Wroclaw

Krakow to Wroclaw is just over three hours by train. You must absolutely book your tickets in advance. You get about 5 minutes to find your wagon on the platform, but barring that little adventure, the ride was smooth, passing by white landscapes and small towns.

Where to stay in Wroclaw

The stay was at Radisson Blu again. This one was older than the one in Krakow, and the staff were a little less helpful, and is a 10 minute walk from the Main Square.

What to see/do in Wroclaw

But close to the Walking promenade, a wonderful, peaceful, picturesque way to spend time.

One of the things Wroclaw is famous for is dwarves. Their origin story is the “Orange Alternative”, the anti-communist protest movement in the 1980s, which used dwarf graffiti as a form of peaceful political protest. The first bronze figurine was erected in 2001, and now there are about a thousand of them across the city. You can get the rights to make your own for only 2000 euros. 🙂 It’s like a fun treasure hunt, one which D proved very good at!

And if you go around Christmas time, there are pretty trees everywhere. Wroclaw still gives out small, cosy town vibes, so it’s a joy walking around.

A good place to visit is the Wroclaw Market Hall. This apparently is where the locals shop, and you can find everything from groceries to wine here. It also houses Targowa Craft Beer.

Say hello to Literatek vel Polonicus, you can see him near the university.

The Walking Promenade is even more pretty after sunset, if that is possible!

You can continue walking along that into the University area and beyond. There are some riverside restaurants there too. So pedestrian friendly!

We, of course, love Christmas Markets, the main reason why we visit this time of the year.

Wroclaw was the best among the three Polish ones we visited, in terms of the number of shops, kind and quality of things on sale and the overall vibe.

D found this on Insta, and you must drop in here. Stay till the end for why.

Guess who we found while searching for a specific dwarf – Harivansh Rai Bachchan. An honorary dwarf statue and a square named after him!

The Wrocław Town Hall, developed over a period of 250 years! The supposedly oldest restaurant Restauracja Smakołyki (because our tour guide says it’s more a marketing ploy) is also there. That was our original plan, but the guide also said it is less vintage and more Ikea now, so we dropped that plan!

This is Wroclaw’s former city person. The tour guide opined that it could become an Airbnb soon. Her sense of humour was very British, I liked. 🙂

Of course we have a resident dwarf.

This is the Ossolineum in Wrocław, and the highlight is the green space. The guide said there is very little of that. As folks from Bangalore, D and I looked at each other, mouth agape.

This one commemorates actor Stanisław Wolski.

The guide said this is a city of bridges and they are in some friendly competition to have the most. This one – Tumski Bridge (aka Lovers’ bridge) goes to Cathedral Island

Behold the Wroclaw Cathedral, or rather, the fourth version of it on the site.

You can climb up (after paying for it) on probably the oldest lift in the world to catch a fabulous city view.

Just as D was wondering about the women representation in the dwarf world, we caught Krasnal Glamour

One place you really should visit is the Museum of the University of Wrocław. First, for the Aula Leopoldina, which is beautiful in itself and also showcases the great thinkers across the ages.

And second, for probably the best view in all of Wroclaw. Atop the Mathematical Tower for the sunset, which in our case was around 3.45!

And this, though you might find it difficult to believe is the very first dwarf that appeared. Papa Krasnal.

Where to eat, and what

For a truly local feel, try the Bar mleczny Miś, the milk bar that serves traditional Polish dishes in a crowded, canteen like atmosphere. The menu is all Polish so you will need Lens. We had stew, cutlets and soup, all delicious and hugely value-for-money. The total bill here came to the cost of one dish in a restaurant!

The one restaurant that everyone raves about is Konspira, but we had mixed feelings after we visited.

The theme is great – the Polish resistance across World War 2 and the Soviet occupation. It gives a history lesson with a sense of humour despite the tragedy. And if I wanted a masterclass on decor, this would be a place on the top of my list.

We found at least some of the service snooty, and that I guess is something these guys are taught. We have seen a version everywhere from Bangalore to Bali to Barcelona. I thought that takes away from the wonderful rebellious theme.

The logo below is a take on kotwica, an emblem of the Polish Underground State during World War 2. Notice that vintage telephone on the table!

Told you, the decor was fascinating!

I continued to be blown by the variety and quality of non alcoholic beer. This is Cieszyn, from Poland’s longest continuously operating brewery.

The same goes for cider, which is D’s go-to drink in these parts of the world.

A standard broth with dumplings wasn’t a bad start.

The traditional cabbage roll with pork and rice was relatively better than the next dish.

I had to order The Subversive’s Dish – homemade fried dumplings with beef tenderloin goulash and a selection of salads. I don’t know if it was to do with our choices, but the food was overall quite average.

A place we would highly recommend is Wrocławska, which by the way, holds a Michelin recommendation for 2025. Wroclaw has some 22 restaurants in that list! Lovely, cosy ambience and super friendly staff.

ŚLĄSKIE NIEBO, or Silesian Heaven, which is pork loin, bacon, sauce from added fruit columsapricots appres (dried plum,
apricot, apple), cloves, almond, wroclavian dumplings) If I go by D’s expression, it lived up to its name.

I finally gave in and went for the pork knuckle, WIELKA GOLONKA WROCŁAWSKIEJ, aka The Great Pork Knuckle, the second (after Prague) and probably the last time. This one was huge, and marinated in beer and honey! The horseradish, and beer mustard were perfect complements. Surprisngly, we managed to finish most of it.

Restauracja Smakołyki was our original choice, but thanks to the feedback, we decided to go to Dwor Polskibecause many folks recommended it for its authenticity. I think I’ll remember it for the smart, kind lady who took our reservation and took good care of us though we weren’t really as hungey as they’d have hoped.

Mulled wine, and mead (finally tried that here), both of which were excellent.

Of course, and it was very well made.

We had sepia pasta for the first time, with chanterelle sauce and slices of beef tenderloin, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Delicious and we’d have liked to have more of an appetite for it.

Ah yes, we had to get back to this. This is Grazniec (mulled wine) and this cup is a collectible because the design changes every year. The mulled wine was excellent, and the hot chocolate we tried later was decent too.

Of course we had to end it this way – Krasnal Wroclovek.

If you’re visiting this part of the world, Wroclaw is a must visit for its unique character – dwarves, university, cathedrals, panoramic view, and the best Christmas market in Poland.