My parents and I has to cancel our cruise for next year, it was too expensive. However, we still want to take a trip next July to Scandinavia. We are stuck on deciding what to do on our last day before flying home. We would either like to see Gdansk or Riga, we will be flying from Tallinn. Which has nicer architecture, scenery and nice lanes to walk in? Thanks! Which would you choose to spend a day in?
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
276 posts
Hi Brendon, You might get more answers if you re-posted this question in the "To the East" section. In the mean time, I'll just put in my two cents for Gdansk. I've never been to Riga, so I can't make a fair comparison, but I loved Gdansk. I went at the last minute before leaving Poland because I wanted to see the famous shipyards of Solidarity Movement fame while I had the chance, but I wasn't really expecting much else. So I was wonderfully surprised by how charming and beautiful the city was. There's certainly enough to fill a day; you might even wish you had more time there. Anyway, I picked up a copy of In Your Pocket Guide when I got there which was very helpful. Fortunately, In Your Pocket is on-line and has a lot of great information on many Central and Eastern European destinations. Here's the home page for Gdansk and for Riga. http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/gdansk http://www.inyourpocket.com/latvia/riga Whatever you decide, have a great time!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Gdansk was my choice. It has a great medieval center plus Malbork castle, not far from Gdansk, was the main base for the Teutonic Knights when they were conducting a crusade against the Lithuanian Pagans. If you're into contemporary history, Gdansk is also the home of the Solidarity movement. I haven't been to Riga, primarily since I made a similar choice. Riga has a nice center, but I couldn't find much to do other than see the center.