity. It was here, at Westerplatte, that the Second World War began on 1 September 1939, and here in 1980 that "Solidarity" was born in the Gdańsk Shipyard and set the fall of communism in Central Europe in motion.

The city's calling card is the Main Town with the grand Long Market and the Royal Way — the run of streets leading through the gates and past patricians' houses to the Motława. Almost all of it is a painstaking post-war reconstruction after the destruction of 1945.

On the Motława stands the Crane — a medieval harbour crane and one of the city's emblems — while the skyline is dominated by the brick St Mary's Basilica, one of the largest brick churches in the world, with a viewing platform on its tower. Gdańsk is also the world capital of amber — with a museum and lanes full of jewellers' workshops (ul. Mariacka above all).

With Sopot and Gdynia, Gdańsk forms the Tricity, linked by the fast SKM railway (a train every few minutes). Basing yourself in Gdańsk puts Sopot's pier, Gdynia's modernism, the Hel Peninsula and Kashubia within a short journey.

Getting there: from Warsaw about 3 hours by PKP IC train, or about 4–5 hours by car. Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport is about 12 km from the centre (PKM/SKM into the centre in about 30 minutes). The easiest way to get around the Tricity is by SKM railway.