The Stadtplatz is one of the longest closed market squares in Austria, running roughly 400 metres east to west through the heart of the old town. The Ledererturm anchors the western end and the Stadtpfarrkirche the east; in between, a continuous run of pastel facades — baroque, Renaissance and a few earlier Gothic gables — lines both sides. Most of the ground-floor arcades have been turned into cafes and shops.
It is the natural place to start any visit to Wels. Walk the length once for the architecture, then again at street level for the food markets that fill the square on weekday mornings. The Wednesday and Saturday farmers' market is small but proper — Upper Austrian cheeses, sausages from the Mühlviertel, river fish from the Traun.