Today Warsaw is a city with many faces where tradition intermingles with modernity. From the terrace on Zamkowy Square, where the Royal Castle and St. Anne's Church are located, there is a view of the new Swietokrzyski Bridge. The dominating silhouette of the city centre belongs to the Palace of Culture and Science, which today shares the city skyline with numerous other office tower blocks. You can feel the heartbeat of history in the Old Town, on Nowy Swiat and everywhere else where the city's roots have been preserved.

A Colourful Old Town

Zamkowy Square, with Zygmunt's Column, is the most prominent feature of the Old Town. The 15th century Gothic St. John's Cathedral stands on the narrow Swietojanska Street. Its crypt houses the sarcophaguses of the princes of Mazovia and the tombs of many famous Poles. The cathedral is the summertime venue of the International Festival of Organ Music. Swietojanska Street leads into the Old Town Square with its colourful narrow-fronted tenement houses. The Old Town's history dates back to the early 14th century. Due to the painstaking reconstruction that followed the destruction during World War II, the Old Town was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980.
The Old Town's charming little streets and alleyways are home to numerous galleries, cafés and restaurants. In the Old Town Square, which in the summer becomes a busy open-air gallery, artists sell paintings, panoramas of Warsaw and portraits of passers-by. The Museum of the History of Warsaw can also be found in the square which presents the history of the city. On Saturday nights in the summer jazz concerts are staged here and horse-drawn carriages are on hand for visitors. Beyond the Barbican, the gate that completed the old defensive walls of the Old Town, is Freta Street which leads to the New Town founded in the early 15th century. The New Town Square is dominated by the Church of the Nuns of the Order of the Holy Sacrament. From here it is not far to the Baroque Church of the Franciscan Order and also Warsaw's oldest church, the Church of the Virgin Mary. The majestic Royal Castle was expanded during the reign of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, Poland's last monarch. Great academics, prominent architects and artists have worked here, including the artists Marcello Bacciarelli and Canaletto. Panoramas of 18th century Warsaw painted by the famous Italian artist hang in the Canaletto Room.

Royal Castle and Zygmunt's Column

 Walking along the Royal Route

Zamkowy Square is the starting point of the former Royal Route, which runs south to Wilanow Palace. On the embankment above the Vistula River stands St. Anne's Church, founded in the 15th century by Princess Anna of Mazovia, with Rococo and Classicist wall paintings and a large façade. From the church tower the view includes Mariensztat, an autonomous part of the city in the 18th century with its own laws and town hall. Nearby is Polonia House where the Museum of Industry and Trade can be found and where also Maria Sklodowska-Curie worked before leaving for France. Curie went on to discover radium and polonium, for which she was awarded with the Nobel Prize. On the same side of Krakowskie Przedmiescie stands the Radziwill Palace, which today is the residence of the president of Poland. A little further down the street, on the Warsaw University campus, is the Kazimierzowski Palace which was originally the summer residence of King Ladislas IV and later the home to the Knights' School where Tadeusz Kosciuszko was a student. Opposite the university, in the annex of Czapski Palace, was the parlour of Frederic Chopin's parents. Today the palace houses the Academy of Fine Arts. A number of elegant stores and restaurants are located on Nowy Swiat, an extension of Krakowskie Przedmiescie. Charles de Gaulle feasted on delicious pączki (doughnuts) from the Blikle Bakery when he was in Poland with a French military mission after World War I. Beyond Trzech Krzyzy Square is the Ujazdow Avenue with its adjacent park areas. The Botanical Gardens and Royal Lazienki Park, a magnificent palace-and-park complex founded by King Stanislaw August Poniatowski create a true oasis of green in the city centre. The Old Orangery preserves Europe's only 18th century court theatre with original fittings and beautiful wall paintings. There is also a sculpture gallery.

The Royal Route ends in Wilanow, where King Jan III Sobieski established his residence. The Baroque palace, surrounded by its historical park, has retained most of its collections and original features. The Poster Museum, located on the palace grounds, features the work of great contemporary Polish artists.

For Body and Spirit

Warsaw has plenty to offer music lovers. Events held here include the Mozart Festival, the Jazz Jamboree International Festival and the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music. Every five years, fans of Chopin's music gather here for the International Chopin Competition. Every summer, Chopin's music can still be heard every Sunday at the Chopin monument in Royal Lazienki Park. The National Museum houses a magnificent collection of Polish and foreign art. One of the collection's prize exhibits are valuable frescos discovered by Polish archaeologists in Farras in the Sudan.

Picturesque Environs

A stay in Warsaw need not be limited to visiting its historical sites. It is not far from Wilanow to Konstancin, famous for its exquisite residences and spa where therapeutic salt-saturated air helps patients suffering from pulmonary tract diseases. There are several forests and nature reserves within Warszawa's boundaries and on the edge of the city stands Kampinoski National Park. It is worth visiting Chopin's birthplace, now a museum, in Zelazowa Wola, where concerts are held regularly in the summer. Nearby Nieborow is site of the impressive residence of the Radziwill magnate family, surrounded by a picturesque park. Today the palace houses a museum. Just 5km away is the beautiful scenic park of Arkadia. Those seeking traces of the Vienna Secession style should go to nearby Lodz, where the architectural arrangements of the 19th century city as well as its historic industrial architecture have been preserved. Lodz is well known for its numerous bars and clubs on Piotrkowska Street.

The official website of Warsaw

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