The city does undoubtedly have its fair share of problems and whole swathes of its suburbs are indeed dominated by the less-than-imaginative creations of commuinist era architects. But there is far more to this metropolis, with a string of things to see, an impressive cultural scena and an increasingly liveli nightlife. Warsaw is a real survivor – the city’s current day existence, especially as a new addition to the European Union’s list of capital cities, is impressive in itself.

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 WW2 in a move by the communist authorities, which surprised the citizens of the city as it much as it did the West.

Some churlish critics have dismissed the ‘new’ Old Town as being nothing but an unconvincing fake, although the loss of the original was hardly Warsaw’s fault and many of Europe’s old towns have undergone similar refurbishment and rebuilding. Somewhat ironically, many of today’s Old Town buildings are closer to the original architecture than they were before destruction, as the alterations of the intervening centuries were not incorporated in the reconstruction.

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.

Situated in the Mazowieckie province, in east-central Poland, the city spans the Wisla (Vistula River) and most of the main tourist sites are on the left bank, while the right bank contains the increasingly fashionable Praga district.

The tourist epicentre of Warsaw is the “Royal Route”, which runs north-south from the New and Old Towns, past the fashionable shops of Nowy Swiat, the palaces that survived the war and the royal gardens of Lazienki Park, before reaching Wilanow Palace to the south of the city centre.

The city also boasts many green spaces with leafy parks where rowing boats cruise past outdoor cafés, 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 equally surprising, with clued-up and increasingly well dressed local youth flocking to the countless bars and clubs of a city that now buzzes after dark.

Although some could argue that Poland’s cultural and educational seat of power is found, equally, in Krakow, Warsaw is still very much Poland’s largest city and the focal point of the nation’s economical growth.

The peak tourist season is from May to October when the weather is most pleasant, although there will be some odd days when the temperature rises above 30°C (86°F). January and February are the coldest months and temperatures can drop as low as -30°C (-22°F).

Wilanow (or “Villa nova”) is probably one of the most beautiful buildings in Warsaw. The Wilanow Palace was built at the end of the 17th century for the king John III Sobieski and his wife. Many outstanding architects and artists participated in the Palace creation, including Michelangelo Palloni and Andrzej Schluter. The Baroque style palace is remarkable for its architecture: it’s a result of blending the European art with the Old-Polish building tradition.

After John III Sobieski’s death his son inherited the Palace. Since 1720 the Wilanow became the residence of powerful and wealthy noble dynasties: Lubomirski, Potocki, Branicki and others. The owners of the Palace adapted its interiors and surroundings to their needs, tastes or prevailing styles. That’s why the Palace bears features of different epochs. The most valuable sections of the palace represent three styles: the oldest, Baroque royal chambers are located in the central part of the building. The Southern wing and adjacent pavilion, which used to serve as a bathroom, were added according to the order of Isabel Lubomirski in the 18th century. The Northern wing contains rooms built and furnished by the Potocki family in the 19th century.

Unlike many other structures of Warsaw, the Wilanow Palace escaped destruction during the World War II. It was carefully preserved, and after the end of the war, the Palace itself, the surrounding gardens and the landscape park were turned into public museum and opened in 1962. For its beauty and magnificence the Wilonow Palace is often called the Polish Versailles.

The park and gardens, surrounding the Wilonow Palace, are full of surprises and hidden structures. Here one can find nice Chinese pavilion and Orangery.

The Wilonow Palace worthy visiting not only because of its striking architecture and luxurious interiors, but also for the works of art exhibited there. The Palace houses the Gallery of Polish portraiture with large collection of portraits from the 16th up to the 19th centuries. In the Orangery the outstanding examples of handicrafts are on display. They include precious objects of European ceramics, porcelain, furniture, glass, silver plates and other handmade things. The main goal of the exhibition is to show the unique pieces of the Wilanow collection and bring close to the public tastes and passions of the former owners of the Palace. At the same time the exhibition familiarizes the audience with everyday life in the past epochs, putting on the show plain, purely utilitarian objects.

Once you’re in the Wilonow Palace, you’ll enjoy the magnificent interiors, works of art and beautiful paintings.

The Polish Military Museum is situated within the same building as the National museum of Warsaw. The building was designed by architect Tadeucz Tolwinsky in functional style. The Supreme Commander, Marshall Jozef Pilsudski was the one who initiated the foundation of the Polish Military Museum in 1920.

The exposition of the museum is dedicated to the history of the Polish army. One of the sections contains the military objects used by the Polish formations during World War I. After World War II the museum received an invaluable gift of weapons, uniforms and other objects used by the Polish Armed Forces in the West. The collection of the museum is enlarged with gifts and donations made by the museums of other countries. For example, Germany presented several military standards dated back to 1939, Russia gave a valuable 17th century gun barrel, an officer uniform from the time of the Kosciuszko Rising, several standards and banners and a gun used by Marshall Pilsudski.

The permanent exposition of the Polish Military museum is very large. It includes the objects related to the story of Polish armed force from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary times. There are collections of edged weapons and firearms, banners and standards dating back to the 16th century, uniform of the 18th century and later, military orders and distinctions, equestrian, marine and aviation equipment, oriental and exotic arms. Among the museum’s possessions there are personal belongings of outstanding military leaders and commanders from Hetman Jan Tarnowski to Jozef Pilsudski.

In the museum there is a special Art Department. It contains a large collection of battle-scene paintings, graphics, posters and drawings. Some perfect examples of iconography are on a display. The collection includes small icons that the soldiers and officers carried with them during battles and hoped that the depicted saints will save their lives.

A separate section of the Polish Military museum is dedicated to the history of the Cold War. The exposition displays copies of important documents, images, war machines arsenal and other objects.

In the park surrounding the museum an open-air permanent exhibition is opened. It familiarizes the visitors with the heavy military equipment, including tanks, cannons, artillery, aircraft, mine detection and diffusion equipment. The visitors are allowed to touch and even to climb the machines to make a picture. This part of the Polish Military museum is especially popular among kids who love to inspect the tanks, cannons and other machines, which hopefully will never function again.

The Chopin Museum is situated within the Ostrogski castle built in the 17th century. The exposition of the museum is wholly dedicated to the most famous Polish composer Frederick Chopin.

Frederick Chopin was born in 1810 in the village of Zelazowa Wola, which is in 50 kilometers from Warsaw. A son of a piano tutor and lecturer, he started to take the piano lessons at the age of four. By the age of eight Chopin was already performed on the noble parties and balls. Educated in Warsaw’s lyceum, and then the Warsaw Music Conservatory, he made his official debut in 1829. He was recognized as an amazing talent. Chopin was invited to give a piano concert for the Russian Emperor Alexander I. The Emperor was very impressed by Chopin’s playing and presented him a diamond ring.

One of the features of Chopin s work is that he was creating music only for the piano. He never had a goal to write an opera or symphony, but his piano plays, waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, polonaises, ballades and other works are recognized to be just brilliant.

Chopin was a keen traveler. In 1830 he left Poland for good. While in Stuttgart, he found out that Poland had rose in rebellion against Russian rule. Dissuaded from joining the uprising himself, Chopin was inspired to write his masterpiece “Revolution”. Chopin settled in Paris, where he got acquainted with the noble society. In 1837 he met controversial author George Sand and fell in love with her. Their relationships lasted 9 years and inspired Chopin to create many romantic piano plays and nocturnes.

Chopin started to show the signs of illness in his childhood. During all his life he had poor health and was suffering from a cough. At the end of his life his tuberculosis became severe, and the composer died in 1849 at the age of only 39. His last days were darkened by the breakup with George Sand. During all his life Chopin was terrified of being buried alive. That’s why according to his will his body was cut open before burial ceremony.

Chopin was living in different countries, but he always remembered that he had only one native land, which was Poland. He loved his country, and his heart and soul always belonged to the Poland lands. According to the legend, until his dying day Chopin carried with him a lock of Sand’s hair and an urn with Polish soil. It s very symbolic that Chopin’s heart was buried in the Holy Cross Church of Warsaw, not in Paris, where is the grave of the great composer.

The Chopin museum exposition contains the composer’s music scores, correspondence, paintings, exercise books, golden watch, private possessions and other objects related to Chopin and his life. Among the most interesting exhibits of the museum are the award that 14 years old Chopin received for good behavior at school and the last piano composer ever played.

The Museum of Literature, named after Adam Mickiewicz, was founded in 1952. It’s housed in six Old Town houses, restored to their originals after the World War II. At first, the museum was intended to be the museum of famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewitcz. However, in 1960 the collection of the museum was enlarged by the exhibits related to other writers and poets, notably Julian Tuwim, Maria Dabrowska and Leopold Staff. Later a part of the museum was dedicated to the modern literature.

Nowadays the exposition covers the history of Polish literature from the times of romanticism until today. A large section of the museum is dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz. It includes his manuscripts, pages of his most famous work “Pan Tadeucz”, poems, letters and old prints. Among the collection there are personal belongings of Mickiewicz and other Polish poets and writers, such as objects of fine art, furniture, decorative arts and crafts, books and mementoes, paintings, sculpture, medals and drawings. The visitors of the museum will see the portraits of Polish writers from the 18th up to the 20th century. The photographic archive of the museum maintains a collection of the 19th century daguerreotypes and photographs related to the lives and works of writers and poets. In the museum there is even the audio department that preserves recorded voices of some Polish writers and other audio and visual materials.

Adam Mickiewitz was born near Novogrodek, now belonging to Belorussia, in impoverished noble family. He studied at Novogrodek school until 1815, and then entered Vilna University, where he studied German and English romantic poetry. True patriot, he participated in Polish revolutionary organizations and wrote patriotic poems. He was sentenced to exile his country and went to Russia, where he stayed for five years. Later he was living in Rome and Paris, where Mickiewicz became an enthusiast of mysticism and invented the new theory of Polish nation. According to his theory, the Poles among other nations played the same role as Jesus Christ among ordinary people. Just like Jesus, Poland was “crucified”, but soon it would resurrect and start the new historic era. The first part of “Pan Tadeucz”, the most famous work by Mickiewitz, is based on this theory. In 1840 he became the professor of Slavonic literature and read lectures in the College de France. But in the third year of his teaching he began to abandon literature for certain philosophical and religious ideas. He joined the theory of Towianski, whose ideas were close to Mickiewitz Messianism theory. Mickiewicz started to propagate the theory in his lectures and lost his chair of literature. When the Crimean war started, Mickiewitz hoped to form Polish legion and fight with France and England against Russia, but died of cholera. His body was first transported to Paris. In 1890 Mickiewicz’s remains returned to Poland and were buried with the Polish kings in the national shrine in Crakow.