Gdansk in 2 days

Morning

• The Royal Way and Golden Gate45 min

  Start at the Golden Gate with the morning sun behind you and walk the Royal Way through the Upland Gate and down Long Street, the route Polish kings once took into the city. It is a twenty-minute stroll and the light is best now for photos of the gabled houses.

  TipThe processional Royal Way runs through the Upland Gate and the Golden Gate, down Long Street and the Long Market to the Green Gate on the river, the route Polish kings once took into the city. It is free and best walked end to end in about twenty minutes; start at the Golden Gate end in the morning with the sun behind you for the cleanest photos down the whole run of gabled houses.

• The Long Market (Dlugi Targ)45 min

  Carry on into the Long Market for Neptune's Fountain, Artus Court and the ornate Golden House, still quiet before the tour groups and the amber sellers arrive. Photograph the empty square, then note where you want to eat later, a block back from the tourist-priced terraces.

  TipThis grand pedestrian square runs between the Golden Gate and the Green Gate, past Neptune's Fountain, Artus Court and the ornate Golden House, and it is free and always open. Come at around 8am for photos of the empty gabled facades before the tour groups and the amber sellers set up, and skip the terrace cafes here, which charge the highest prices in the city; eat a block back instead.

• St Mary's Church1h15

  Climb St Mary's, the largest brick church in the world, up the roughly 400 tight steps for the view over the red roofs and the river. Go now while the day is clear, pay the few zloty at the tower door, and look in at the astronomical clock in the nave on the way down.

  TipThe largest brick church in the world holds a 15th-century astronomical clock and a tower you can climb. Entry to the nave is free with a small suggested donation, but the tower charges a few zloty and means around 400 steps up a tight spiral, so go early on a clear day for the view over the red roofs; it is a working church, so dress modestly and avoid Sunday services.

Afternoon

• Pierogi and Milk Bars1h

  Have a cheap, fast lunch of pierogi at a milk bar a street or two off the Long Market, where the food is freshest at midday and you pay upfront. Try the ruskie pierogi with potato and cheese before the afternoon on the water.

  TipPolish pierogi dumplings, hearty plates at a bar mleczny (milk bar) and the local Goldwasser gold-flake liqueur are the cheap eats to try. Milk bars are canteen-style, cash-friendly and cheapest at lunch when the turnover is fast and the food freshest; expect to queue and pay upfront, and try the ruskie pierogi with potato and cheese, and a shot of Goldwasser, the drink invented here in 1598.

• Mariacka Street1h

  Wander down Mariacka, the amber-shop lane of terraced porches, gargoyle spouts and lanterns, from St Mary's to the river gate. Browse the shops if you like, but check for a certificate before buying amber, as the cheapest stalls sell imitations.

  TipThis is the amber-shop lane, a run of terraced stone porches (przedproza), gargoyle rainspouts and lanterns from St Mary's down to the river gate. The shops open from about 10am and stay busy in summer; if you buy amber, check for a certificate of authenticity and haggle a little, as plastic imitations are common on the cheapest stalls.

• The Crane (Zuraw)1h

  Reach the Motlawa at the medieval Crane, the emblem of the city and part of the Maritime Museum, and step inside to see the giant treadwheels. It closes Mondays out of season, so check the day, or just photograph it from the bank if you would rather keep moving.

  TipThe huge medieval port crane on the Motlawa is the emblem of the city and part of the National Maritime Museum, once used to lift cargo and step ships' masts. It closes on Mondays out of season, and the ticket lets you inside to see the giant treadwheels; if you only want the photo, shoot it from Granary Island across the river in the late afternoon light.

Evening

• The Motlawa Riverfront45 min

  Stroll the Dlugie Pobrzeze promenade along the river past the old water gates and the moored boats, with Granary Island lit up opposite. This is the best evening walk in the city, and the classic view back at the gabled waterfront is from the footbridge over to the island.

  TipThe Dlugie Pobrzeze promenade lines the river with old water gates, moored boats and terraces, with Granary Island opposite and the crane halfway along. It is free and open all day; from the jetties here you can catch a boat to Westerplatte or a short pleasure cruise, so check the timetable board in the morning, as departures thin out sharply after September.

• 1h30

  Settle in for dinner on or near the riverfront, choosing a place a little back from the Long Market where the prices ease. Try Polish plates and a shot of the local Goldwasser gold-flake liqueur, invented in Gdansk in 1598, to end the day.

Morning

• European Solidarity Centre2h30

  Head to the European Solidarity Centre at the old shipyard gate first thing, before the school groups, and give it at least two hours with the audioguide. It tells the story of Solidarity, Lech Walesa and the fall of communism, and it closes Tuesdays out of season, so check the day.

  TipThis rust-clad museum at the old shipyard gate tells the story of Solidarity, Lech Walesa and the fall of communism across seven strong exhibition halls. Allow at least two hours, buy the audioguide, and come on a weekday morning to beat the school groups; it closes on Tuesdays out of season, and the free rooftop terrace and the shipyard gate with its memorial are worth the extra ten minutes.

Afternoon

• Museum of the Second World War2h30

  Walk to the Museum of the Second World War, a vast mostly underground museum on the war that began beside the city, and allow two to three hours for the main exhibition. It closes Mondays and is free but busiest one day a week, usually Tuesday, so start with plenty of time before closing.

  TipThis vast modern museum sits mostly underground on the war that began beside Gdansk, and the main exhibition is huge, so plan two to three hours. Entry is free on one day a week, usually Tuesday, when it is busiest, and it closes on Mondays; start early, as the last tickets go a couple of hours before closing and the queue builds by midday in summer.

• Westerplatte3h

  If time and the season allow, take the tourist boat from the Motlawa jetties out to Westerplatte, where the first shots of the war were fired on 1 September 1939, about an hour each way. Buy a return and check the last sailing, or swap it for the Old Town and the Amber Museum in the Great Mill.

  TipThis peninsula is where the first shots of World War II were fired on 1 September 1939, now an open-air memorial of ruins and a tall monument. It is free and always open; the nicest way there is the tourist boat from the Motlawa jetties, about an hour each way, so buy a return and check the last sailing back, or take bus 106 and 138 if the boats have stopped for the season.

Evening

• Pierogi and Milk Bars1h30

  End with a proper Polish dinner back in the old town, pierogi and hearty plates and maybe a bar mleczny if you want it cheap and local. Finish with another Goldwasser before you turn in, the drink the city has made for over four centuries.

  TipPolish pierogi dumplings, hearty plates at a bar mleczny (milk bar) and the local Goldwasser gold-flake liqueur are the cheap eats to try. Milk bars are canteen-style, cash-friendly and cheapest at lunch when the turnover is fast and the food freshest; expect to queue and pay upfront, and try the ruskie pierogi with potato and cheese, and a shot of Goldwasser, the drink invented here in 1598.