2. You can take pleasant riverside walks
Once you’ve seen the Rynek, the best way to admire the city’s architecture is from the banks of the Odra. The paths on the south side of the river provide excellent views of the gothic spires on the opposite bank. The river’s progress through the city is broken by a series of small islands, linked to each other by a scattering of picturesque bridges – many of them quaint, cast-iron affairs that have become something of a collective Wrocław trademark.
The grassy lawns of Wyspa Slodowa (Malting-House Island) are used for impromptu picnics by the city’s sizeable youth and student population, while indie rock and dub reggae are pumped out by the converted-barge café-bars moored nearby.
3. There's impressive modernist architecture
The UNESCO World Heritage List is usually associated with old towns and temples rather than gargantuan doughnuts of reinforced concrete. However the latter is what you get in Wrocław, thanks to its one contribution to the list, the
Centennial Hall. A vast rotunda built by modernist architect Max Berg from 1911–1913, its enormous, bigger-than-the-biggest-cathedral dome still presides over concerts, conferences and trade exhibitions. Before admiring the main hall take a peek at the Road to Modernism exhibition in the foyer, where photographs of suburban houses reveal something of the city’s architectural ambitions.
