As you explore the cobbled streets and dusty museums, it is difficult to imagine Gdansk as more than a handsome backwater. But, as the history books prove, the city has been anything but a silent extra on the world stage. Gdansk’s Westerplatte peninsula, a short ferry ride from the old town quayside, witnessed the opening rounds of World War II. Today, a monstrous monument and some smashed bunkers mark the heroic siege where fewer than 200 Polish troops resisted the full force of the Nazi war machine for six days.

Left as a smouldering pile of bricks by the Red Army in 1945, the old town has been carefully restored to its former glory. The ancient route of kings, ulica Dluga, is today lined with coloured burgher houses, many of them featuring elaborate frescoes.

Leading past the Neptune Fountain and the grand town hall, Dluga opens out on to the waterfront, where reminders of Gdansk’s merchant past still exist. Forming part of the Maritime Museum (ulica Olowianki 9/13, 301 86 11, www.cmm.pl, closed Mon), the giant medieval crane was once the largest piece of ship-handling equipment in the world. Across the river, over 300 granary buildings formerly occupied the banks of the Motlawa, earning Gdansk the moniker ‘breadbasket of Europe’. Flattened during the Soviet fury of 1945, the granaries are now a derelict string of ruins fenced off from the general public.

The suburb of Oliwa is home to a grand cathedral that is best known for its wonderfully ornate 18th-century organ. Back in the city centre, St Mary’s is the world’s largest brick church, with the capacity to hold some 25,000 people (ulica Podkramarska 5, 301 39 82). Inch your way up its 405 steps and you will be rewarded with stunning panoramic views from the church’s 256-foot bell tower. Directly below, ulica Mariacka, with its café terraces, jewellery stands and amber shops (the region is a major producer) – is Gdansk’s prettiest street.

Yet, for all this, it is the sight of the Gdansk shipyards that is most familiar to the Western eye. The birthplace of the Solidarity Movement, it is here that Lech Walesa led disillusioned dock workers in 1980 in a pivotal protest against communism. The ‘Roads to Freedom’ exhibition (ulica Doki 1, 769 2920, closed Mon) recalls the struggle through an impressive series of interactive displays, and easily ranks as one of the best museums in the country.

• Tourist information: ulica Powroznicza 19/2 (306 38 65, www.roppttk.pl).