February 17th, 2006 | The lowdown by Steven Brooks

Wroclaw: A Brief Introduction.

Few places are more central in Central Europe than Wroclaw. A mere five hours from Prague, Dresden and Warsaw, the city now styles itself as “The Meeting Place” and, with its cozy small town charm and attempts at making everything foreigner friendly, Wroclaw is no longer a place that travelers should simply pass through.
Wroclaw (pronounced ‘vrot-swav’) is little known to visitors outside Poland and the groups of German OAPs who visit every year, and they only know about it because they were probably born there when it was known as Breslau before the war. This situation is sure to change, as the city is undergoing a massive EU-funded clean-up and facelift, so you can either wait five years until all the scaffolding is gone, or visit now while it’s still enticingly cheep and retains its laid-back student persona.

Like all students, Wroclaw attempts to strike a balance between looking good and keeping it real. Happily, most of the town’s sights are already in a fine attractive state, so there are lots of pretty things to look at. Being a central European city, Wroclaw has its fair share of photogenic Baroque and Gothic churches, leafy inner-city parkland, and cobbled side streets. Wroclaw is set apart, however, by its colorful and personable Market Square, and the district of Ostrow Tumski, which was once literally an island, and is still the home of the city’s cathedral and several other churches and ecclesiastical residences. Both of these areas are, for now at least, far from crowded even at the height of summer, so a walk through Wroclaw is unlikely to be spoiled by thronging masses. The Market square (rynek) in particular is a real gem; it’s the second largest in Poland after Krakow, but superior in its local hang-out charm, lack of money-making paraphernalia, and the way it hums with real Polish gaiety in the warm evenings from May to early October.
The Market square is also home to the city’s finest restaurants, most of which are frequented almost entirely by the previously mentioned German visitors. For cheaper, and equally traditional food, any of the student bars on Kuznicza street, which runs from the north-west corner of the Market Square down to the grand University buildings, will more than suffice – just make good use of your Polish phrase book or be prepared to point.
The airport in Wroclaw seems to be acquiring new routes almost by the week, and it is now possible to fly direct from London Stansted, Nottingham East Midlands, and Dublin with Ryanair. Bus 406 connects the airport with the main train station, as does the new free shuttle service that seems to operate on an irregular timetable; the last time I tried to use it the driver was asleep.
You can also get to Wroclaw using one of the several direct trains a day to and from Krakow and Warsaw, the one direct train a day linking the city to Prague, or any of the other various connections for those prepared to pick their way through the Polish and Czech networks. A far better way to get to Prague, however, is the Eurolines bus, which operates every two days and is quicker, cheaper, and safer than the train, leaving at 2.00am and getting in to Prague at somewhere around 7.00. Tickets for this trip are most easily purchased from the English and German speaking staff in the Orbis travel bureau on the Market Square next to McDonalds.
The tourist information centre on the Market Square is useful for locating accommodation, but that, however, about all it’s good for; their advice on day excursions and local travel is hit and miss at best in my experience, and should only be followed if you have more than a smattering of Polish. You can travel around the city by tram and bus (a ride costs 2 zloty, and tickets can be bought from the machines and kiosks usually somewhere near each stop). Wroclaw is centralized enough that most venturing can be accomplished on foot; a trip to the area around Szczytnicki Park to visit the Zoo, Japanese Garden, or the People’s Hall is the only notable exception: trams from the Galeria Dominikanska shopping mall north of the Market Square take about 10 minutes to get there, but the trip is only necessary if you have time to kill. Two days is probably enough time to experience most of what Wroclaw has to offer, but consider getting comfortable and hanging around longer if you’re looking for a place to relax and idle away time between visits to the region’s more bustling locations.