Wrocław

The “city of a hundred bridges”, with a colourful Market Square and an ornate Gothic Town Hall, hundreds of bronze dwarf statues hidden around town, the UNESCO-listed Centennial Hall, and a lamplighter making evening rounds on the Cathedral Island.

Wrocław is the capital of Lower Silesia in south-western Poland and the country's third-largest city. The Oder splits into a dozen or so islands here, linked by more than a hundred bridges, earning it the nickname “city of a hundred bridges”. Ruled in turn by Bohemia, the Habsburgs and Prussia, it only returned to Poland after WWII, and its architecture is remarkably diverse. The centre falls into three areas: the Old Town around the Market Square and Old Town Hall, where you can hunt for the bronze dwarfs scattered across the city, with the university, St Elizabeth's Church, the Quarter of Four Denominations and the Market Hall nearby; Sand Island, Słodowa Island and Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island) to the north, where a lamplighter lights the gas lamps at dusk; and to the east the Centennial Hall (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Multimedia Fountain, the Japanese Garden and the zoo. The classic day trip heads about 55 km south-west to the Church of Peace in Świdnica (UNESCO World Heritage) and Książ Castle; you can also climb Mount Ślęża. May–September brings pleasant weather, ideal for boat trips on the Oder; in December the Market Square hosts a lively Christmas market; winters are cold. The airport has flights to many European cities, trains reach Kraków in about 3 hours and Berlin in about 4, and trams make getting around easy. Allow 2–3 days.

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries