11/09/2007

Sopot, called the summer capital of Poland, is a small seaside spa, officially approved as a health resort and together with the nearby Gdańsk and Gdynia forming the over one-million Tri-City agglomeration. On the land side the town is sheltered by  forested moraine hills and on the seaward side – the Hel Peninsula shields the Bay of Gdańsk, which makes the water of  Sopot beaches warmer than in elsewhere in the Baltic.

The town’s unique character is created by the fin-de-siecle apartment houses and villas surrounded by trees, historical parks and beautiful well-groomed parks. The greenery covers over 60% of the town area. The charming scenery of the town, based on the virtues of natural landscape and attractive recreation and leisure facilities combined with easy communication access, draws over two million tourists and holidaymakers to Sopot every year.

The top place in the ranking „Poland’s Best Places to Live”; the top position in the ranking “Stars on the Sand” prepared by the weekly “Polityka” determining the most attractive seaside bathing beaches; the Tourist Certificate of the weekly “Wprost”; an award of the Gdańsk International Tourism Fair in the competition “The Best Promotion of Tourism” in the category “Tourist Investment Project” for establishing of the Windsurfing and Sailing Center in the Sopot Sailing Club Hestia-Sopot. Almost 40000 permanent residents and nearly 2 million tourists a year. Sopot never sleeps…

All along the 4.5 km Sopot coastline there are clean and sandy beaches along which are scattered water slides, water and beach equipment rental shops, showers and charming small pubs and cafes. Sopot has been ranked as the best organized and safest seaside bathing centre in the Pomeranian province for several years.  Bathers’ safety is assured by lifeguards equipped with the latest rescue equipment and fast motor boats. The Municipal Centre of Sports and Recreation (ul. Armii Krajowej 76/82, tel.: [+ 48 58] 551 61 51) organizes numerous sports and recreation events on the beach. These are volleyball and beach football tournaments, happenings, shows and cross-country races.

Europe’s longest wooden pier (511.5 m) juts out from  Sopot beach. It is a place for leisurely strolls for health (the iodine concentration at the end of the pier  is twice as high as on land) and festivities, and  also the harbour of tourist passenger ships and water taxis. You can get tickets for cruises on the lines Sopot – Westerplatte – Gdańsk (60 min) and Sopot – Gdynia (30 min) at the ticket  offices at the entrance to the pier (tel.: [+ 48 58] 551 12 93, [+ 48 58] 301 49 26,  [+48 58] 620 21 54). From the end  of the pier you can observe the panorama of the whole town through telescopes. It is also a perfect spot for watching the Sailing World Championship, Windsurfing Baltic Cup and Sopot Triathlon on the Bay waters. At the foot of the pier, in Plac Zdrojowy, there is an ice rink open from October to March. The leaseholder of the pier is Kąpielisko Morskie Sopot (ul. Chopina, tel.: [+48 58] 551 00 02).
 
Sopot attracts people’s attention and magnetizes them. It is a fashionable place, attracting those who long for a little rest, peace and quiet but also those who look for artistic inspiration. On the one hand, it is a town filled with creativity, the venue of grand cultural events and meetings with such distinguished artists as Cybulski, Miłosz and Dudziński, and also the hangout of beginner musicians, actors and portrait painters whose works can be seen in summer on Monte Cassino promenade; on the other hand, it is a quiet health resort with charming fin-de-siecle architecture covered with verdure and boasting Europe’s longest wooden pier. The town’s enchanting scenery, attractive recreational and leisure facilities and a wide selection of cultural and entertainment events, combined with excellent access, draws over two million tourists and holidaymakers to Sopot every year.

For art connoisseurs the town can offer performances at the Chamber Theatre and Atelier Theatre, and numerous exhibitions and previews in local galleries. Music lovers can take part in the Opera Festival, reactivated in July 1998, the International Song Festival held for over thirty years in the famous Forest Opera, concerts of the Polish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Wojciech Rajski and summer events organized on the pier. Those interested in active leisure will find the following attractions in Sopot: the country’s biggest tennis court complex, four sports stadiums and a horse racing track. To please winter sports fans, a forest ski lift on Łysa Góra has been constructed. Owing to its developed sports infrastructure, Sopot is the venue of major competitions – from sailing and windsurfing races through satellite tennis tournaments up to the biggest athletic meetings.

A clean beach and ski lift, galleries and nightclubs, the advantages of a big city and the idyll of the natural environment – they all contribute to the image of Sopot, the summer capital of Poland.
more info: http://www.sopot.pl/
J.S.