Private walking tour
Gdansk Old Town
The Royal Route, Long Market, Mariacka Street and the medieval Crane — the historic heart of Gdańsk, explained by someone who lives here.
View tourPrivate history tour · 3 hours
Solidarity & Gdansk Shipyard Tour
Stand at the shipyard gate where the August 1980 strike began and follow the story from the European Solidarity Centre to the fall of communism.
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Group
- Private — your group only
- Meeting point
- Your hotel lobby in the city centre or Gate No. 2 of the shipyard
- Price
- From €150 / 650 zł per group
In August 1980 a strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk grew into Solidarity — a movement of around ten million people that helped bring down communism in Central Europe. This tour connects the places with the people and the decisions behind them.
Why take this tour
The European Solidarity Centre — widely called the Solidarity Museum — is one of Gdańsk’s strongest museums, but it is dense with documents and names. A guide gives you the thread: what happened, why it mattered, and what you are looking at.
Outside the museum, the story continues in the shipyard itself: the gate, the monument to the workers killed in December 1970, the hall where the August Agreements were signed, and a post-industrial district still being reinvented.
Highlights
- Gate No. 2 of the Gdańsk Shipyard
- The Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970
- The BHP Hall, where the August Agreements were signed on 31 August 1980
- The European Solidarity Centre and its permanent exhibition
- The 21 demands of the strikers
- Anna Walentynowicz, Lech Wałęsa and the people behind the strike
- The shipyard today: cranes, murals and a changing waterfront
The route
- 01
December 1970
We begin at the monument to the shipyard workers killed during the 1970 protests — the memory that shaped everything that came after.
- 02
Gate No. 2
The gate where crowds gathered during the August 1980 strike, and why the firing of crane operator Anna Walentynowicz started it.
- 03
European Solidarity Centre
A guided walk through the key rooms of the exhibition: the strike, martial law, the underground and the Round Table of 1989.
- 04
The BHP Hall & the shipyard
Where the agreement between the strikers and the communist government was signed, and a look at the shipyard as it is today.
The route is a suggestion — as a private tour it adapts to your interests, pace and time.
What’s included
Included
- Private guide for your group only
- 3 hours of guiding inside and around the shipyard
- Help with museum tickets and timing
Not included
- European Solidarity Centre entry tickets
- Food and drinks
- Transport — the shipyard is about 15–20 minutes’ walk from Long Market
Who this tour is for
- Travellers who remember the 1980s — or want to understand them
- History and politics enthusiasts
- Anyone combining modern history with the Old Town in one day
- Cruise passengers looking for something more than the postcard
Practical information
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Walking
- Easy; some standing inside the museum
- Start
- Your central hotel or Gate No. 2
- Tickets
- Museum entry paid on site
- Language
- English and Polish
- Price
- From €150 / 650 zł per private group
Interested in how the century began? See our World War II Museum Tour.
Meet your guide
Hi, I’m your guide.
Your local guide in Gdańsk
My tours are private, relaxed and built around what you want to see — history, architecture, food, or simply a good walk through Gdańsk with someone who knows it from the inside.
Is the “Solidarity Museum” the same as the European Solidarity Centre?
Yes. The official name is the European Solidarity Centre (Europejskie Centrum Solidarności, ECS). Many visitors and guidebooks call it the Solidarity Museum.
Can we combine this with the Old Town?
Yes — it is one of the most popular combinations. The shipyard is a short walk from the historic centre; a 5–6 hour private tour covers both comfortably.
Do I need to know the history beforehand?
No. The tour starts from the basics and goes as deep as you like.
Combine or continue
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Looking for something different?
Tell us what you’d like to see, how much time you have and who you’re travelling with. We’ll build the tour around you — families, photographers, history lovers and returning visitors welcome.
Next step
Ready to plan your Solidarity & the Shipyard tour?
Call or message the guide with your date, group size and interests — no forms, no booking system. Private tours from €150 / 650 zł per group.