Sky Tower Viewpoint in Wrocław

Sky Tower viewpoint in Wrocław on a Sunny Saturday – The Build-Up

My wife and I took the lift up to the 49th floor of Sky Tower on a Saturday. The plan that Saturday morning was clear – to book tickets for the 16 p.m. slot just before sunset. Sunset was at around 16:20 p.m. Frankly, we were very lucky that day for two reasons. First of all, I myself had left booking tickets online until the last minute. When I went onto the Sky Tower online ticket booking system, there were only two tickets left. Secondly, it was a sunny day bereft of clouds. Perfect for panoramic views and sunset snaps then.

We got to Sky Tower almost an hour before “departure time”. The idea behind this was to find the lift to the viewpoint and have a cup of tea inside Sky Tower. It’s worth pointing out that Sky Tower boasts three floors full of cafes, restaurants, sports facilities and boutique shops. 

Honestly, I’m glad we decided to try to locate the entrance area to the lift up to the observation deck in advance. I had simply assumed that the shopping area would be full of signs and arrows to the lift. Astonishingly, it wasn’t. Like quite a few other people, my wife and I wandered around the shopping area in a daze for around 10 minutes trying to find the lift. Eventually, we followed a couple (who had earlier asked us where the lift was) out of the western entrance of the shopping area onto Gwiaździsta Street. It soon materialised that they’d been correctly informed as to the whereabouts of the entrance to the waiting area. Twenty metres or so to the right of the exit of the shopping centre, the sign PUNKT WIDOKOWY (VIEWPOINT) above the entrance to the waiting area revealed everything we needed to know.

I should have consulted Google Maps on this one as it does clearly mark the entrance area to the lift.

High-speed elevator to the 49th floor of Sky Tower

We entered the waiting area in front of the lift at around 15:50 p.m. It’s worth getting there early so you’re among the first group of visitors to take the lift up to the 49th floor. The viewing deck only accommodates a maximum of 30 visitors at a time. Therefore, it’s not possible to jam 30 people into the lift at once. Therefore, I believe the lift ascends twice if over half of the tickets per each time slot are sold.

With the lift travelling at a speed of four metres per second, it doesn’t take long to reach the 49th floor.

Just about worth the fee

Emerging from the lift, it was clear that ongoing renovation works were being carried out at the viewpoint. Frankly, I didn’t mind as you only get around 20 minutes to take in the views. It’s hardly as if there’s time to admire the interiors, drink coffee in a cafe (there isn’t one) or read information boards.

Having already been blown away by the 360-degree views of Gdańsk, the surrounding Tri-city area and the Baltic coast from the 32nd floor of the 180-metre-tall Olivia Star in Gdańsk, my expectations of Sky Tower in Wrocław were high. However, I was a little disappointed to find out that only half of the viewing floor is available. Not the 360-degree views I had anticipated then. 

So, the Sky Tower viewpoint in Wrocław offers views out to the south-west, namely Ślęża mountain, and to the north-east, including the Old Town. Sadly, it’s not possible to see the whole of Cathedral Island (Ostrów Tumski) and the green areas in the east of Wrocław.

In all truth, my biggest gripe is that the windows were dirty. The shots I took of the sunset would look much better if the windows had been clean. I don’t expect a high-rise window cleaner to clean the windows every day. Nevertheless, the dirtiness of the windows spoilt the panoramic experience a little bit.

Overall, as the pictures below prove, it is worth heading up to the observation deck at sunset time. For the experience, I think that it is worth paying 25 zł for the panoramic views even though you don’t get a complete 360-degree perspective of Wrocław. Maybe it’ll be possible to see more of Wrocław and the surrounding areas out towards the east after the renovation works have been completed.