As part of our road trip through Poland, we spent 36 hours in Wroclaw and for me, it’s one of my favourite places that I’ve ever visited in Poland to date (It would be hard to choose between Wroclaw and Krakow if I’m honest…Krakow has more to do but Wroclaw is prettier).
Grab a flask of tea…maybe make yourself a sandwich and find a piece of cake…as I’m going to give you RSI from scrolling as there was sooooo many photos…it’s going to be like a slide show from the 1970’s…you won’t be able to escape…I may also blind you with my pasty white legs as well so have your sunglasses handy…it may literally take you 36 hours to read this post!
Remember: all my travel tips for 36 Hours in Wroclaw can be found at the bottom of this post with links and addresses.
Why did I love Wroclaw so much….easy, it’s such an unassuming city; it’s colourful, fun and there are lots of quirky things to do. Okay one of my favourite bits was that it didn’t feel like it had lost its soul to mass tourism YET! It felt a bit like Porto did when I visited a few years ago…I do wonder how I would feel about Porto if I visited now.
We arrived late evening so Ma, Pa and Lisa headed out to explore…I stayed and rested at the apartment as a visit to a castle had worn me out earlier in the day (I was that much of a fragile princess…Dad may have had to push my bum up a hill!)…waking up as fresh as a daisy the following day we went out exploring Wroclaw pretty early….
…stopping to take a photo of daddy…
…the girls doing a spot of posing in the background…
…the city isn’t too busy first thing in the morning so it’s a great time to get out and explore…
…so I took a photo or two of the colourful buildings…
…bikes and colourful buildings…
…fountains and colourful buildings…
…you get the point, there are a lot of colourful buildings to photograph…
…and gingerbread houses…
…I squealed when I saw this little house and said to Lisa it reminds me of a gingerbread house and she told me that is what they call the building, the gingerbread house!
We started our dwarf hunting expedition…
…they are like randy little rabbits and can be found everywhere.
READ: Hunting for Dwarfs in Wroclaw, Poland
Our first stop was a little café called Nanan that is a vision of pink which Lisa had found on Pinterest and was desperate to visit…
…how pretty are their cakes…
…I had a mousse cake which they couldn’t guarantee was gluten free…
…but I ate it anyway.
I did love the mid-century detailing in this café; while I love art deco jewellery and buildings, mid-century furniture is my jam (I have an East German 1960’s sofa that I love that I bought off eBay earlier this year!).
Our next stop was…I’m not sure, I think we took a wrong turn and ending up spotting a bit of Wroclaw Street art…
…getting lost can be fun even though you can feel someone watching you.
We headed across the bridge as modelled by mummy…
…past a little market selling touristy things and food…hello fried cheese and cranberry…
…all this prettiness got me a tad excited…
….we headed over another rather romantic bridge to Cathedral Island, stopping for a shoefie of course with the love locks…
…there were quite a few beautiful little spots…
…and a rather tall cathedral which Dad and Lisa climbed to the top of…
…while the two with fears of heights stayed at the bottom taking photos of themselves…
…and had a little nosey inside the church…
…here is the view over the city, thanks to Lisa. Wroclaw is called the Venice of Poland…very similar to Strasbourg in France (which I also loved!).
On our way back to the Old Town we headed into the food market…which surprise surprise had loads of food…a gluten free paradise due to the amount of food and vegetables on offer and there was a gluten free shop inside as well selling natural products (you can thank me later for that little gluten free tip!).
Dad was laden down with a bag full of fruit while we headed off in search for more dwarfs and pretty buildings…
…by early afternoon the cafes and restaurants are filling over into the streets with hungry patrons and there is something on offer for everyone.
I think it’s fair to say, that I love a good old door…
…I say this all the time but travel should be fun and we had so much FUN working this door!
In Wroclaw, you need to look up and down at all times as there is always a cheeky little dwarf to find or an important piece of history that you might just step over.
We found a cute little alleyway that had golden eggs…
…and golden poo…this could be the real reason I loved Wroclaw…golden poo folks!! Are you scrolling back up to find the golden poo? This is actually a memorial to slaughtered animals as this lane used to be an abattoir…strange but true!
There are quite a few good little independent shops in Wroclaw that you can support…just remember that they don’t like American Express!
Near the train station is an installation that can’t be missed called The Anonymous Pedestrians…some of the statues are going into the ground and some are rising out of it…
…the installation marked the 24th anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland. It’s a rather moving piece of artwork and shouldn’t be missed.
Lisa loves Jewish History so we went searching for the synagogue which was actually closed when we visited however…
…there was a little restaurant and the court yard was pretty photogenic.
We stumbled across the Ring of Steel, a memorial to Witold Pilecki. Dad had listened to the audio book about Pilecki, who had volunteered to go into the Auschwitz concentration camp to see what was happening and then escaped with extremely important information. The book is called Beyond Bravery.
We popped past a few stalls selling flowers…shoefie time!
After a nana nap….yeap I’m officially a nana at 37…
…we hit the footpath again (in more sensible walking shoes…Superga are amazing for wide feet folks!) to chase after a man in a cloak and a top hat…
…head to Cathedral Island just before sunset and watch as they turn the gas street lamps on by hand…
…there are only two places in Europe this happens now; Wroclaw in Poland and Brest in Belarus where gas street lighting is still used to this day…we didn’t see this in Belarus when we visited. He comes back…or another man in a cloak does, to put them out at dawn…
…very romantic and something a bit quirky that the city offers.
We had a wander around while the sun was setting…
…walking past the most famous door in ALL of Wroclaw, that had a giant sign out the front of and was wide open…
…so dad asked if he could close the door and move the sign which they agreed to….I love my daddy so so so much…he is the coolest and understands my need to photograph a door!
^^Such a beautiful door!
Actually…Wroclaw is home to some bloody marvellous doors…
…what do you think?
The following morning, Lisa and I headed out just before 8am and the Old Town was practically empty bar a few locals…
…and goodness we had fun…
…I should point out that Lisa has the most amazing outfits that are always co-ordinated to perfection…
…sometimes you get a perfectly timed photo; sunlight and Lisa standing right in the place at the right time…perfection…I may have yelled at Lisa to stand still while I took a million photos…
…the colours of the buildings in the golden sunlight were beautiful…
…we found a hidden mural wall so the old jazz hands came out…and my new necklace in yellow (I own it in blue and red as well!).
^^Matching my necklace to my bra…skills! Lisa is not the only one who likes to co-ordinate.
Sometimes you wander around again and see new things that you didn’t spot the day before…
…and sometimes you just need to dance like you don’t care…
…or swing around a lamp post, I’m always super dizzzzzzzzy…possibly my love of swinging around a pole explains the dizziness!
Totally need to give myself a pat on the back for not falling into the fountain…
…it would be such a Kelly thing to happen to be honest..and there were a number of wobbly moments…and I’m not talking about my belly either!
After a quick brekkie, we were on the way to Lodz, aptly named the Manchester of Poland due to its manufacturing history.
Would I recommend Wroclaw…hell yes…is 36 hours in Wroclaw enough?….yes…could this be a great city break weekend in Poland…hells bells yes! Did I love Wroclaw…YES…I took hundreds and hundreds of photos!
If you visit Wroclaw please let me know your thoughts on the city. Have you visited Wroclaw, did you enjoy the city?
Travel Tips for Wroclaw, Poland
- Wizz Air fly directly from Luton Airport to Wroclaw, Poland
- We stayed at this apartment which comfortably slept 4 people and the location was grand (close to the old town, free parking and on a street lined with restaurants which many were gluten free or vegan!)
- There are a number of accommodation options available in Wroclaw…booking.com is a great starting point and there is a Sofitel in Wroclaw for a spot of luxury.
- Wroclaw is super cheap compared to Krakow or Warsaw
- You can walk everywhere in the city however you can take the trams or a tuk tuk tour if you wear your little feet out.
- Take comfortable walking shoes as there are cobbled streets.
- If you want to see the gas lamps being lit by the cape crusader then you need to hightail it over to Cathedral island prior to sunset; we arrived a good half an hour prior to sunset.
- Looking for something a bit different for a souvenir the make sure you check out Folkstar which stocks Polish folk prints and other goodies; that’s where I purchased my yellow necklace from **Coughs** I may have it in blue and red also! Address is Odrzańska 15, 48-300 Wrocław, Poland
- Cafe Nanan is beautiful; great selection of cakes if you can eat gluten – address is Kotlarska 32, 11-400 Wrocław, Poland
- The undercover Food and Flower market (Wroclaw Market Hall) is located at Piaskowa 17, 50-359 Wrocław, Poland. There a number of gluten free options inside the market including meats, cheese, fruit and vegetable plus a shop specialising in gluten free items
- The Anonymous Pedestrians can be found at the corner of ul. Piłsudskiego and ul. Świdnicka, Wroclaw
- There are a few gluten free restaurants down street Świętego Antoniego, Wrocław
- If you want to read more about my Poland adventures then here are a few more posts for ya…Dwarf Hunting in Wroclaw, Ksiaz Castle, Poland, Warsaw vs Krakow, City Break to Krakow and my review of the Sheraton Krakow.
- During my time in Poland, I struggled to find anyone that would accept an American Express card so make sure you have other options when visiting Poland. Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted.
xx
If you liked this post on 36 Hours in Wroclaw, Poland…One of My Favourite Cities in Poland! then why not come and join me on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest – I won’t bite!
You may also enjoy:
