Wroclaw

Wroclaw 

Poland 

 With 41,148 votes, Wroclaw (Travel Destination) is awarded the title of European Best Destination 2018! This beautiful city, called the "Polish Venice" is surrounded with canals and is dotted with more than 120 bridges that link 12 wonderful islands (among which the Cathedral island). You will be seduced by the incredible charm of Wroclaw ( Travel Destination), the Market Square "Rynek", its two Town Halls, the Salt Market Square, the Flower Market, the beautiful University, the covered market, the fine architecture of the Centeniall Hall, the botanical garden. You fancy a good lunch ? Have a break at "Piwnica Świdnicka": it is the oldest restaurant in the world! Walk around in "Ostrów Tumski", the oldest part of Wroclaw ( Travel Destination) and fall under the spell of the historical city. Take a closer look and watch carefully : Wroclaw ( Travel Destination) is dotted with emblematic dwarves. They are all different! Try to find them all: there are 350 of them in the city and there are new ones every year! You can also discover Worclaw by boat or in a city tour with electric car. Do not miss the opportunity to discover the best of Wroclaw, its inhabitants! They are warm and friendly and will share their love for their city and its hidden gems. Wroclaw is THE European best Travel destination 2018!

Additionally, the city attracts the visitors with the comprehensive offer of its cultural institutions, i.e. Wroclaw Opera, Capitol Musical Theatre, Polish Theatre, and the Grotowski Institute. Wroclaw is frequently a host of the international summits on politics and economy (i.e. Wroclaw Global Forum) and sports events (i.e. Euro 2012, Volleyball World Championship 2014). Thanks to its modern airport with regular direct flights service to dozens of European destinations, the city is easy to access. The heart of the city is Rynek Square with the exposing Late Gothic town hall which ranks among the finest town halls in Europe. The town hall boasts a richly ornamented facade and an astronomical clock from 1580. Many interiors are well preserved and worth visiting. A famous restaurant Piwnica Swidnicka is a perfect example of the Gothic cellar.

One of the most interesting museums in Wroclaw (Travel Destination) is Museum of Architecture situated in the former Bernardine church and Monastery. Another attraction is the Panorama of Raclawice - the rotunda purpose-built to display one painting which can be admired from the special lift inside. The gem of Baroque is Leopoldinum Hall at the University building which houses the statues of Habsburg emperors, paintings and frescoes. On the other side of the Oder River, there is a former island of Ostrow Tumski - the oldest part of the town and the heart of the religious life with many interesting churches and chapels. One of the most extraordinary building is Hala Ludowa "People’s Hall" [1913] which constitutes one of the first and finest examples of a fascination with the reinforced concrete in the European architecture. For a few years Wroclaw (Travel DEstination) has been known for the fantastic music events which gained the world reputation - International Festival of Wratlislavia Cantans, The Festival of Old Masters and Organ Music but first of all thanks to the huge shows of Wroclaw Opera in the Wroclaw People's Hall. Wroclaw Opera is famous for experimenting, staging unknown and forgotten operas, introducing theatrical activities and using unconventional places for its shows like "Tosca" on the open air or "La Gioconda" on the Odra river.

 The new National Forum of Music (NFM) (Travel Destination) is a performing arts organization established after merging the W. Lutoslawski Philharmonic with the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans. At the same time, the NFM is also a cutting-edge concert hall located in Wroclaw and the largest complex of this kind in Central and Eastern Europe. The building itself was built according to the design by Kurylowicz & Associates Architecture Studio.

Out of town is Ksiaz - one of the biggest and the most impressive castle (Travel Destination) beautifully located on the hill and surrounded by the lush woods. The castle has over 400 rooms! The biggest attractions of the castle are 12 terraced gardens and the Baroque Maximilian Hall. Near the castle, there is a stud farm and an equestrian centre. Another interesting sight is the Pszczyna castle – the museum of interiors contains about 80% of the original decorations from the turn of the 19th century. The French Neo-Renaissance castle is surrounded by the large landscape park.