Where to stay in Gdańsk: the best areas (and the ones to skip)

The short answer: if this is your first visit to Gdańsk and you have two or three days, stay in the Main Town or on Granary Island. If the beach matters more than the old town, choose Brzeźno or Jelitkowo. If you want a quiet night and a walk into the centre, look at the embankments along the Motława, Długie Ogrody or the Young City. Below you will find all of these areas compared: walking and transit times, pros and cons, and an honest note on where we have apartments and where we do not.

People come to Gdańsk for two things: the old town and the sea. The catch is that they are 6–8 km apart. From the Main Town, tram line 3 runs to the beach in Brzeźno, lines 2, 6 and 8 to Jelitkowo, and lines 8 and 9 to Stogi. One way takes about 20 to 35 minutes depending on the beach. It works the same in reverse: if you sleep by the sea, you ride the tram back from the centre every evening. Choosing an area is, above all, a decision about where you want to be after dark.

Main Town and Old Town: the old town outside your window

The Long Market, Mariacka street, Świętojańska, the Crane, St Mary’s Basilica: all within a few hundred metres. If you have two days, this is the simplest choice. You lose no time commuting, you can go back to the apartment in the middle of the day to rest or drop your shopping, and in the evening you walk out to dinner without checking a timetable.

There are two downsides worth knowing. In July and August the streets around the Long Market and Mariacka stay lively late into the night, so a window facing the street will be noisy. The second is the car: the Main Town and Old Town lie inside the Inner-City Paid Parking Zone, charged seven days a week from 9:00 to 20:00, 7.50 PLN for the first hour (Gdańsk Roads Authority tariff, as of September 2026). Free kerbside spaces are hard to find in season. If you are driving, pick an apartment with a parking space or an area with an underground garage.

Our apartments in this part of the city: Old Town (Świętojańska, Ogarna, U Furty, Garncarska) and Lastadia on Kotwiczników, across the Motława from the Crane, about 6 minutes from the Long Market.

Granary Island: river views and parking under the building

The island sits opposite the Long Embankment, on the other side of the Motława. Over the last few years it has been rebuilt from scratch: Chmielna, Jaglana and Toruńska are new buildings with lifts, garages and balconies, some looking out at the Crane and the roofs of the Main Town. You cross to the old town over the Green Bridge or the footbridge in about 10 minutes, and the evening noise from the Long Market stays on the other side of the water.

This is the best choice if you are arriving by car and want to sleep close to the sights. Most of our apartments on Jaglana, Chmielna and Toruńska come with a parking space; you will find that information in each apartment’s description. The downside: it is a new district, without townhouses and without the old-town atmosphere outside the window, even if the old town is a short walk away.

Our apartments: Granary Island (Jaglana, Chmielna) and Toruńska, just past the southern tip of the island, about 11 minutes from the Long Market.

The Motława embankments: quieter, with water in view

East of the Main Town, along the Motława, run the old embankment streets: Angielska Grobla and Świętej Barbary behind St Barbara’s church, between Długie Ogrody and the river, then Długa Grobla, and finally Sienna Grobla and the headland with new estates at Mostek (Portovo). The further out, the quieter it gets and the more water you see from the window. You walk back to the centre along the waterfront, past Ołowianka island and the Baltic Philharmonic.

Who it suits: families with children, stays of a week or more, anyone who wants to come back to a quiet place in the evening. Walking time to the Long Market grows from about 10 minutes at Angielska Grobla to about 20 at Sienna Grobla and about 25 at Mostek. The downside: fewer restaurants and shops right next door; for groceries you walk towards the centre or drive.

Our apartments: Angielska Grobla and Świętej Barbary, Długa Grobla, Sienna Grobla, Portovo, and all of them together under apartments by the Motława.

Długie Ogrody and Łąkowa: the Lower Town, a quarter of an hour from the old town

The Lower Town is a former working-class and military district south-east of the Main Town, under redevelopment for several years: new estates on Długie Ogrody and Łąkowa stand next to brick townhouses, and the old moat, the Opływ Motławy, with its bastions wraps around it to the south and east. To the Long Market it is about 10 minutes from Długie Ogrody and about 14 from Łąkowa.

Who it suits: stays of a few days or longer, when ten minutes’ walk makes no difference and you want a new building with parking. The downside: the district is mid-change, so a renovated townhouse stands next to one still waiting its turn. If you want a postcard view from the window you will be disappointed; if you want a convenient base, you will not.

Our apartments: Długie Ogrody, Łąkowa and Kamienna Grobla.

The Young City: new estates on the former shipyard

North of the Old Town, between Wałowa street and the former Gdańsk Shipyard, a new district has grown: Wałowa, Popiełuszki, Rybaki Górne, Stara Stocznia. Your neighbours are the European Solidarity Centre, the Museum of the Second World War and 100cznia, the post-shipyard grounds with bars in shipping containers. To the Long Market it is about 15–20 minutes through the Old Town, to Gdańsk Główny station about 10.

Who it suits: drivers (a parking space comes with most of our apartments here), people who want to see the shipyard and the Solidarity Centre, and anyone who finds the old town too loud. The downside: it is still a building site in places, some streets and squares are unfinished, and evenings are quiet, sometimes too quiet.

Our apartments: Young City (Wałowa, Popiełuszki, Rybaki Górne, Stara Stocznia).

Wrzeszcz and Oliwa: good if you have business there

We have no apartments in Wrzeszcz or Oliwa, so we will be brief and have no stake in this. Wrzeszcz is Gdańsk’s second centre: the University of Technology, office buildings, the Galeria Bałtycka mall, restaurants on Wajdeloty street. Oliwa has the cathedral, the park and the zoo. The SKM commuter train takes you to the Main Town in 8–15 minutes and the tram to the beach in Brzeźno or Jelitkowo in 15–20. If you are coming for work, university or a conference in that part of the city, it makes sense. If you are coming to sightsee, you add two rides to every day.

By the sea: Brzeźno, Jelitkowo, Przymorze, Stogi, Sobieszewo

We have no apartments by the sea either. We write about it because it is the second most common question after “where is the old town”.

Brzeźno has a pier, a wide beach and a seaside park, and tram line 3 takes you to the centre in about 30 minutes. Jelitkowo, on the border with Sopot, is calmer and more family-oriented; lines 2, 6 and 8 end there. Przymorze is a large housing estate between the two, close to the beach and to shopping malls. Stogi, on the far side of the port, has the shortest walk from a tram stop to the sand and the fewest people. Sobieszewo is an island of forest and nature reserves, for those who want silence and have a car.

When staying by the sea makes sense: in July and August, with children, when the beach is the plan for most of the day. Outside the season the seaside districts empty out, and the restaurants, museums and evening life are in the centre. Then it is easier to stay in the centre and take the tram to the beach once or twice.

Centre or seaside: how to decide

Count how many days you will spend on the beach and how many in the city. If beach days win, stay by the sea and come into the centre once, in the evening. If city days win, stay in the centre and take the tram to the beach on a hot day. For a two- or three-day trip outside the summer holidays the same rule applies: almost everything you came for is within a kilometre of the Long Market.

There is a third way for those who want both at once: Sopot. But that is another town and another article.

Practical: getting here, parking, noise, dates

From the airport. The PKM train or the bus gets you to the centre in about 30–40 minutes; we describe it step by step in how to get from Gdańsk airport to the city centre.

By car. The Main Town, Old Town and Lower Town form the Inner-City Paid Parking Zone: every day 9:00–20:00, 7.50 PLN for the first hour (Gdańsk Roads Authority tariff, as of September 2026). Outside the inner city the regular zone runs Monday to Friday 9:00–17:00, 5 PLN for the first hour. The simplest option is an apartment with its own parking space; many of our apartments on Granary Island, Toruńska, the embankments, Długie Ogrody, Łąkowa and in the Young City have one, and each listing says so.

Noise. In season the loudest spots are the Long Market, Mariacka, Piwna and the Long Embankment. A courtyard-facing window or an apartment across the Motława solves it.

Dates. Prices and availability follow the events calendar: St Dominic’s Fair at the turn of July and August, festivals, matches, big conferences. We write about what is on each month, for example what to do in Gdańsk in October.

Who runs the apartment. In Gdańsk most short-term rental apartments are run by companies, not private hosts. Which of them have the best guest ratings on Google and Airbnb is in a separate article: apartment companies in Gdańsk ranked by guest reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Which area of Gdańsk should I stay in on a first visit?

The Main Town or Granary Island. From both you can walk to every major sight, and the island is also easier for parking and quieter at night.

Is it worth staying by the sea in Gdańsk?

In July and August, when the beach is the plan for most of the day, yes. Outside the season it is more convenient to stay in the centre, where the restaurants, museums and evening life are, and reach the beach by tram in about 30 minutes.

How far is the beach from the centre of Gdańsk?

6–8 km in a straight line. Tram line 3 to Brzeźno takes about 30 minutes, line 8 to Jelitkowo about 35 minutes, lines 8 and 9 to Stogi about 25 minutes.

Where should I stay in Gdańsk with a child?

In summer by the sea, in Jelitkowo or Brzeźno. Outside summer on the Motława embankments or on Granary Island: quiet, close to the centre, in new buildings with a lift and parking.

Is the centre of Gdańsk noisy at night?

In season, around the Long Market, Mariacka and Piwna, yes. An apartment with courtyard-facing windows or across the Motława, on Granary Island or the embankments, is noticeably quieter.

Where can I park in the centre of Gdańsk?

The Main, Old and Lower Town are a paid zone every day 9:00–20:00, 7.50 PLN for the first hour (as of September 2026), and free spaces run out in season. The most convenient option is an apartment with its own parking space; most of our apartments outside the old town have one.

Where this information comes from

Walking times are calculated from the addresses of our apartments to Neptune’s Fountain on the Long Market at a walking pace, rounded. Tram lines and parking rules come from the City of Gdańsk services, as of September 2026; check the current timetable before you travel. Apartmore has run apartments in the strict centre of Gdańsk since 2017 and has no offer outside it, which is why we write about Wrzeszcz, Oliwa and the seaside districts as observers, not as hosts.