2 Best Sights in The Baltic Coast and Pomerania, Poland

The district of Oliwa, northwest of the Old Town, is worth visiting if only for its magnificent cathedral complex. Originally part of a Cistercian monastery, the church was erected during the 13th century. Like most other structures in Poland, it has been rebuilt many times, resulting in a hodgepodge of styles from Gothic to Renaissance to rococo. The cathedral houses a museum as well as one of the most impressive rococo organs you're ever likely to hear—and see. It has more than 6,000 pipes, and when a special mechanism is activated, wooden angels ring bells and a wooden star climbs up a wooden sky. Demonstrations of the organ and a brief narrated church history are given almost hourly on weekdays in summer (May through September), less frequently on weekends and the rest of the year.

In 1230, the Teutonic Knights arrived on the banks of the Vistula River and settled here, aiming to establish their own state on these conquered Prussian lands. The castle passed into Polish hands after the second Toruń Treaty in 1466 concluded the 13-year war between the Poles and the Order of Teutonic Knights. For the next three centuries, Malbork served as the royal residence for Polish kings during their annual visit to Pomerania. The castle was half-destroyed during World War II, after which the building underwent a major renovation. Two-hour guided tours offer the best way to see the castle; tours are available in English, and there's an English-language guidebook in the gift shop. You can easily see the castle on a day-trip from Gdańsk (several local companies offer organized tours), but there is a hotel on the castle grounds if you want to spend the night.