How much time: Warsaw vs. Gdansk

Posted by jrjcomm on 02/02/20 07:47 PM

I'm planning the first leg of my summer vacation and debating when I should take the train from Warsaw to Gdansk and appreciate some opinions: I arrive at 10 am on a Tuesday, and after nap and shower, plan to do some sightseeing on this day. (I've done this multiple times and am never overcome by jet lag). The next day is all sightseeing, so that will mark two nights in Warsaw.

If I spend Day 3 in Warsaw, and take the train to Gdansk at night, it will give me three full days to see Gdansk.

Do you think it's better to spend three evenings in Warsaw, and less time in Gdansk, or give myself more time in Gdansk? This may seem trivial (so I apologize) but the debate is where the evening time is better spent.

Thank you!

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

02/02/20 08:04 PM

28128 posts

Both cities are lively at night, but of course Warsaw is much larger. It's also less touristy.

For me the question was about how to divide my sightseeing time. I like looking at pretty architecture and enjoy art museums, but I'm especially interested in 20th-century history. Gdansk has two modern, extremely time-consuming sights related to the latter subject-- the WWII Museum (20 hours for me) and the Solidarity Center (about 8 hours for me). Warsaw has many more such sights, though no single one took as long as the WWII Museum in Gdansk.

I spent about 8-1/2 days plus an extra evening in Warsaw. I spent about 7 days plus an extra evening in Gdansk.

If you're more about the pretty (albeit rebuilt) historic architecture than going inside museums, I'd say you might tilt toward Gdansk, but Warsaw has more of a real-city vibe.

Posted by Carlos

Barcelona + Sweden

02/02/20 08:08 PM

4181 posts

Do you have any day trips lined up?

Posted by jrjcomm OP

02/02/20 08:17 PM

36 posts

I want to fit in a trip to Malbork Castle and the European Solidarity Center in Gdansk, and in Warsaw, we will see the Uprising Museum and POLIN. These are in addition to walking tours (both Rick's and free). We do not tend to spend more than a few hours in a museum, so this is really more about where to lose the time for the train -- either at night in Warsaw or in the morning getting to Gdansk.

Posted by Carlos

Barcelona + Sweden

02/02/20 10:29 PM

4181 posts

I personally would take the morning train, I'm not a fan of taking trains at night :)