Gdansk Old Town – The city’s 1,000 years of history have left a collection of buildings and monuments designed in Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles. Your guided walk will start near the Golden Gate, a grand ornamental arch that once allowed access through the medieval city’s defensive walls. Continue along Long Street. Lined with marvellous buildings decorated with elaborate facades crowned by myriad ornate gables. Pass the Town Hall, Long Market and the beautiful 15th-century merchants’ palace of Artus Court. Pause at Neptune’s Fountain to admire this monumental symbol of Gda?sk’s Hanseatic past and its connection with the sea before walking down to the waterfront canal. Then turn up Mariacka Street which delights its visitors with its lively atmosphere, quaint shops and lovely terraced buildings.

St. Mary’s Church – The pride of Gdansk, Gothic St. Mary’s is the world’s largest brick church, accommodating some 25,000 worshippers. Situated in the centre of Old Town, this medieval church took 159 years to build, and its deceivingly plan exterior belies a bright, spacious interior with large windows and more than 30 beautifully decorated chapels. The high altar displays a lovely polyptych, the floor is covered with ancient tombstones and the northern transept holds an amazing 15th century astronomical clock, complete with the zodiac cycle and a calendar of the saints.

Sopot – The summer capital of Poland, a sea resort developed from fishermen’s village. Sopot’s history is much less turbulent than that of Gdansk. It is both a holiday centre and a spa from the turn of the 19th century. It has retained a number of original buildings, erected for cure makers. Many of them were commissioned by a Napoleon’s physician, Jean Georges Haffner. Sopot is well known of its 516 m long wooden pier – one of the largest constructions of this type in Europe. The first wooden platform, 41 m long, was constructed in Haffner’s days.

The History of Grand Hotel

In June 1920, a casino was opened in the Spa House situated near the Sopot’s Pier. At the turn of 1922 and 1923 a new wing of the Spa House was built, to which the casino was moved. In order to secure the quality of accommodation for the casino’s guests, a decision was made to build a proper hotel close to the Spa House. Construction of the hotel, designed by a famous architect Hans Fallang. started in 1924. It was opened on 30th June 1927 and named Casino Hotel. Before World War II it was the most expensive hotel in Sopot. Married couples were coming there for their honeymoon.

At the beginning of World War II, Hitler spent two nights in the Casino Hotel. From the upper floors, he could watch the battles at Hel Peninsula. During the first days of October the act of the Hel Peninsula capitulation was signed in the Casino Hotel. At the end of the war, the hotel was housing a field hospital, owing to which it was not set on fire. The Hotel survived the war in untouched condition.

In 1946, the hotel was renamed as Grand Hotel and belonged to Gdynia-America Line until 1954 and finally to Orbis company.

Among the Hotel guests there were several known politicians (i.a. Charles de Gaulle), actors (i.a. Omar Scharif), actresses (i.a. Marlena Dietrich), singers (i.a. Josephine Baker), writers (i.a. Czeslaw Milosz) and pop music stars (i.a. Annie Lenox).