OLD AND NEW IN WARSAW
Plenty to see in Poland’s capital
Almost every month brings something new in Warsaw. With nearly two million people, Poland’s capital city has been developing fast ever since the once-communist nation joined the European Union in 2004. From skating parks and rooftop gardens to historic palaces and some of Europe’s most modern buildings, visitors of all ages will find plenty do see and do in this city that aspires to be trendy.
Here are some suggestions:
WHAT’S NEW
The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews that opened in October has become the centre of the city’s reborn Jewish culture. The multimedia museum tells the 1,000-year glorious and tragic history of Jewish life in Poland — a world that all but ended in the Holocaust. The museum is located in an area that was the heart of the Jewish Ghetto during the Second World War. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, but is free on Thursdays.
Most of Warsaw’s tourist attractions are on the left, or western bank of the Vistula River. But the new Soho Factory area in Minska Street 25, in the somewhat forgotten Praga district on the east- ern bank, is well worth crossing the river to see. The pre- Second World War ammunition depot and postwar motorbike factory was an abandoned, rundown neighbourhood, just like industrial sections of downtown New York City, before being turned into an arts community with galleries, exhibition and conference space, a chic restaurant and a museum about life under communism. The museum offers tours of communist-era architecture, a look at a typical small apartment, a taste of cherry vodka and a ride in a militia van.
CLASSIC ATTRACTIONS
Don’t miss the Old Town: colourful Renaissance houses on cobbled stone streets, rebuilt from the ruins of the Second World War. The story of the city’s 1944 struggle is told by the Warsaw Rising Museum.
For a panoramic view of Warsaw, go to the 30th floor of the iconic eyesore, the Palace of Culture and Science. It was an unwanted gift from Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1955 and recently celebrated its 60th birthday, having survived repeated calls to be torn down as a symbol of communist-era oppression. It remains Poland’s tallest building, at 237 metres (778 feet).
TIPS
Get a day ticket for using mass transit at 15 zlotys ($4 US) for adults ( half that price for children). It’s good for bus, tram and subway, but make sure to have it read by a ticket scanner on first use.
City transport is on time and reliable. It’s good to have a city map with the stops marked, but if you get lost, most young people speak English and are eager to help.
HANGING OUT
The Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the Nowy wiat street are lined with cafés and eateries. For a hipster climate, go to Savior Square (Plac Zbawiciela).
On both sides of the Vistula there are clubs and cafes. The new Vistula Boulevards will make them more accessible