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(Since 1980 on
the UNESCO heritage list)
Warsaw
has a reputation of being 85 % destroyed in the WW II. Visiting the city is an
experience, and not only for the reason that it is a town in principle less than
60 years old. The City of Warsaw is the modern business, cultural and entertainment
centre of Poland with 1.7 Mln. inhabitants.
Many skyscrapers appeared
after 1990 in the new city centre. It is not without a point that the Warsaw skyline
now ranks 7th in Europe leaving behind Milan, Berlin, Manchester or Barcelona.
Here, an interesting tension is produced by the oppositions of the past, communist
legacies and the market-oriented present. Warsaw is, however, a surprisingly safe
city with a busy, traffic-ridden downtown. Old Town Apartments invite you into
the most charming areas of the Polish capital, a haven in the city centre.
Warsaw's
Old Town is a painstakingly brick-to-brick recreation of a Mediaeval City loaded
with small charming lanes, stately homes, vibrant squares, quiet courtyards with
apple trees, and several churches with spires rising up to the sky.
Strolling
around the redbrick fortification walls you quickly assess the town's moderate,
but navigable size. The historic areas, however, surpassed the stern boundaries
of the 16th century old town. The old centre is divided into four parts.
1. Old Town proper - the oldest historical core of Warsaw: sumptuous Old
Market Square, the Cathedral, Royal Castle, the Barbakan wall. (stay
in the old town)
2. New Town (16th century) - relatively Bohemian
area with the nicest cafes and deft food in the restaurants to go to. (stay
in the new town)
3. Mariensztat - light and atmospheric, located
close to the river. Mariensztat is simple and pleasant. Where time passes slowly
by. (stay in Mariensztat)
4. The Royal Route area - Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat and Plac
Trzech Krzyzy - the most beautiful Warsaw boulevard split into several sections.
An old link between the Royal Castle Square (in
the Old Town) and the summer kings' residences in the south of the city (Lazienki
and Wilanow). |
