For couples

Things to do for couples in Lower Silesia: walks, viewing towers, theatres and museums for a date or a trip for two. Pick what suits you.

Where should you go on a date in Wrocław?

Wrocław gives you several outings in one city. The Market Square is one of the largest old-town squares in Europe, with a central block holding the Old and New Town Halls. For a shared evening, a hall beats the street: the Wrocław Opera works in a historic building from 1841 on Świdnicka Street, rebuilt twice after fires, and the National Forum of Music on Plac Wolności has an organ and four halls. The Polish Theatre plays on three stages in a building from 1906, and the Wrocław Puppet Theatre has a repertoire for adults too.

For a walk by the Oder, choose the Zwierzyniecka Footbridge from 1976, beside Great Island and the Zoo, or the Peace Bridge from 1959, built where the Lessing bridge stood until 1945. We have gathered all the ideas for couples in the city on the page for couples in Wrocław.

Where can you enjoy a view together?

Towers and viewing platforms suit a shared outing, because the goal is clear and the way leaves time to talk. On top of Wielka Sowa stands a concrete tower from 1906, the highest point of the Owl Mountains. In the Śnieżnik Massif you will find a wooden tower on Trójmorski Wierch by the Czech border, and in Nowa Ruda a historic sandstone tower on St Anne's Hill. Above Lądek-Zdrój a steel platform on the Trojak summit gives a view of the town and the Sudeten ranges.

If you prefer a view without climbing, visit Zakręt Śmierci (Death's Bend), a viewpoint on the Sudeten Road with a panorama of the Giant Mountains and the Jelenia Góra Valley. In Jelenia Góra the Castle Gate Tower from 1584 is the only surviving part of the medieval city gate, today a viewing platform. More ideas in this city are on the page for couples in Jelenia Góra.

What can you see underground and in the mountains?

An underground route makes an unusual date. In Głuszyca the Riese Włodarz underground complex is the largest part of the Riese project open to tourists in the Owl Mountains, with about 3,200 metres of tunnels, an underground cinema and a boat crossing. In Kowary the Podgórze Mine is a former uranium ore mine from 1950-1958, today a tourist route with an exhibition of glowing uranium glass. In Karpacz the interactive exhibition Giant Mountains Mysteries, about the Mountain Spirit and the legends of the Giant Mountains, has been open underground since 2011.

For lovers of rough landscapes, the Giant Mountains hold the Snowy Cirques, two glacial cirques between Wielki Szyszak and Łabski Szczyt, under strict protection in the Karkonosze National Park. In Pilchowice the dam on the Bóbr river is the highest stone and arch dam in Poland, with a working hydroelectric plant.

What can two do when it rains?

Museums with the Rainy day tag do the job here. In Wrocław the town hall houses the Museum of Bourgeois Art with the Gallery of Famous Wrocławians, and the Royal Palace holds the City Museum with the exhibition 1000 Years of Wrocław. The Museum of Games and Computers of a Bygone Era in the Świebodzki Station building is the first retro computing museum in Poland, with over 200 computers and consoles and 500 handheld consoles. The Małgosia Gallery in the Old Town shows paintings by local artists.

Outside Wrocław, check the WENA Motoring Museum in Oława with hundreds of vehicles and exhibitions from the communist era, the Earth Museum in Kletno with a collection of dinosaur egg nests, the Trail of Vanishing Trades open-air museum in Kudowa-Zdrój with pottery shows and a historic windmill, and the Historical Museum in Lubin, which has four locations. All the Lubin ideas are on the page for couples in Lubin.

Where can you find castles, walls and old towns?

For history lovers, the Kłodzko Fortress has a system of fortifications from the 17th and 18th centuries with surface routes and underground countermine tunnels. Details for this town are on the page for couples in Kłodzko. The castle ruins in Bolków have the oldest surviving window in Poland and the round Dziobowa Tower. In Lwówek Śląski, a walk around the market square laid out in the 13th century is suggested by the page for couples in Lwówek Śląski.

In Zgorzelec a granite railway bridge from 1847 joins the town with German Görlitz, and in Lewin Kłodzki a working stone railway viaduct from 1903-1905 crosses the Klikawa valley. In Lądek-Zdrój an arboretum waits at 475-500 m above sea level, the highest in Poland. For Wałbrzych, Świdnica and Nowa Ruda, look at the pages Wałbrzych, Świdnica and Nowa Ruda.

How do you build a weekend for two?

The simplest way is to combine one cultural place with one view. In Jelenia Góra an evening at the Norwid Theatre, active since 1904 in an Art Nouveau building on Wojska Polskiego Avenue, pairs well with a morning climb of the Castle Gate Tower. In Wrocław there is time before the opera for the footbridge over the Oder, and after it for dinner. In the mountains, plan one day with a tower or a viewpoint and a second, calmer one underground or in a museum, so you do not depend on the weather. Such a plan works in every season, because about half of this list carries the Rainy day tag.

Frequently asked questions

What should we do on a first date in Wrocław?

Walk around the Market Square and along the Oder, then spend an evening at the theatre or the opera. When it rains, a museum works, for example the Museum of Games and Computers of a Bygone Era.

Where is a romantic view outside the city?

On the viewing towers: Wielka Sowa, Trójmorski Wierch, St Anne's Hill in Nowa Ruda or the Trojak platform above Lądek-Zdrój. For an easier view, drive to Death's Bend.

What can two do when it rains?

Choose underground sites and museums: Riese Włodarz, the Podgórze Mine, Giant Mountains Mysteries or the Wrocław town hall. All carry the Rainy day tag.

Are all the towers accessible?

No. The Bismarck Tower on Jańska Góra is a ruin, fenced off and with no access to the platform, so do not plan it as a climbing goal.