The central square of Hrodna is a wide, pleasantly proportioned space ringed with pastel-coloured buildings of various periods. The Jesuit Pharmacy on the corner dates from around 1700 and is an unusually well-preserved example of 18th-century urban architecture in Belarus; most of its contemporaries were destroyed in the wars of the 20th century. The square itself is the focal point of the pedestrian area and a good place to start exploring the old town.
Soviet-era additions give the square its current name, but the underlying urban fabric is older. The streets radiating from it — particularly Savieckaja Street (formerly Sovetskaya), the main pedestrian axis — have a good concentration of cafes, shops, and small restaurants. Evenings here are livelier than you might expect for a Belarusian city this far from Minsk.