Metropolitan regions are among those where the creative sector develops particularly dynamically. Ever since Florida (2002) has underlined the role of the creative sector in the local economy, local authorities of the Western European states have started to introduce polices supporting the development of the sector in the metropolitan regions. Shortly after, this idea has diffused to the Central and Eastern countries of Europe, the adoption of it to the transition economies has become a challenge for the local policy makers. The paper presents a review of the policy documents supporting the creative sector in the selected metropolitan regions and points out visible differences on the level of organisation of strategic planning activities from a system based on a long-term policy of strategic planning to a system without clear development directions. The paper also includes types of the strategies that are being implemented and who their recipient is. The reflections that follow concern selected cities and metropolitan regions. They are both state capitals (Budapest, Sofia, Riga) and regional growth centres (Leipzig, Poznan). Such a broad perspective on the policies of creative industries, not only from the point of view of the major metropolitan centres, gives an opportunity to explore through scrutiny the role of the sector in the urban areas, in the Central and Eastern European states.