Stora Torget — Big Square — has been the centre of Visby since the city's Hanseatic boom. The Sankt Karin ruin dominates the east side; the surrounding step-gabled merchants' houses are 17th- and 18th-century but stand on much older cellars. In summer the cafe terraces fill, and the square hosts open-air concerts and the climactic jousts during Medieval Week.
There is also a working market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, selling Gotland lamb, smoked fish, saffron buns, and the famous Gotland honey. Even out of season, stop here for a fika — the Swedish coffee-and-pastry ritual that the locals take very seriously.