My personal guide to Warsaw

A friend asked me lately to give him some information on what to see in Warsaw (Warszawa) and in Cracow (Kraków) and I thought this might be a good starting point for my official big Come Back. I’ve been really busy this past year, working and travelling a lot (why wouldn’t I, this is after all my Kashmir Road which I like to follow) so please forgive me for a long break – hopefully I will be able to make it up to you all.

So, here it is –this time for my friends from abroad (and those in Poland who can speak English;-))) – my personal guide to…

WARSAW

I can call Warsaw my third hometown – after Kraków and New York City. Since there is an eternal animosity between people from Kraków and from Warsaw (which I guess started sometime in 1600s when king Zygmunt III Waza moved the capital of Poland from Warsaw to Kraków), as a true Cracovian, I was never really fond of Warsaw. Thinking about where I could live my life I always imagined any other place but Warsaw. But fate likes to laugh in our face, and 13 years ago I got a job in Warsaw and, wanting or not, I started my new life here.

At first I didn’t like the city, so different to the laid back Kraków or lively NYC. The architecture in the city center made my heart bleed – ugly socialistic blocks of flats right next to the first tall (and quite nice) office buildings – the city was completely destroyed during the II World War and I guess no one put any urban thought into putting the buildings into a nice order when rebuilding it. I was used to spending my life on the main square of the city with both local people and tourists around me, having fun until the wee hours of the morning (which could be said both about Kraków and NYC). But Warsaw was a different place – quite busy during the day, but divided between the city center (for local people) and the Old Town (just for tourists), with streets getting empty around 11 pm (including weekends).

But over the years, the city changed completely – more and more new, tall buildings are built, hiding the ugly blocks of flats between them. More clubs, pubs and restaurants are opened, so now you can party all night long or have a taste of any kitchen in the world. There are plenty of theatres where you can see the best Polish actors known from movies or TV. And the Old City is not a forgotten place anymore. I found places that I like a lot, that bring back the history (even if a reconstructed one) or are just for fun or nice to look at. No other city in Poland is so green, with so many city parks around. So now, I can sincerely say, that is it worth to visit Warsaw – the capital of Poland.

Old and new building combined

Old Town

Marszałkowska Street

City Center by night

Palace of Culture and Science

Złote Tarasy

Palace of Culture and Science

There’s a lot to see in Warsaw, both new and old (although you have to remember that Warsaw was heavily destroyed during the II World War, so most of the old looking buildings and monuments are actually a reconstruction of what they used to be before the war).

The city center next to the Central Train Station is the modern part of the city with skyscrapers and unusual buildings like Złote Tarasy – the shopping center right next to the train station (a good place for some shopping). Also there is the Palace of Science and Culture close to the train station – this is one of the tallest buildings in Warsaw, the remains of the communistic times in Poland – it was a gift to Poland from the Soviet Union, so there’s quite a lot of people in Warsaw that want to tear down. I actually like that building and I think it’s one of the landmarks of the city. Anyway, now there are several theatres here, a concert hall, a movie theater, science museum (even though a little dusty one) – a lot is going on. It’s worth going on top of it with a fast elevator – the view of the city is amazing. In the Palace (right opposite the street from Złote Tarasy) is the tourist information – they have a lot of free maps and information on what to see in Warsaw, so it’s a good starting point to do the sightseeing.

The Palace of Culture and Science

Warsaw skyscrapers

Złote Tarasy

City center

Warsaw skyscrapers

Palace of Culture and Science

From the city center I recommend to take a walk towards the Old Town (you can also take a bus or a train to go there, but the walk I will describe allows you to see some additional landmarks of the city) – this is my favourite route, and I usually take visiting friends on the walk there. Starting from the Palace of Science and Culture you should go towards Grzybowski Square (plac Grzybowski) – there is a nice church there with a small park in front of it. Also, behind the tall apartment building a synagogue is hidden – I don’t think you can visit it (they open it for visitors on some occasions, but unless you are Jewish I don’t think you can go inside on a regular day) but it’s nice to see from the outside. This part of the city used to be the Jewish quarter – you can still see some old buildings from before the war there, although right now they are undergoing a heavy renovation. At the end of the summer there is a Jewish Festival on Grzybowski Square, with concerts of Jewish music, stalls with traditional Jewish food and things – if you are in Warsaw at that time, you should definitely visit it.

Grzybowski Square

Jewish Festival

The Synagogue

Grzybowski Square

Grzybowski Square - the old Jewish ghetto buildings

From Grzybowski Square, you should go towards Królewska Street – on the corner of Królewska and Marszałkowska Street you will find a big park called Saski Garden (Saski Ogród) – you should take a walk through it – do find a round white building overlooking a pound with ducks swimming in it (it’s an old water pump built to look like the Vesta Temple in Tivoli) – it’s one of my favourite places in Warsaw. Also at the end of the main alley there is a big white fountain – behind it there is a Grave of the Unknown Soldier – soldiers from the representative squad guard it day and night and there’s always a fire burning inside of it. This is actually a remaining part of the huge palace that was located there – you can see a miniature of that palace between the fountain and the Grave. There was an idea to rebuild that palace a few year ago, but I think they gave up on it.

The Unknown Soldier Grave

The Water Pump in Saski Garden

Saski Garden

In front of the Grave there is a big Square (many public events take place there – when the Pope John Paul II visited Poland this is the place where he held a mess for the people from Warsaw – you can still see a big cross left in memory of that event). Standing with your back to the Grave on the right (a little to the back) you will see a big white building – it’s Zachęta Gallery (mostly with modern art exhibitions), famous, because the first Polish president was shot there by a mad man. To the left you will see a modern building – the Metropolitan (constructed by the same architect that constructed the so called “Cucumber” building in London) – do go inside to the courtyard – there’s my favourite fountain there – the dancing fountain – check out how the water changes and children play in it. Behind that building the National Opera is located (which is also worth a visit, if you have time and luck try to get tickets to the opera show).

Piłsudski Square

The fountains in Metropolitan building

From there you should go towards Krakowskie Przedmieście – the street that goes towards the Old Town – you should enter it around Bristol Hotel – one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in town. Next to it (to the left) the President’s Palace is located. Continue along the street –at the end of the street you will see a big square with the Castle (to the right) and Zygmunt III Waza column (he was the king that changed the capital of Poland from Kraków to Warsaw, remember?) – this is the beginning of the Old Town. From the bridge over the street that goes under the square you can see the Vistula River and the National Stadium (a big, round, red and white building) on the other side of the river. You can visit the Castle – they have a permanent exhibition showing the rooms of the castle and usually some temporary ones – some exhibitions are for free. It’s even worth just to see the courtyard.

The National Stadium

The Castle Square

The President's Palace

One of the churches on Krakowskie Przedmieście

The Castle

Krakowskie Przedmieście

The Castle

Krakowskie Przedmieście

The National Stadium

The Castle Square - Christmas Time

From the Castle walk towards the main square of the Old Town - with beautiful old houses and cafes. If you go through the middle street towards the square you will pass several interesting churches including the Cathedral. In the middle of the square there is a statue of a mermaid – mermaid is a symbol of Warsaw (there is a legend about the mermaid called Sawa that lived in the Vistula River and a young man called Wars, who fell in love with her – you can guess how the city got its name;-))) and you will find more statues of the mermaid around the city.

The Marmaid on the Main Square

One of the streets of Old Town

The Cathedral

The entrance to one of the churches in the Old Town

One of the streets of Old Town

The Main Square of Old Town

From the square go right to Celna Street – at the end turn left – there is a small terrace overviewing the river. Turn left into Dawna Street – a small and beautiful street with a blue closed balcony over the street, connecting the buildings. Go back to the main square and walk towards Nowomiejska street – this street ends with Barbakan – a round tower/gate and with city walls. Go through the gate of Barbakan and continue straight ahead – you are entering the New Town. Continue until you will see the main square of the New Town on your left – go towards the church at the end of the square, turn left and then right (you will see another, brick church on the left) – go towards the stairs that go down to yet another fountain – in the summer on Fridays and Saturdays, at 9:30 pm, there’s a fountain light and sound show, which is really worth seeing. On the way back – go back towards the Barbakan and instead of entering the Old Town, go to your right, along the city walls – at some point you will see a small monument of a boy in a helmet and carrying a gun – this is a young uprising fighter, a symbol of all the children that fought during the II World War in Warsaw. At the end of the city walls you will go back to the Castle – there are bus and tram stops there, so you can catch one there.

The Fountains

The Barbakan

The New Town

The house where Maria Skłodowska Curie was born

The New Town Square

The Fountains

The New Town

The Barbakan

City walls

The Little Uprising Fighter

The Old Town

City walls and the Castle

The Fountains - Light show

The little Uprising Fighter

The other thing that is worth visiting in Warsaw is Łazienki Park – a big park, where the Palace on the Water, the President’s residence (called Belweder) and the famous Chopin monument is located. It’s really big, so be prepared for a long walk, but it’s nice with peacocks and ducks and squirrels looking for something to eat (and don’t forget to feed the big fish in the pound as well). Close to the park there is another castle – Ujazdowski Castle, where a gallery of modern art is located. If you go behind the castle, you will see nice terraces with ponds and fountains, which were build in a similar way to Versaille gardens.

Palace on the Water

Łazienki Park

Chopin Monument

Łazienki Park

The peacock

Palace on the Water

Łazienki Park

Palace on the Water

Another peacock

Palace on the Water

King Jan III Sobieski Monument

You can also go to Wilanów Palace, which is a little bit farther from the city center. This was the favourite palace of king Jan III Sobieski – the one that won over the Turks in the famous battle under Vienna. You can visit the inside of the palace as well as have a walk around the beautiful gardens around it. There’s a nice little church close to the entrance to the Palace which is nice to see as well.

If you want to see some museums, you should definitely go to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. This is a multimedia museum, really interesting, showing, day by day, how the uprising happened (http://www.1944.pl/en/).

The Warsaw Uprising Museum

Another museum which is fun to visit is Copernicus Center (http://www.kopernik.org.pl/en/) – this is a science museum, but also multimedia – you can take part in some of the exhibitions. Be prepared for a lot of children running around. If you decide to go there you should also go to the movie show in the observatory. Right next to this museum is the Warsaw University Library – a very interesting building, with a roof garden that you can visit (it has a nice view of the Old Town and the river).

Copernicus Center

The Garden on the roof of the University Library

Another multimedia museum is Chopin Museum (http://chopin.museum/en/new/exposition/id/212), showing the life and work of the famous Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. When you walk around the city you may notice black stone benches with some inscription on top of it – these are musical benches with information about life of Chopin – when you press the button you will hear some music composed by Chopin. Close to the Chopin Museum you may notice a small fountain with the duck wearing a crown on her head – there is a legend about the Golden Duck, who supposedly lived under the buildings there, guarding unimaginable treasures.

The Golden Duck

The Chopin Museum

If you are interested in Jewish history of the city, you can try to find a part of the original ghetto wall – you have to look for the small sign on Złota Street (close to the John Paul II street) – the entrance is between the shops and you will find it in the courtyard between some apartment buildings. Also, there is a new Jewish history museum – the permanent exhibition will be open in autumn 2014 but the building is already opened for the city and I’m told it’s very interesting (something I have to check out in the near future). You will find a lot of monuments around the city related to Jewish history and a big (and beautiful) old Jewish cemetery.

Ghetto Wall

To be continued...

Kashmir Road - the road less travelled...

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wtorek, 17 czerwca 2014

My personal guide to Warsaw

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