Do it in the Tri-City! Alternative guide - part one
Długa street in Gdańsk / Fot. Kamil Gozdan / Agencja Gazeta
Gdańsk, Długa st. and Długi Targ
Gdańsk is one of the few cities in Poland not to possess a main square. Instead, for many years, this role was assumed by the main street, in which the most important institutions functioned and where merchants set up their stalls. At the same time it was the Royal Route, the path taken by kings to their official seat when visiting the city. The street is called Długa (with Długi Targ as its natural extension) and is, today, the most prestigious part of the old section of the city. A section almost totally destroyed during the liberation by the Red Army and just after the end of the conflict. At first, the plan was to rebuild it in the communist style: to create large squares and arterial roads and to stick a few "palaces of culture" here and there. Luckily, the plan fell through and the decision was taken to rebuild the city more or less as it was in the 17th century. The effect is quite pleasant visually, but it has to be remembered that the whole solution is artificial: most of the houses are in fact post-war flats with façades from another era "stuck on".
Długa (Long Street) and Długi Targ (Long Market) are designed to be the gastronomic and club centre of the city. And they do have a lot of cafés and restaurants, but unfortunately, off-season business in the whole area comes to a halt as soon it gets dark. There is absolutely nothing here at night, you have to venture into other parts of the city.