Elbląg

Elbląg (German: Elbing) is a river port city in northern Poland in the Warmia-Masuria region with over 120,000 inhabitants. In the Middle Ages it was an important Hanseatic seaport serving the Vistula River bay on the early medieval Baltic Sea trade routes.

Understand
The city and its port lie on the Elbląg River, which flows into the Vistula Lagoon about 10 km to the north, thus giving the city access to the Baltic Sea via the Strait of Baltiysk.

Elbląg's Old Town area was almost completely destroyed in World War II. The Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic architecture in this area is largely the result of post-war re-creation. The area is pretty enough but doesn't truly reflect the nature of the city. For that you have to wander north a kilometer or two to find the communist new town, which has a charm of its own.

By train
There are direct regional trains from Gdańsk and Gdynia. Some slower long distance TLK trains also calls here, while a change in nearby Malbork is required for high-speed EIP and EIC trains. Additionally, the seasonal train between Kaliningrad and Gdańsk also calls here.



By bus
Elbląg can be reached from other large cities of Poland by bus.

By plane
The nearest international airports are in Gdańsk, Kaliningrad, Warsaw and Bydgoszcz.

By car
The E7 road from Gdańsk to Warsaw runs past Elbląg an hour out of Gdansk.

Get around
There is tram network in Elbląg but it isn't very big and the main attractions are very near each other so walking is good enough.

New town
The cathedral is a beast that's arguably more worth seeing than the one in the old town.

Do

 * Take a tram to Bazantarnia forest, walks take you along the river or through beautiful old trees, with hills and ravines. (tram no 2, to Marymoncka wsiad. from train station and Plac Słowiański, between new and old town) tickets available from kiosks, stamp on entry.
 * Visit Światowid, a truly socialist building, still going strong as a cultural hot spot, cinema, theatre, gallery, restaurant. Next door to...
 * Multikino, modern multi-screen cinema among modern shops with bar and cafe.
 * Massive open air swimming pool ul. Kościuszki (one of the biggest in Europe)
 * Ski  (at Góra Chrobrego) cheap bus 1 zł (some days) from carpark outside cemetery on ul. Kościuszki. 2 routes 400 and 450 m and 2 button lifts 130/450 m. More routes and lifts planned for 2011/12 season. 2 zł a go for the lift weekends (10 for 18 zł), 1.50 zł in the week. 20 zł returned deposit on electronic pass card. Small covered bar at bottom.
 * Museum and library (Old Town) (13th century) set in Teutonic castle grounds (fragments remain). Quite hidden museum at the back of ul. św. Ducha. Containing archeology from the foundations of the destroyed old town (still uncovered in the Old Town). Other exhibits include Saxon finds from the nearby early settlement of Truso (a reconstructed Saxon house is also situated in the gardens and can be viewed only by asking the cashier after buying a ticket for the rest of the museum). Art and Photography exhibitions are set in the other buildings. Opening hours: closed Mondays and public holidays; open Tu-Sa 08:00-16:00, Su 10:00-16:00; June–September: Th Sa Su 10:00-18:00.


 * Aero Club, ul. Lotnicza 8, +48 55 233 44 10
 * Galeria el, ul. Kuśnierska 6 (Old Town).
 * Nowa Holandia. (Warsaw bound E7 motorway, from Elbląg join motorway at North/West end of city). Nature and theme park set in large grounds behind Elblag service station, restaurant at front, bars, sleigh rides, bonfires, canoeing, 45-seater boat trips, city farm, walks and playground. 8 zł per person for a sleigh ride, tea and sausage cooked in the fire. Bus nr 6 a short walk and you're there.

Buy
Jewellery with amber.

Hand-picked wild mushrooms, fresh milk, honey, smoked sausage and fresh produce at the market Saturdays and Tuesdays morning.

Vodka and mead.

Cakes and breads.

Sweets made in Elbląg - flagship store of Wolność company: ul. ks. Osinskiego 4A.

Eat
The Old Town has menus in four languages and offers supposedly traditional food in supposedly traditional buildings (mains 20-40 zł). The New Town has communist-style canteens in concrete blocks (two courses and a beer 20 zł).



Drink
Beer from the Elbląg's brewery - Specjal

Go next

 * Malbork - The Malbork Castle Museum - A well preserved medieval Gothic castle and a museum. Inscribed in 1997 on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
 * Gdańsk
 * Sztutowo - with the Stutthof concentration camp.
 * Frombork - old coastal town, working place of Nicolaus Copernicus. Buses leave roughly hourly from the bus station near to the train station (7 zł).
 * Kaliningrad, via the border at Braniewo

The countryside around Elbląg is picturesque and well worth exploring by bicycle. You can rent bicycles from a shop next to the train station and behind the bus station, or bring your own on the trains that come from Gdansk. Maps of bike routes are available in most bookstores, but be careful- these routes aren't clearly marked and it's easy to lose your way. But the area is small and the locals are ready to help!