Transforming urban experience through virtual tours: a digital storytelling of Gdańsk and its heritage

Abstract Urban walks reveal the intricate design and narratives of a city. Digital tools now enhance this exploration, offering new ways to perceive and experience urban spaces. This study examines how digital methods reshape public space experiences and influence city development from fresh perspectives. It delves into urban planning, social engagement, and digitization, using Gdańsk as a case study. This Polish city, with a history spanning over a millennium, now embraces the digital age through innovative virtual tours. Highlighting various walking activities, including virtual ones, this article showcases their potential as powerful urban planning tools. It features digital walking experiments from research projects (H2020Prometheus) and digital technologies laboratories practice (DAda-Lab, UNIPV and DA-Lab, GdańskTech). These activities provide unique ways to experience the city’s architecture and history, a storytelling that showcasing the transformative impact of digital tools on urban exploration while addressing pivotal questions about citizen science in the digital era.