Part I: agglomerations

Up north, in East-central Europe, there is a country that still seems partially an unsurveyed area on tourist map. Don’t let it fool you, just drop by and discover Poland, here you can find some places worth-visiting:

Silesia, as local patriot I couldn’t skip my small homeland, where the earth is as black as coal we mine and the sun shines through the burrows. Even though it is an industrial area this agglomeration is getting more and more popular, covered with new spots for hipsters, pubs with steam punk vibe and spacious industrial venues. Inhabited by more than 2 millions of people, one of the wealthiest regions is fighting with the shadow from the past in order to attract visitors. Undiscovered and not yet crowded by tourists might be a great choice for those of you that like to go off the track and enjoy some more alternative tourism.

Katowice, Chorzów, Gliwice, Zabrze, Tarnowskie Góry, Rybnik, Bytom, all of them have their gems of XIX century architecture.  Landscape with chimneys and mine-shafts, off music festivals, nearby mountains, new dynamic venues, unique Silesian dialect and its culture, pick what you dig into and enjoy industrial experience.

Tricity, containing Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia is yet another agglomeration in Poland that presents three quite different cities, all of them united by one; refreshing water of Baltic Sea and its gold – amber.

Sopot – the most touristic one, with the highest rate of happiness in Poland, looks like a city cut out of travel agency folder with colourful villas, wide promenades and renovated pier. This is the hot spot in the high season.

Gdańsk – a historic city, almost completely destroyed during World War II but mostly reconstructed presents charming old town narrowly built up with tall and thin Netherlands buildings. The city was the background of two very important events in Polish history: the beginning of the World War II and workforce strikes in 1970 against socialist government.

Gdynia – quite young and industrial city built in modernistic manner so it keeps up to functionalism of socialist area. Gdynia is also associated with fighting against government and Solidarity movement. It is known for its port and Open’er festival that attracts many.

Author: Aleksandra Grzyb