Ostrów Tumski is the oldest part of Wrocław — a small low island in the Odra where a fortified Slavic settlement existed from the 9th century. The bishopric was founded here in the year 1000, and the island still feels separate from the rest of the city: cobbled lanes, gas lamps lit by hand at dusk, and a cluster of Gothic ecclesiastical buildings dominated by the brick Cathedral of St John the Baptist with its twin spires.
It is best visited in the late afternoon — cross the iron Tumski Bridge (covered in love padlocks), wander the lanes, see the Cathedral, and stay long enough for the lamplighter to make his evening rounds. The bishop's gardens behind the cathedral are quietly impressive.