Things to do in Sopot

5-metre wooden pier, the longest of its kind in Europe, not the world. A walk to the end and back takes 30-45 minutes and costs a small seasonal entry fee, waived out of season.

Inland, Monte Cassino street, known locally as Monciak, runs from the station down to the pier, lined with cafes, bars and the Krzywy Domek, or Crooked House, a curved 2004 building inspired by the illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer, not by Gaudi, despite a passing resemblance.

Sopot's spa-town status comes from its brine, or saltwater, springs, tapped since the 19th century in a brine tower still open to visitors. The Baltic here stays cool, typically 17-20 degrees Celsius in summer and colder outside it, so the beach suits a bracing dip more than a long, warm swim.