What to do in Wrocław – The home of Aploq

Located right in the heart of Europe, once you see the beautiful picturesque architecture of the city, you’ll definitely see a resemblance to its neighbours like Vienna, Krakow and Prague. We’re looking at a city that shares flavours of Polish playfulness, Prussian pride, and Austrian authenticity. It’s no wonder that wars have been fought over this magical place. The atmosphere of the local nightlife is really felt by the 120,000 students who take residence there during the school year. It’s also home to another 500,000 locals.

Wrocław’s famous gnomes

Another reason why Wrocław is the perfect city for a romantic getaway or

The Figurine Wrocław Sculpture Krasnal

family trip is the gnomes! Hidden around the city, in the most unsuspecting spots, are statues of gnomes getting up to various pranks and activities. It’s such fun reason to tour the city to try and find them all! Plus, it’s such a simple way to spend an afternoon and it’s absolutely free. The gnomes represent the Polish rebellion against communism in the 1980s known as the “orange alternative”. The idea behind the rebellion was to take the piss out of the Polish government by non-violent and funny means. The one of the main results was that the police force in Poland in the 1980’s became a laughing stock with no power over the people. The first gnome appeared in 2001 as reminder of this time.

Where to learn about Wrocław’s history?

If you’re trying to see as much of Wrocław as possible and learn about the history while sticking to a budget, the city is home to plenty of free walking tours that you can book in advance. The tours are given in English, Polish, and German. The topics cover everything from “The Gnomes and Communism”, Street Art, WWII and Jewish Wrocław, and another three free tours in English. If you’re splashing out, they have some great paid tours of the city, too.

If you do have a budget to spend on activities, the city has plenty of things to do and see.

VisitWroclaw is a great resource for finding tours and activities to do.

Why visit Wrocław?

Apart from being a year-round holiday destination, Wroclaw has something for everyone. In the summer, it’s the perfect location for a nice sunny holiday if you are sick of the usual Spanish getaways. With plenty of sunbathing and waterparks just 30 mins outside of the city. It’s also home to the largest trampoline park in Poland! Aquapark is a personal favourite of ours, complete with everything you want from a water park with a nice gym and fantastic spa all under one roof. Just to make it even better, it’s less than half an hour walk from the city centre.

If you’re looking for the perfect getaway with that special someone, but you are tired of the overly cliched trip to Paris or Rome, or you want the beauty of Belgium’s Bruges except with more of a nightlife, you’ve come to the right place. Wroclaw is the engagement capital of Poland. The city is small enough that you and your partner can spend a carefree weekend enjoying each other or experiencing the local culture and forgetting all about the rush of modern life, (while enjoying Europe’s free-roaming mobile internet so you can make your followers jealous :P).

Our team scored Wrocław 8 out of 10 on the romantic scale, losing two points due to the price of hotels being expensive by local standards. But there’s always Airbnb 🙂

Messy Weekends in Wrocław?

Wrocław’s got you covered. The city has already played host to countless stag and hen parties. With nearly twenty nightclubs in and around the main town square, there’s definitely something for all groups. From Hades Rock Klub, the Grey music Club to Mundo 71, this small city has got a lot crammed in. Saying this our team has rated it 5 out of ten due to the lack of drink promotions and the fact public urination will get you arrested. This is a nice little town after all.

Museums in Wrocław

If getting stupidly drunk isn’t your thing, our team has rated the city’s historical value nine out of ten, only missing out due to its lack of a castle. But the city makes up for this by having nearly as many museums as nightclubs and plenty of free walking tours. The National Museum houses the best of the city’s art in all of its forms, be it painting, sculpture, craft and photography in a grand 19th-century building. If you’re more into architecture, Wrocław is home to one of Poland’s dedicated museums, set in a picturesque former Medieval Monastery, The Museum of Architecture even boasts a full archive. Basically, if you can think of it, Wrocław has a museum for it. From contemporary art, medallic art, to super specific ones like Panorama of the Battle of Racławice or really general ones like The City Museum of Wrocław dedicated to just informing you on the history of the city.

Shopping in Wrocław

If your partner has dragged you through what seems like endless museums, don’t worry, the city is also home to some fantastic shopping centres that you can escape to for some retail therapy to get you back to normal. With all of the big names shops you’d expect within the city centre itself, you can always hop a short ride bus ride away to some of bigger shopping centres. The Team rated shopping here 7 out of 10 due to the touristy prices in the centre. Our personal recommendation is to head out of the city for any serious shopping trips. PS. If all that shopping has tired you out, the city has a spa for every price range. So, if you want to send him to the pub and chill out by yourself, do it!

The locals!

This is always a deciding factor for us. If you can’t have fun with the locals, what’s the point? The city scores a well-deserved 9.5 out of ten, only losing half a point due to the fact that not everyone can always have a good day. But on the whole, the locals will always try to help tourists who’ve gotten lost and relish in the chance to practice their English. As you’d expect in most European cities, the locals and most places are dog-friendly (within reason, naturally). Don’t worry about walking into a locals-only bar, the locals enjoy bumping into visitors to their city and chatting about the differences.

P.s. It’s not “Rock-Claw” or “Rock-Lor”, The correct pronunciation is “Vrots-Lav”  or your best attempt. 😛

We really hope you’ve enjoyed our first travel blog! If you’re ever in Wroclaw, do pay us a visit! Or let us know what how you’ve got on 🙂

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