Schwerin's Marktplatz is a manageable, human-scaled square surrounded by gabled merchant houses and overlooked by the neo-Gothic Rathaus — the town hall — with its distinctive red-and-white facade from the mid-nineteenth century. The cathedral spire is visible from the square, and the whole ensemble has the well-preserved, slightly sleepy character of a small German state capital that never had to rebuild after wartime bombing.
The market operates on the square on most weekday mornings. It is a local affair — vegetables, flowers, cheese — rather than a tourist market, which makes it more interesting. The surrounding streets of the Altstadt have a scattering of independent cafes and shops worth wandering through.