Warsaw City Guide

The images of Warsaw as a dull concrete jungle, a wasteland of Soviet-era housing with little appeal remain only with those who haven't visited this vibrant city in the past 10 years.

The city does undoubtedly have its fair share of problems and whole swathes of its suburbs dominated by unsightly Socialist architecture, but this is only part of the picture. Warsaw is also a modern metropolis, with an impressive cultural scene, thriving nightlife, and a string of intriguing attractions.

And it's a survivor - by the end of WWII, roughly 85% of the city lay in ruins and most of the population had fled, been killed, deported or sent to concentration camps. More than a third of Warsaw's pre-war population was Jewish, although there are hardly any traces of this heritage remaining, as the city's prosperous Jewish community was decimated by the end of the war.

Much of Warsaw's historic centre was painstakingly recreated in the years after WWII, in a move by the communist authorities, which surprised the citizens of the city as it much as it did the West. The strikingly successful rebuilding of Warsaw's Old Town was finally rewarded in 1980, when the entire complex earned its place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Warsaw spans the Wisla (Vistula River) but most of the main tourist sites, including the historic centre, are on the left bank. The right bank contains the increasingly fashionable Praga district.

The tourist epicentre of the city is the ‘Royal Route', which runs north-south from the New and Old Towns, past the fashionable shops of Nowy Świat, the palaces that survived the war and the royal gardens of Łazienki Park, before reaching Wilanów Palace to the south of the city centre.

The city also boasts many green spaces, with leafy parks where rowing boats cruise past outdoor cafes, during the summer, and free classical concerts attract crowds in a scene far removed from the dull Communist-era images of Warsaw.

The nightlife scene today is one of the best in Eastern Europe, with a multitude of bars and clubs scattered across the city, and the dining options have improved no end, with international cuisine regularly featured alongside Polish standards.

The peak tourist season is from May to October, when the weather is most pleasant; January and February are the coldest months, where temperatures can drop well below zero.