Summer
holidays in Sopot on the Baltic Sea in
the north of Poland
Welcome to my tourist review of Sopot. Sopot
is a popular seaside resort of about 40.000 people in the north
of Poland. It is located on the Baltic coast in between the cities
Gdynia and Gdansk. According to the tourist brochures over 2 million
people visit Sopot every year. The main attractions of this city
are the sandy beaches and the beautiful
wooden pier which is the longest in Europe
(511,5 meters). Contrary
to what you might expect the coast line of Sopot is quite hilly
with steep
cliffs and high hilltops land inwards
The
sandy beaches of Sopot
The beaches of Sopot are well
kept and easy to reach through multiple entrances. The beaches are
sandy
and reasonably wide eventhough they can be quite crowded
on hot days. At the back end of the beach you will find little places
selling ice cream, warm waffles and drinks. Some areas have bigger
beach
clubs with places to sit and possibilities for renting beach
chairs. Lifeguards are on duty from morning untill six o'clock in
the evening. They work from watchtowers on the beach and from rowboats
in the water to keep things safe. Red and yellow buoys mark the
areas till where you can swim. The red ones indicate the limit for
kids while the yellow ones mark the outer limit for adults. Beyond
the buoys
you will find areas marked for other water
sports. The water is quite undeep but gets progressively deeper.
Quite a bit of green seaweed washes up to the shores and you can
even see schools of tiny fish in this undeep water. Occasionally
you come across small jellyfishes too. Right behind the beach a
vegetated strip separates the beach from the paved paths running
parallel to the beach. The paved paths are ideal for walks with
plenty of benches along the way to sit. Part of the path is also
reserved for biking. Some parts behind the beach are forrested which
provides good shading on warm days.
The
beach of Sopot in the direction of Gdynia
The longest wooden pier in Europe is in Sopot
To access the longest pier in Europe during the day you have to
buy a ticket for 7 Polish zloty (pornounced as 'zwotty') per person
however after 10 pm access is free. At the end of the pier or Molo
as the locals call it it you will find a restaurant and a small
marina with yachts. From here you can also rent jetskis, go parasailing
or take off on a banana boat. You can also take a little boat trip
on a recreated pirate ship. From the pier you have a nice view of
the Baltic sea and the coast line that reaches all the way to Gdansk
and Gdynia depending on which way you are looking. There are plenty
of benches on the pier so you can sit down and enjoy the moment.
At night time the pier is romanticly lit up by lights. On some nights
they will put up a giant screen at the beginning of the pier to
create an open air movie theatre. The movie is English spoken with
polish subtitles and free for anyone to watch. More
information and photos of the pier in Sopot
The
pier in Sopot
The market, main square and Behaterow Monte Cassino street
Coming off the pier you can walk straight
through to the market and the main square
that leads to Monte Cassino street. First you will come across the
permanent market that is open from morning till evening. The booths
here sell anything from souvenirs to food and are set up in the
open air under a roofed gallery that forms half a circle. On some
days more market stands will be set up in the middle of the circle
selling typical Polish products. Leaving the market behind you will
come to the main square where you will find the tourist office,
lots of restaurants with outdoor terraces and places to have just
a drink. If you are looking for a nice lunch i can recommend W Biegu
Cafe where they sell delicious Ciabatta sandwiches. At night time
the square is also a lively place with lots of people walking around,
street artists and music coming from different bars and clubs. From
the main square you can walk up onto the famous Monte Cassino street
or Monciak
as the locals call it. It's called Monte Cassino in commemoration
of Polish soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino in Italy during the
second Word War. On Monte Cassino street you will find lots of different
restaurants with outdoor terraces including a McDonalds and KFC.
The street is probably most famous for Krzywy
Domek,
the 'crooked house' which is actually
just an entrance. At night time the street is a very lively place
too with plenty of restaurants, clubs and pubs to choose from. More
information & photos
The
main square by night in Sopot
Day trip to Gdansk
If you made it to Sopot you can't go home
without a visit to the nearby city of Gdansk. It was the focus of
attention at the beginning of the second world war. Most of the
city was reduced to rubble by bombardments but parts have since
then been restored to former glory. Especially Long Street is
beautiful area to walk through with
the Golden Gate entrance, characteristic houses, Town Hall and Neptune
fountain. Gdansk once was famous for it's shipping industry but
all that's left now are empty warfs and old kranes that can be seen
from a distance as a reminder. Gdansk also took centre stage in
the revolt against communism in Poland. The easiest way to get to
Gdansk is by the SKM train. This train just runs between Gdansk,
Sopot and Gdynia. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the last stop
of Gdansk which is exactly where you need to be for the main attractions.
More information
and images of Gdansk
Long
Street in Gdansk with the Neptune fountain
Day trip to Gdynia
If you have the time i would also recommend
visiting Gdynia. My advice is to go to beach of Sopot in the morning
and plan a day trip to Gdynia in the afternoon when it's less hot.
Like Gdansk Gdynia is easiest reached by SKM train. The main attractions
here are at the dock where you can tour an old war ship and a sail
ship that have been turned into floating museums. You can also board
a pirate ship like in Sopot for a little trip at sea. At the end
of the dock there is also an aquarium and some statues.
More information and images of Gdynia
Ship
museum Dar Pormoza in Gdynia
The Aquapark in Sopot
While the beach is the main attraction in
Sopot there is also an Aquapark near the beach with different pools
and slides. It's ideal for rainy days or when the sea water is too
cold to swim in. Even on warm days it can be fun because it's partially
outdoors and has fun slides. It attracts lots of families with kids.
There are 2 pipe slides and 1 wild water slide. There is also a
pool for lane swimming but it's a bit undeep and short. I would
recommend going at least for 3 hours eventhough you can choose to
go for 1 hour. The lockers are a bit confusing when you are there
the first time. After paying you get bracelets with a locker number
but you first come across small safe deposit boxes where a sign
says to leave your valuables like
wallet, phone and watch. You don't have to use them but if
you do you will need to put in 5 zloty (non refundable) and take
the key with you. After that you go the changing rooms and the lockers
down stairs. You need to find the locker which
corresponds with the number on
your bracelet. To open and close the locker you hold the bracelet
against the locker door. A green or red light will indicate if it's
open or closed.
Other
things to do in Sopot
Along side the paths running parallel to the beach you can find
a number of bike rental shops. You can rent bikes per hour, days
or week. It's a great way to get around town quickly and see a little
more of Sopot then the usual. You will discover for example that
there is a nice tennis park with gravel courts. Other activities
include visiting an art gallery or the Sopot museum. In the evening
you can go to the cinema which is English spoken with Polish subtitles.
If you would like to go shopping there are some big shopping malls
in Gdansk (Galleria Baltica and Galleria
Madison) and Gdynia (Galleria
Batory and Klif).
More attractions
and sights in Sopot
A
review of Hostel Sopotiera and other places to stay
There are plenty of hotels and apartements
for rent in Sopot. Most of them seem to be within walking distance
of the beach. The Grand Hotel and the Sheraton Hotel are one of
the most prestige places to stay in Sopot and are located directly
on the beach front near the pier. If you are on a budget i can highly
recommend Hostel Sopotiera. It's located just a few minutes from
the beach and walking distance of the pier. It's also close to a
bus stop and small grocery stores in the neighborhood. Hostel Sopotiera
has about eight renovated rooms and a small public kitchen on the
2nd floor of a historic building. There is no reception so you have
to let the owner know ahead of time when you will arrive in order
to get the key. The friendly owner will show you your room and also
give you an internet access code for free wifi. The
rooms are small but cosy and include your own privat bathroom and
a tv which makes it more like a hotel then a hostel.
More information about Sopotiera
and other hotels in Sopot.
Hostel
Sopotiera
Gdansk Airport
If you are coming to Sopot by plain the nearest
airport is in Gdansk. It's a small but well organized airport that
recently added a brand new terminal for departures. The easiest
way to get to Sopot is by taxi and the journey will take around
20 minutes. When returning you will depart from the new teminal.
It's a modern terminal with a few places to eat before check in
and more (duty free) shops and restaurants after check in.
More information and photos of Gdansk Airport
Departure
terminal at Gdansk
Airport
Contact
Links
