Streets squares and districts to visit Wrocław

The Rynek is spacious (it's the second largest in Poland after Krakow, at 173 m by 208 m) and elegant, and well worth several tours. Some ^13th-century facades remain, and while others have been restored to their original appearance, you'll find the Church of St. Elisabeth, nicknamed Jaś i Małgosia (Hansel and Gretel). On the Rynek you'll also see some of the bronze gnomes that nestle in the town. The tourist office has a brochure with a map to help you discover them all.

Slightly to the west of the Rynek, this superb square has been faithfully rebuilt with red and blue Baroque facades. Formerly the town's salt market square, it now houses a 24-hour flower market. The square was built in the ^13th century and, until 1827, was known as the "Polish Market". The name was changed to Blücherplatz in the ^19th century, when a monument to Field Marshal von Blücher was erected on the square. Beneath the square, a large WWII bunker houses a cinema theme park.

Behind the church of Sainte-Elisabeth, don't miss this cobbled alley of the old butcher shops, which dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. The old stores of yesteryear are now home to art galleries and other craft stores. Wrocław makes a hell of a commercial for this fashionable passageway with an atmosphere that could not be more Western and touristy. At the end of the street, a sculpture pays homage to the barnyard animals that were once the focus of the work!