Poland’s Warsaw and Gdańsk

A. Blikle bakery 

Poland's most famous pastry shop serves a wide variety of delicious treats, and it's where locals buy cakes when they're having someone special over for coffee. The shop also has a sit-down restaurant, but it's their pączki that make a visit worthwhile. Many other A. Blikle branches are scattered around Warsaw, but the one on Nowy Świat street is the original.

Royal Castle

Warsaw's castle, dominating Castle Square at the entrance to the Old Town, has the most opulent interior in Poland. Many of its furnishings are original (hidden away when it became clear the city would be demolished in World War II). A visit to the castle is like perusing a great Polish history textbook — and indeed its floors are often full of cross-legged grade-schoolers. Wednesday is a good day to visit, when entry is free — and although some royal rooms are closed that day, enough are open to make a visit worthwhile.

Warsaw's Old Town Market Square

For two centuries, this was a gritty market square. Immediately after World War II, it was a pile of bombed-out rubble. And today it once again reminds residents and tourists alike of the prewar glory of the Polish capital. The fountain hearkens back to a legendary mermaid who lived in the Vistula River and protected the townspeople. While this siren supposedly serenaded the town, she's most appreciated for her strength (hence the sword).

Museum of the History of Polish Jews

Warsaw's top sight thoughtfully traces the epic, millennium-long story of Jews in Poland. This is not a Holocaust museum per se; rather, it provides stirring, comprehensive documentation of the very rich Polish Jewish experience across the centuries. In-depth, engaging, vividly illustrated, and eloquently presented, the exhibits here present a powerful context for the many Jewish cultural sites around Poland — offering insights both for people familiar with the story and for those who aren't. It wins my vote for the best museum in Poland, and it's easily Europe's best Jewish museum. The building also hosts cultural events and temporary exhibits.

Bibenda

Bibenda's creative chefs use Polish classics as a starting point, then jazz them up with elements borrowed from corresponding dishes in other cultures. The menu changes constantly, but what you eat will invariably be creative, delicious, and surprisingly affordable — and their craft cocktails are outstanding. They don't take reservations, so arrive early or expect to line up.

Old Toruń Gingerbread

Costumed medieval bakers here offer hands-on demonstrations of the traditional process of rolling, cutting out, baking, and tasting your own batch of gingerbread (piernika) cookies. After aging for 12 weeks to achieve the proper consistency, the dough bakes for only 12 minutes — or, according to medieval bakers, about 50 Hail Marys. Their demonstrations are only sporadically in English — if one isn't scheduled during your visit, try the similar Gingerbread Museum, which feels more crowded and more commercial, but offers daily tours in English.

Malbork Castle

The largest castle of the Gothic period, and one of Europe's most imposing fortresses, Malbork Castle sprawls on a marshy plain at the edge of the town of Malbork, 35 miles southeast of Gdańsk. Touring the massive castle, you can see good exhibits on amber and armor, walk through vast halls with graceful Gothic arches and fan vaulting, learn a bit about the Teutonic Knights, and see enough red brick to last a lifetime.

Agnieszka Syroka

Hiring a private guide in Gdańsk is an exceptional value, and personable, knowledgeable Agnieszka is wonderful.

Gdańsk's Main Town Hall

This landmark building contains remarkable decorations from Gdańsk's golden age. Its highlight is the center painting in the exquisite ceiling of its Red Hall, showing the special place Gdańsk occupies between God, Poland, and the rest of the world. For a small fee you can climb 293 concrete steps to the top of its tower for commanding views.

Artus Court

In the Middle Ages, Gdańsk was home to many brotherhoods and guilds, and the city provided this elaborately decorated hall for their meetings. It's named for King Arthur — a medieval symbol for prestige and power. Just as in King Arthur's Court, this was a place where powerful and important people came together. Of many such halls in Baltic Europe, this is the only original one that survives.

St. Mary's Church

Of Gdańsk's 13 medieval red-brick churches, St. Mary's is the one must-visit. Built from 1343 to 1502 by the Teutonic Knights (who wanted a suitable centerpiece for their newly captured main city), St. Mary's remains an important symbol of Gdańsk. While the church was originally frescoed from top to bottom, the Lutherans whitewashed the entire place. Today, some of the 16th-century whitewash has been peeled back, revealing a bit of the original frescoes. The floor is paved with gravestones of merchant families — many of which were cracked when Soviet bombing sent the brick roof crashing down in 1945. But most of the church decorations are original: A few days before the Red Army arrived to "liberate" the city, locals — knowing what was in store — hid many precious items of the church's artwork in the countryside.

Mariacka Street

The porches that extend out into Gdańsk's most romantic lane were a common feature in Gdańsk's golden age, but after the war these were restored only on this street and a few others. They're bordered with fine stone relief panels and gargoyles attached to storm drains — if you get stuck there in a hard rainstorm, you'll understand why in Polish these are called "pukers."

Amber Museum

This collection is displayed in a sleek, glossy, state-of-the-art space inside the very creaky and historic Great Mill, a short walk from the Main Town. The museum tells the story of the precious yellow deposits that the Baltic Sea is known for. While the items displayed here are dazzling, the place is a bit light on actual information — this collection is all about ogling amber.

European Solidarity Center

Europe's single best sight about the end of communism is made even more powerful by its location: in the very heart of the place where those events occurred. Filling just one small corner of a huge, purpose-built educational facility, the permanent exhibition uses larger-than-life photographs, archival footage, actual artifacts, interactive touchscreens, and a state-of-the-art audioguide to eloquently tell the story.

See the Travel Details above for recommendations highlighted in bold, excerpted from Rick's guidebooks.

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Hey, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe. This time, we're visiting two of Poland's leading cities: the bustling capital Warsaw — that way, the gorgeous maritime port Gdańsk — that way, and the most formidable pile of medieval bricks I've ever seen. Thanks for joining us!

Most tourists visiting Poland go only to Kraków. But there's so much more to see. The capital, Warsaw, is the heartbeat of contemporary Poland. And Gdańsk, up here on the Baltic Coast, is a colorful, historic port city with a dramatic 20th-century story.

We begin in Warsaw, the cosmopolitan capital — gilded with a grand palace and a trendy urbanity. We'll learn about its turbulent 20th century and enjoy some Chopin in the park. Then we visit a sweet medieval town, taste its claim to fame, and storm a massive Teutonic fortress. Finally, we discover the port of Gdańsk and how it helped bring communism down in Europe.

Poland — about the size of Arizona — sits in the north of central Europe. We'll follow its main river — the Vistula — from the capital, Warsaw, north past Toruń and Malbork Castle, to Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea.

Warsaw is an energetic metropolis offering a fascinating foray into urban Poland. It comes with both a hard-fought history and a modern vibrancy.

Today, Warsaw — pronounced "Warszawa" here — is Poland's biggest city, with close to 2 million people. It's muscular and sprawling, [with] broad boulevards, imposing buildings, and glittering glass office towers.

Today's Warsaw is a thriving European center of business, banking, and politics, with a cosmopolitan energy.

Warsaw's glory days peaked between the world wars, when it was one of Europe's most genteel capitals. That spirit survives along its rebuilt main drag, the sweeping Royal Way, with its elegant facades and its popularity with local strollers. Just being out and about, you feel the youthful confidence of this society. Stately hotels and government buildings — this is the president's residence — add to the Royal Way's grandeur.

The Blikle bakery is every Pole's favorite for pączki — jelly donuts.

When locals here go out for "doughnuts," they go out for pączki. My favorite's the classic. It's filled with wild-rose jam.

But it's not all jelly doughnuts. Vast squares with memorials remind all of Poland's hard-fought history. Here, the eternal flame honors war dead with numbers almost incomprehensible.

As the city was totally destroyed by Nazis in World War II, nearly everything you'll see — palaces, churches, and fountains — was painstakingly rebuilt from the rubble of 1945. I keep having to remind myself that in this city hardly a building standing is over 80 years old. Consequently, Warsaw is an architectural jumble, rebuilt both old and new.

Warsaw's meticulously rebuilt Old Town is dominated by its meticulously rebuilt Royal Castle.

The castle — a symbol of Polish sovereignty now for over 400 years — boasts some of this country's most lavish halls, gilded and glittering with chandeliers.

The palace reflects how Poland was independent and strong for centuries, starting in the Middle Ages.

When the homegrown dynasty died out, Poland's nobility elected foreign kings at gatherings like this.

Many of those imported rulers squandered Poland's resources on their own selfish agendas. They weakened the country until it actually ceased to exist in 1795.

For over 100 years, Poland disappeared from the map — partitioned by three empires: Prussia, Austria, and Russia. But the Poles succeeded in preserving their culture until their country was reborn in 1918 after World War I.

Today, back out on the streets, the atmospheric Old Town entertains the tourists. Here the 21st century seems to rule these cobbled lanes.

In the center of the beautifully constructed Market Square is a popular sculpture. The mermaid — a symbol of Warsaw — serenades the townspeople, still welcoming friends while keeping out foes. To me, this fountain — always energetic with kids playing — feels like a celebration of life…Polish life.

And Polish life comes with music — especially the genius of favorite son, Frédéric Chopin. On summer Sundays, Chopin concerts pack the park. It's an expression of this city's pride in its culture and its enduring appetite for community.

Poland's great Romantic composer sits under a willow tree. Though he lived and worked mostly in Paris, locals cherish the thought that Chopin's inspiration came from memories of the breeze blowing through the willow trees of his native land, Poland.

Warsaw museums work hard to explain its complicated history. And much of Poland's story is a Jewish story.

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews celebrates a thousand years of Jews living in Poland.

A winding route traces their experience. With the relative tolerance of medieval kings, Jews became established in Polish society. But because they still suffered through pogroms and other persecution, few actual artifacts survive.

Many Jews lived in market towns called shtetls, with richly decorated wooden synagogues. Above the traditional elevated prayer platform, is a colorful ceiling — a humble canopy rich with symbolism.

When Poland regained its independence after World War I, Jewish culture blossomed. Especially in the 1920s, when, for the first time, Jews had full citizenship and voting rights. And Warsaw was the biggest Jewish city in Europe.

Tragically, this flourishing of Jewish culture was crushed when fascist Germany invaded in 1939. Jews were then corralled into a miserable ghetto, subjected to unlivable conditions before being shipped off to Nazi death camps and killed.

A monument captures the desperation of the ghetto's last days: Realizing they were all doomed anyway, the haggard and hungry who remained staged a desperate uprising. Nearly all were killed.

This was just one city's experience in a Europe-wide Holocaust. In this attempted genocide, Hitler tried to rid the world of Jewish people. Of the six million he killed, half died here in Poland.

With its Jewish population decimated, Warsaw's next chapter was a second valiant but doomed uprising — this time by the non-Jewish Poles who remained.

Under Nazi occupation, Poles had formed the biggest underground resistance army in history.

Late in the war, as the Nazis began to falter and the Soviets advanced, Poland's Home Army mobilized to liberate the country.

But the Nazis regrouped and brutally put down the Warsaw Uprising. Hitler then ordered that Warsaw be "destroyed to its foundations."

The Soviet Army sat here, across the river, watched, and waited. Finally, when the Germans were gone, the Russians marched in to claim the wasteland that was once Warsaw — kicking off over four decades of communist rule.

Like a phoenix, this city has risen from the ashes. And today, Warsaw is filled with a happy and youthful populace that has no living memory of those hard times.

Today's Warsaw's is hip and trendy. Hulking old buildings — no longer fascist or communist — are filled with a rainbow of global food choices.

"Post-industrial" architecture is all the rage. Old red-brick factories and power plants have been transformed into convivial hubs for dining, drinking, and shopping.

I'm joined by my friend and fellow guidebook author, Cameron Hewitt, and the show's producer, Simon Griffith, at Bibenda for a taste of Warsaw's urbane foodie scene. This trendy restaurant specializes in craft cocktails and Polish fusion cuisine.

The menu takes fresh local ingredients like heirloom tomatoes and beets, and gives them an international spin: padrón peppers, falafel, pumpkin dumplings…all washed down with a good Spanish wine. Whether Polish or international, you can see that we thought everything was delicious. It's a reminder of how cosmopolitan Warsaw respects Polish tradition while also embracing a global future. I can't think of a better way to enjoy our last night in Warsaw.

Heading north from Warsaw through the rolling farmland of the Polish countryside, we reach a small-town break from our big city itinerary: Toruń.

Toruń feels affluent. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Hanseatic League, a trade union of northern European merchant cities. Like much of northern Poland, many of its buildings are finely crafted of red brick. The city has an easygoing ambience that comes with the heavenly scent of gingerbread. Every Pole knows Toruń for two reasons: Copernicus and gingerbread.

This was the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus, who, 500 years ago, established that the earth revolves around the sun.

But today, here in Toruń anyway, a lot revolves around this: gingerbread.

This recreated old bakery [Old Toruń Gingerbread] is a favorite for field trips. Costumed guides teach young students how, in the Middle Ages, Toruń's trading connections gave local bakers access to exotic spices — spices like ginger, cinnamon, and clove — and how the honey in the dough was a natural preservative, allowing it to be traded far and wide.

Then the children get to actually roll the dough, press it into traditional molds, and pop their little creations into the oven.

Local gingerbread shops let you mix and match a variety of tasty treats, with any combination of jams, glazes, and chocolate. For locals, the word is actually a verb: If you've eaten too much, you have "gingerbreaded."

I think this'll get me to our next stop.

Further north is the Malbork Castle, another red-brick masterpiece. Called the biggest brick castle in the world, this was the 14^th-century headquarters of the Teutonic Knights.

These Germanic crusaders-turned-mercenaries were hired here by a Christian duke to convert the local pagans.

Job done, the Teutonic Knights decided they liked it here. So they stuck around, built this castle, and dominated northern Poland for over a century. Malbork Castle was essentially a fortified monastery — home to monks, knights, and their leader, the Grand Master.

Malbork's fortifications are formidable indeed. The complex was surrounded by an imposing moat and a mighty brick wall. The heavy portcullis stopped anyone who breached the moat. Then, from slits up above, archers could rain down arrows. And the inner drawbridge made the core of the castle an impenetrable last refuge. While knights lived in the outer castle, monks lived in the inner castle.

The Grand Master's lavish and well-fortified quarters — with their fan-vaulted assembly rooms and expansive dining halls — were the capital of those Teutonic Knights, from where they administered their domain.

Most of the main sites of Poland are connected by the Vistula River. An hour's drive takes us to its and our final stop.

Gdańsk — historically Poland's leading port — sits near where the Vistula meets the Baltic Sea. For a thousand years a cultural crossroads with a rich maritime history, architecturally it feels more Scandinavian or Dutch than Polish. During its medieval golden age, Gdańsk prospered as a key member of the Hanseatic League.

The Hanseatic League was an association of over a hundred cities and ports across northern Europe. Its mission? To protect and promote trade. Busy hunting down pirates, building lighthouses, and boycotting ports that didn't join the club, it dominated the economy and politics in the region through the late Middle Ages. In a way, the Hanseatic League was a precursor to the European Union. Its motto? "All power to the merchants."

Along the embankment is a structure those merchants put to good use: a hulking 15^th-century crane. Back then this entire river could be filled, bank to bank, with trading vessels.

Maritime trade from distant lands made Gdańsk both prosperous and tolerant. It attracted merchants from all over Europe, who brought with them elements of their home cultures. These were then woven into the tapestry of the city — reflected in its eclectic architecture.

Overhead, the Town Hall tower holds a carillon that marks each hour with a cheerful tune.

To better understand Gdańsk, we're joined by my friend and fellow tour guide Agnieszka Syroka. Our first stop is the Town Hall.

Agnieszka: So, the city was governed from this exact room here.
Rick: And the art is — there's a lot of art here.
Agnieszka: Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it? In the middle of the vaulting, have a look at this magnificent painting from 1608. The Vistula River starts over there, and the mountains. Look at these barges, filled with the grain from all over the kingdom of Poland. So all the goods were shipped from Gdańsk down the Vistula River to the Baltic Sea. They are taking that grain, and that grain goes all over western Europe. And look: deals, businesses made here in front of the Artus Court.
Rick: These would be traders from all over northern Europe, part of the Hanseatic League here making a deal, shaking hands.
Agnieszka: Indeed, like 1600 stock market.
Rick: And God's hands. So, he's holding not the church, but the Town Hall.
Agnieszka: Exactly. Because Gdańsk was so multicultural and multi-religious throughout centuries, it really never mattered what religion you are, but how much money you can bring to the city doing your business.

The guildhall [Artus Court] is next door.

Rick: This is a magnificent room.
Agnieszka: It's a beautiful guild house, a great example of a great social space where guilds — medieval merchant groups — met.
Rick: OK, so this is like, um, networking.
Agnieszka: Exactly, exactly. Merchants from all over Europe were coming here to do their business. Each arch belonged to one guild. Imagine in front of each arch there was goldsmith guild, beer guild, amber guild. They were very competitive!
Rick: So that the traders from Lübeck would meet the traders from Amsterdam, and from Riga, coming together.
Agnieszka: And then buying grain, timber, coal, and exporting that all over Europe.

The city is ornamented with fine red-brick buildings. That's because here in the marshy north of Poland, stone is scarce. Grand buildings like this old mill elevate bricklaying to an art form. The old Market Hall has long provided an impressive place for farmers to sell their produce.

The train station gives visitors a red-brick welcome, and even the modern shopping malls carry on this love of brick. And rising high above everything is St. Mary's Church, one of the biggest brick churches anywhere. To be both tall and stable without the strength of stone, it was fortified with beefy brick buttresses.

Stepping inside, you're struck by the stark, austere, and very white interior.

Rick: This is a remarkable church.
Agnieszka: Mary's Church was built before Reformation. Look at the beautiful triptych altar: coronation of St. Virgin Mary.
Rick: So the altarpiece is from before the Reformation…
Agnieszka: Exactly. And then the city converted to Protestant. And what was really important was the pulpit, because of the Word of God, and music coming from magnificent organ.
Rick: Look at that pipe organ.

Rick: This is like a pavement of tombstones.
Agnieszka: Exactly. Five hundred gravestones of the wealthiest merchants of Gdańsk who wanted to be buried here in their parish church. And if not buried in a tomb, you could commemorate your family on the wall with an epitaph.

In the shadow of the church, atmospheric Mariacka Street is lined with traditional porches, clever gargoyles, and vendors selling the prized amber that the Baltic Coast is so famous for.

For amber as high art, the striking Amber Museum fills an old mill with precious deposits of this fossilized tree sap. Much of the world's amber comes from Poland. Amber, which can be tens of millions of years old, comes in shades of white, yellow, and brown. It's a favorite medium of local artisans who create exquisite items from an organically sculptured candelabra to a chessboard that would mesmerize a grand master. There's an exquisite miniature storage chest, and even furniture, such as this gorgeous writing desk.

Gdańsk lived its most dramatic moments in the 20th century. World War II began right here in 1939, when Hitler invaded. And those cranes mark the shipyard where, 40 years later, in 1980, the Soviet Bloc finally began to crack.

During communist times, Gdańsk was home to the massive Lenin Shipyard. In 1980, after decades of frustrations and struggles, shipyard workers went on strike. They created a trade union called Solidarity. Locking themselves inside the shipyard, they refused to work and scrawled their list of 21 demands on plywood.

A fired shipyard electrician, Lech Wałęsa, heard news of the strike. He came here and literally climbed over the wall to get inside and join his comrades. The strike had its leader.

The European Solidarity Center — with its industrial-strength architecture and inspiring exhibits — tells the story both vividly and proudly. For 18 days, 17,000 workers — welders, machinists, and steel-workers — stood strong.

Their only connection to the outside world was to come to the gate. There they'd pass messages to family members and receive food, supplies, and encouragement.

The strikers were hungry, tired, and scared. But they were both inspired and emboldened by the new Polish pope — John Paul II.

Finally, the communist authorities gave in, and legalized the union. Half of the nation's workforce joined Solidarity, and change was in the air.

But then, after 16 hopeful months, Polish authorities — fearful of Soviet intervention — declared martial law. Tanks rumbled through the snowy streets of Poland, and the riot police cracked down on dissidents.

Solidarity went underground — yet it gained momentum. In 1989, the Round Table talks brought about elections. The result? Solidarity — now a political party — won every available seat.

These first cracks in the Eastern Bloc spread quickly. Within a few months, the Berlin Wall fell, borders opened up, communist regimes voted themselves out of existence, and Lech Wałęsa was elected the first post-communist president of Poland.

Today, Gdańsk, mindful of its history, is a forward-looking community. Facing the skyline of old Gdańsk, across the river, is a modern development. Only recently rebuilt from WWII bombings, it echoes the historic rooflines. With its 21st-century affluence, Gdańsk provides its people a stylish boardwalk for good living. Strolling here, you feel the promise of a bright Polish future.

The resilience of Poland's culture and the warmth of its people inspire me. And learning from this country's hard history, I'm reminded that freedom, peace, and prosperity are hard-earned and that we have lots to be thankful for. I hope you've enjoyed our look at perhaps Europe's most underrated and surprising country. I'm Rick Steves. Until next time, keep on travelin'!