what are the best beaches t osunbathe and any good eating spots on the waterfront?
IMHO facing the sea at the bottom of MC turn left towards gdynia for less crowded beach and right towards gdansk for seafront eating
a beautiful pine forest borders the beach in each direction with a cycle path - its worth renting bikes and going that little bit further than you might if walking
if turning towards gdynia the path becomes a little wilder - jump down the small cliffs and you will find beautiful sandy beaches with fewer people - cycle a little further and you will come to gdynia orlowo, a charming little fishing port
turn right towards gdansk and its tourist central down to brzezno with camp sites, sailing clubs and plenty of bars and beach side fish restaurants. both brzezno and orlowo have piers and are no more than 4 ks from sopot pier
as doug says, theres plenty of pretense in sopot and many of the 'trendier' bars and clubs are full of plastic people, especially as the high season kicks in. a couple of slightly more 'real' places to chill and have a beer or listen to some music are papryka (bottom of MC turn right 100m) or sfinks (bottom of MC turn left 100m)
watching the world go by can easily be done on MC. wander down and find a free table in the sun, order beer or coffee and just chill... all day if it takes your fancy!
'good' restaurants dont exist in poland as far as i can tell, and i eat out a lot. very much hit and miss although if you can find somewhere serving traditional polish food you should eat well
there is a 'mountain man' restaurant in the forest on the sea front heading towards gdynia and another going straight up MC, over grunwaldska and up maja 1. its in the forest above sopot about 10 min walk from the centre and next to a small lake - both are ok
gdansk old town is a beautiful medieval affair that is enchanting by day or night but explore the smaller streets away from the main drag to find better bars and restaurants. scottie mentions absinthe as a favourite ( top of dluga, under the arch into a square and its in the bottom rh corner) and its a nice place to sit out and have a beer
i love the tri city in spring and summer - its magical - enjoy :)