Elbląg sits near the Vistula Lagoon between Gdańsk, Malbork, and the lakes of Warmia-Masuria. It is old by Polish standards, with a Hanseatic trading past, but the centre tells a more complicated story: the Old Town was badly destroyed in 1945 and has been rebuilt in a careful, modern version of brick Gothic and merchant-town streets.
The reason to come is the mix of that young old town and the Elbląg Canal. Boats on the canal are hauled over grassy inclines on rail-mounted cradles, a 19th-century engineering trick that still feels improbable when you see it working. Even a short canal trip gives Elbląg more character than many larger Polish cities.
Stay around the Old Town for St Nicholas Cathedral, the Market Gate, the Church Path, and the Archaeological and Historical Museum. Elbląg is also a useful base if you want a quieter alternative to Gdańsk with easy side trips to Malbork, Frombork, and the lagoon country.