Sightseeing of Wrocław by the Oder
‘Wrocław feels good on the Oder,’ says the slogan that promoted the city a few years ago. There is no exaggeration in it – you only need to take a walk along the new boulevards on the Oder to see how beautiful they have become, and the mutual feeling of the city and the river flourishes.
You can start your walk from the Market Hall. It one of the must-see points on the route of excursions visiting Wrocław. It attracts tourists with its unique architecture and market fair atmosphere, its tradition dating back to the beginning of the 20th century.
Right beside it, there is the Xawery Dunikowski Boulevard. The broad promenade with a shining new appearance has many short and long benches to rest on. The profiled hill grown with grass invites you to relax in a horizontal position. Amphitheatre stairs have quickly become the most popular spot in this part of the Oder quay – it is a place to relax and a viewpoint with a magnificent panorama of Ostrów Tumski and the Piotr Włostowic Boulevard on the other side of the river. The broad stairs are used also by water sports fans and captains of tourist ships. On hot summer days, you can also cool down here with water flowing from the stairs.
Going up the river, you will pass the Gondolas Bay (you can hire a kayak or boat here and continue sightseeing from the water level) and reach the National Museum.
Boulevards and Polinka
Going through the footbridge under the Peace Bridge (Most Pokoju), you will reach the Boulevard of Maria and Lech Kaczyński. On one side, it is covered by the building of the Provincial Office; on the other side, it provides a view of the campus of the University of Wrocław. Apart from benches and stone stairs, you can also find here a huge open-air couch.
From this bench you can see accurately one of Wrocław’s most characteristic structures – the Grunwaldzki Bridge, which is an over 100 years' old huge steel and stone construction. Near the bridge, the first house on the water in Wrocław is moored. Launched by Kamil Zaremba in 2013, it attracts the attention of inhabitants and visitors, but nobody has been brave enough to live on the Oder so far.
Going across the Słowacki Coast, you will reach the Oławski Bridge made of stone. Right beside it, there is the Polinka cable railway station. From there, a cable car will take you to the other side of the Oder. During this 3-minute journey, you can admire a view of the Grunwaldzki Bridge and Ostrów Tumski on one side and of the historic Pressure Tower and the campus of the Wrocław University of Technology.
From the Polinka station near the Wyspiański Coast, there are only two steps to the boulevard of the Wrocław University of Technology (Bulwar Politechniki). It is not only a place to walk – you can find here beach football fields, picnic spots, a strip of beach and a harbour for kayaks, boats and motorboats. The boulevard is an excellent place to relax before another stage of the excursion to the Zoo, the Szczytnicki Park and the Centennial Hall.