How to visit Gdańsk on two wheels?
Summer is coming and the season of holiday visits. Probably many of us have already planned several family meetings or conventions in a friendly group. If we have no idea how to spend a nice time and spend the day, I present you with the idea o a bike trip along the route of Gdańsk attractions. Because the best way to explore Gdańsk is by bike through it.
The route is not long and its intention is not to make a kilometer limit and fatigue of our companions, but rather to show the beauty of Gdańsk and bring closer the history of our city, which, as we know, has more meanders than the Vistula along its entire length.
If we don’t have bikes for our mighty team there are no worries. We can always rent a two-wheeler in Gdańsk and hit the road or you can join the Everyday Gdańsk Bike Tour run by our company. We started our sightseeing on ul. Chlebnicka, from where we took our two-wheelers and went on bicycle exploration of Gdansk.
I decided to take my guests on a journey through time and space, to show them as many Gdańsk Old Town surroundings as possible, but also to hook on the most important stories from the city’s history. We start the biking journey passing the Shakespearean Theater and the former Gothic fortifications of the city.
We reach the Golden Gate, where we can find photos showing the tragedy of World War II and the extent of damage from 1945. We continue along ul. Długa to reach the Neptune Fountain. On the Long Market, we admire beautiful tenements, the Main Town Hall and the Artus Court. It is also an ideal place to make the first stop in our cycling tour in Gdańsk, for morning coffee.
Then we cycle towards St. Mary’s Basilica. We attach bicycles from the street side Piwna and we enter inside the biggest brick temple in the world. If we have a lot of time, I recommend going to the top of the tower, from where there is a beautiful view of the entire Tri-City and the Gdańsk Bay. The stairs to the top are 409 steps, so we should prepare our guests for a small climb. The availability of the Basilica and the tower can be checked at this address: https://bazylikamariacka.gdansk.pl/informacja/
Intoxicated with beautiful views, we move on to cycle and explore. Our next point on the Gdańsk Old Town bike route is ul. Mariacka, where we buy amber souvenirs and admire the street architecture with characteristic sills. Right next to ul. St. Ducha 45/47, there was a house where the famous philosopher Artur Schopenhauer was born. The route goes further towards Długie Pobrzeże and Motława. We stop for a moment at the majestic Gdańsk Crane, to remember the times when ships with goods from every corner of Europe came to the heart of Gdańsk.
We are in a hurry to cross the Motława, the Ołowianka footbridge rises every 30 minutes, and its distribution can be found here: https://gzdiz.gda.pl/drogi/harmonogram-obiektow-zwodzonych,a,3058. Before we even cross the other side of the canal, we bike to Plac Obrońców Poczty Polskiej in Gdańsk. This is a very important place associated with the start of World War II and if we do not have time to take our guests to Westerplatte, we should come here. At the back of the post office, there is an installation commemorating the arrest of the heroes defending Polish Gdańsk. You can reach this place by bike.
After crossing the Motława we stop on its bank at the Maritime Museum. From here, there is the most beautiful view of the panorama of Długie Pobrzeże and the Gdańsk Crane. We can also make a small tour of the ship Sołdek. However, we cycle further towards the Lower Town. The district is changing every day and it is worth taking a look here before it changes beyond recognition. After a small reconnaissance and cycling around the Lower Town climatic streets, we set off towards the Motława River. The beautiful route leads us along the water, along the former ramparts to the Kamienna Lock and the Żubr bastion. Without a second thought, we climbed the hill to see what Gdańsk looks like from this perspective. The idyllic view encourages us to rest.
Our next stage of the journey was the Gdańsk Shipyard, which is why we set off on a bicycle path, leaving behind the Forum shopping center. Continuing driving along ul. On May 3 we reach the industrial shipyard space. As we didn’t have time to visit the exhibitions at the European Solidarity Center, we limited ourselves to the BHP Hall and the exploration of the Imperial Shipyard. In the first one, you can eat an energetic orangeade, which will give us power for further cycling.
The space of the Imperial Shipyard was made available to visitors last year and it is an interesting, still relatively “virgin” area for exploration. In visiting this part of the Gdańsk Shipyard will help us marked route leading to the most interesting places related to its functioning, but also telling the stories of people working here. Biking through Gdańsk Shipyard it’s quite easy but you have to watch out for stones and railways on the road.
Our Gdańsk Cycling Trip is slowly coming to an end and we are heading towards the Main City to return our bicycle. We still hook on the church of St. Catherine and the Great Mill. Then we enter the tower of Jacek on ul. Lord. We decide to save some time to visit the Roman Cellars of the Archaeological Museum in Gdansk.
Cycling in Gdańsk Old Twon is a great fun but sometimes we miessed many inforamtions due to the great and long histroy of this city. Good idea is to take a local guide with you, who always can show you a secret nooks and tell a little bit more than what can read in the internet. Also you can join to the Everyday Bike Tours in Gdańsk.
Time: 3 hours
