Warsaw Guide

The City

Situated on the Vistula River, Warsaw has been the capital of Poland for hundreds of years, but you wouldn’t think by looking at it that it was such a long-established European city. Warsaw was more or less flattened by the Wehrmacht during World War Two then completely reconstructed afterwards. Even the picturesque Old Town (Stare Miasto) – home to the Royal Castle, Market Place and St John’s Cathedral – was rebuilt brick by brick according to old prints, photographs and paintings. The Communist Era bequeathed Warsaw some surprisingly attractive buildings, most notably the enormous Palace of Culture and Science, which once towered over the city unchallenged but now jostles for attention amid numerous modern skyscrapers.

Warsaw - Old Town Square

Today, with roughly 1.7 million inhabitants, Warsaw is a vibrant and constantly changing city. The traditional pierogi bars (named after the dumplings that are Poland’s pasta) sit alongside a wealth of new ethnic eateries and the citizens are – for the most part – warm and welcoming. There are also generous green spaces, such as the Łazienki Royal Gardens and the Botanical Gardens (Ogród Botaniczny), while the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) offers an eloquent summary of Poland’s often troubled history.