Sopot

Sopot is a seaside spa resort city in Poland. Sopot and two nearby cities, Gdańsk and Gdynia, are often referred as Tricity (Polish: Trójmiasto). It is a smallest of the three and the most affluent on average, attracting the rich and famous from the local area (who tend to settle there), and from Poland, Europe and elsewhere, who come over for vacations or maintain a pied-a-terre there.

Sopot has an impressive history, but remains small and committed to its original mission of leisure. Being locked between the larger Gdynia and Gdańsk and being able to take advantage of their big-city infrastructure, it retains its small-town charm and remains a very popular seaside destination in Poland.

The first written record of Sopot date back to the 13th century, and has been popular as a summer residence of the local elite for centuries. It has been a property of the Order of Cistercians of Oliwa since 1283 until 1772, when it was annexed by Prussia.

It was not until 19th century, however, that Sopot took its present form. In 1808, a French physician named Jean Georg Haffner came to Sopot with Napoleon's retreating army and decided to settle there, and marry a local woman. He immediately recognized the resort potential in the local area, and started to organize appropriate facilities first in Gdańsk and later in the centre of modern-day Sopot, constructing the first pier and the Resort House, and creating the park that surrounds today's pierhead. Haffner is recognized as the father of modern-day Sopot and celebrated throughout the city.

Sopot quickly became a fashionable spa on a European scale, accessible by the seaport of Gdańsk and the railway line to Warsaw and Koszalin, built in 1870. It was granted city rights in 1901 by the German Emperor, and was at the forefront of adopting modern leisure facilities: spas,ind, a horseracing track, tennis courts and a casino. When the Grand Hotel was completed in 1927, along with the final pier extension, Sopot gained its complete form it was to retain until the new millennium, in the meantime becoming a part of Poland again. In the 2000s, much effort was put into restoring Sopot's heritage, including the reconstruction of the Resort House, conservation of the pier and a major restoration effort at the Grand Hotel.

• Molo. A beautiful wooden pier, that boasts to be the longest in Europe
• Heroes of Monte Cassino street. Walkway always full of tourists and artists
• Krzywy Dom. An unusually constructed building in the Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street
• Opera Leśna. An open-air venue in the nearby forest for various musical events
• Lighthouse. An old and defunct lighthouse from where you have a view from the top on the Sopot pier and the marina
• North Park. A park for longer walks and areas for biking and rollerskating - also refreshments to go are available
• Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy. A forest landscape park surrounding Tricity good for recreation on the open-air

Molo. A beautiful wooden pier, that boasts to be the longest in Europe

Heroes of Monte Cassino street. Walkway always full of tourists and artists

Krzywy Dom. An unusually constructed building in the Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street

Opera Leśna. An open-air venue in the nearby forest for various musical events

Lighthouse. An old and defunct lighthouse from where you have a view from the top on the Sopot pier and the marina

North Park. A park for longer walks and areas for biking and rollerskating - also refreshments to go are available

Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy. A forest landscape park surrounding Tricity good for recreation on the open-air

• bike in the nearby Tricity Landscape Park
• swim and relax in Aquapark
• have a meal in many fashionable restaurants and caffees in the Monte Cassino Street
• play minigolf next to the beach
• party in many clubs, bars and discos
• leisure and sports
  • windsurfing club
  • catamaran school
  • ski slope
  • bicycle paths
  • hippodrome

• Handmade jewellery - You can buy in small street shops and street markets handmade bracelets, necklaces, rings and earings made of amber and other minerals.
• Sopot Street Market - open on Tuesday and Friday every week, close to Sopot Wyścigi Railway Station. You can buy there fresh fruit and vegetables, antiques, old jewellery, and fashionable clothes and gadgets.

Handmade jewellery - You can buy in small street shops and street markets handmade bracelets, necklaces, rings and earings made of amber and other minerals.

Sopot Street Market - open on Tuesday and Friday every week, close to Sopot Wyścigi Railway Station. You can buy there fresh fruit and vegetables, antiques, old jewellery, and fashionable clothes and gadgets.

• Meta Restaurant, ul. Wybickiego 48-50 (at the sports stadium, +48 58 5512360. Italian cuisine, reasonably cheap, cosy and quiet
• Bar Przystań - a fish bar situated by the sea, 1km east from the pier. The best fried fish in town.
• Cafe Ferber, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, +48 58 551 45 81. Chic, modern lounge/bar. Some of the better food in town, nice atmosphere, great drinks.

Meta Restaurant, ul. Wybickiego 48-50 (at the sports stadium, +48 58 5512360. Italian cuisine, reasonably cheap, cosy and quiet

Bar Przystań - a fish bar situated by the sea, 1km east from the pier. The best fried fish in town.

Cafe Ferber, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, +48 58 551 45 81. Chic, modern lounge/bar. Some of the better food in town, nice atmosphere, great drinks.

Monte Cassino Street (Monciak) provides the best selection of bars and cafes in the town. "The Pinochio" restaurant offer tables also in a little courtyard which is a particularly pleasant spot for a lunch or a drink

Bar Kinski (ul. Tadeusza Kościuszki 10) is only a short stroll away. You should not be put off by the unimpressive entrance up a pitch-black flight of stairs to the first-floor. Housed in the building where the explosive actor Klaus Kinski was born, it is dark and atmospheric with cubby-holes to enjoy a drink in with friends. There are also various souvenirs and photos from Kinski's acting career. The bar also has small sun terraces where you can watch the action on the street below.

• Gdańsk Bay is berth to the Pomeranian metropolis of Gdańsk, with a beautiful old town and the biggest Gothic brick church worldwide. Nearby are the sea resort and port of Gdynia with the biggest Baltic port, and a smaller sea resort called Puck.
• Vistula Bay is home to the sea resort and medieval town of Frombork with the grave of Nicolaus Copernicus, the medieval town of Elbląg, and the sea resort Kadyny with one of the best European studs.
• Kashubian Coast with the biggest dunes in Europe in the Słowiński National Park and the sea resorts of Rowy, Łeba, Jastrzębia Góra, Rozewie and Władysławowo.
• Hel Peninsula has several sea resorts: Chałupy, Jastarnia, Jurata and Hel.
• Krynica Morska - a sea resort on the Vistula Peninsula.

Gdańsk Bay is berth to the Pomeranian metropolis of [[Gdańsk]], with a beautiful old town and the biggest Gothic brick church worldwide. Nearby are the sea resort and port of [[Gdynia]] with the biggest Baltic port, and a smaller sea resort called [[Puck]].

Vistula Bay is home to the sea resort and medieval town of [[Frombork]] with the grave of Nicolaus Copernicus, the medieval town of [[Elbląg]], and the sea resort [[Kadyny]] with one of the best European studs.

Kashubian Coast with the biggest dunes in Europe in the [[Słowiński National Park]] and the sea resorts of [[Rowy]], [[Łeba]], [[Jastrzębia Góra]], [[Rozewie]] and [[Władysławowo]].

Hel Peninsula has several sea resorts: [[Chałupy]], [[Jastarnia]], [[Jurata]] and [[Hel]].