Michael Palin's recent TV series might have whetted the appetite but as someone who has been to Gdansk four times already this year I can tell you Michael only touched the surface.

Gdansk is part of a three-city conurbation including Sopot and Gdynia. All three cities have their own identities and all have something to offer.

I flew with WizzAir from Liverpool to Gdansk airport.

Gdansk's Old Town is like a smaller version of Krakow's but with a maritime flavour. It's also the best place to buy amber in Poland.

Twenty minutes drive away is the seaside resort of Sopot. Very fashionable in the 1920s, the town still has a rather sophisticated image (nothing like Blackpool, no amusement arcades here!). Sopot is famous for it's enormous wooden pier which really is just used by holiday makers to enjoy a daily promenade on. Watch out for the seagulls though!

A few minutes drive away is the third coastal resort of Gdynia. Only created in the 20th century, this town has a more modern feel about it and is located sandwiched between the Baltic Ocean and a National Park. I visited Orlowo beach with its own famous pier (they seem to be big on piers over there).

The highlight of my trip was a drive to the Hel Peninsula, 45mins drive away. It's a 35km finger of land that curls into the Baltic Ocean. At its narrowest base it's just one road wide (although they still fit a railway track alongside it). Further down the peninsula widens out to reveal fishing villages and exclusive holiday resorts with the Northern side boasting long, white, sandy beaches - almost Floridian in style.

We booked our hotels through www.ilovepoland.co.uk

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Bar Mleczny (literally "milk bar") is a type of very cheap restaurant, which serves Polish national dishes. Bar Mleczny Turystyczny, situated right in the centre of lovely marine city of Gdansk, is a unique place, in which you can have a quality full meal for as little as 50 pence. You can often meet backpackers from different parts of the world there.

80-835 Gdańsk, Szeroka 8/10, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_mleczny

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