Wroclaw is a beautiful city in Poland and not one we had obviously thought of visiting. My mind immediately goes to Krakow when I think of planning a Polish city break. That was untill a friend at work recommended Wroclaw so we looked into it a bit more. Flights from Cork and Dublin make it accessible and the hotel prices were just right. Here is where we stayed, what we did and where we ate.
Wroclaw Hotel – The Granary La Suite Hotel
Located in Wroclaw City Centre we loved this hotel as our base. A renovated 16th century building steeped in history, the hotel is beautiful. The room was large with all we needed for a comfortable stay. A large king bed, sitting area, desk, TV, safety deposit box and a bathroom with toiletries, robes and a large bath/shower. The room was clean, quiet and relaxing. The staff were helpful and friendly. We had heard that the food was good in the Hotel but we never ate there. Very reasonably priced for a 5 star hotel too. You can see rates and rooms here.
Wroclaw – Seeing The City
There is a lot to see and do in Wroclaw. On day one we strolled around to find our feet. Conveniently finding one of the huge shopping centers that had Sephora. Score! We found our way to the Zoo and walked around there. The Zoo itself is beautiful. Stunning scenery and lots to see and do. I definitely would suggest this as a summer attraction though. It was so cold, thankfully not many of the animals were outside. Across the road from the Zoo is The Centennial Hall which is an Unesco World Heritage Center. It is worth a stroll around as it is very beautiful with lots of history.
After that you can walk around the Market Square to see the Town Hall or Wroclaw’s famous Dwarfs. They are everywhere!!!
We dedicated a whole day of our trip to visit Auschwitz so we didn’t get to take in all of the sights. I’ll definitely go back so we will explore more in the future.
Wroclaw To Auschwitz – Worth The Trip?
We booked a private car to collect us from the hotel and take us to Auschwitz. We booked through Wratislavia Tour and I highly recommend them. It cost 180 euro total. For that the driver picked us up and brought us to Auschwitz, waited for us to finish and brought us to Birkenau before driving us home. We were gone from 9am to 6.30pm.
Auschwitz itself was worth the 6 hour round drive. A sobering experience. The enormity of what took place there is hard to put into words. In fact I can’t put it into words. You need to experience it for yourself. It is free to enter but you must book a time slot online before you go and don’t forget to bring ID for entrance. If you really want to enhance your visit I high recommend you read this book before you go. It is hard hitting but when you are standing there you can link an event in the book to where you are standing. All of a sudden everything becomes real, to you, right there. You really can’t describe it.
So I won’t try. You must go and experience it for yourself.
Wroclaw – The Food
The food in Poland is good. Low in cost and so goooood!!! Whiskey In The Jar is a cool bar in the square with really good food. The cocktails are even better!!
Kurna Chata is a Polish eatery just off the square and it was so good we ate lunch there twice. The Goulash served in a bread bowl was the best meal I had in Poland. It was recommended to me by one of my followers on Instagram and she was spot on.
Ice Rolls is a little Ice Cream Roll cafe that we loved and right across the street is a pancake house.
On our last night we ate in Pod Papugami, a finer dinning experience with cocktail bar. The food here was tasty but the stand out was the chocolate fondant desert.
Wroclaw The Verdict
We had a beautiful break away in Wroclaw. It was relaxing with great food, drink and things to do. Lots of shopping on offer in the form of Sephora, Inglot, Zara and Mango. Lovely streets to get lost in and lots of bars to take shelter in. It is easy to get around. Extremely cheap to eat and drink. I would bring comfortable shoes and layers of clothing if visiting in January like us. We would highly recommend it for your next city break and we most certainly will go back.
Now, where to next!
Louise x