Clustered around a wiggling bend in the mighty Vistula River, Poland’s capital forms the country’s bustling economic hub. It’s noticeably less historic than its compadres to the north and south, and has undergone massive rebuilding projects since nigh on total destruction during World War Two—a fact that’s left its proud locals to claim it as the forefront of this burgeoning country’s modernistic drive.
Consequently, downtown Warsaw is a tooting, traffic sea of New York-esque roadways and cosmopolitan coffee shops, where suited bankers stroll between crowds of beer-drinking locals, and Art Nouveau rises loom over the iconic parks. Don’t miss the Palace of Culture, or the Łazienki gardens, with their glorious monuments and curiously Oriental vibe. Further afield, the exquisite palatial grounds of Wilanów stand a stone’s throw from the Vistula banks, hearkening back to a time when the ditties of Chopin still echoed throughout the town. Eager visitors should also ask their Warsaw tourist guide for tips on the Old Town hub that lingers, reconstructed to the north end of town, and the countless hidden side streets leading away from it, which can be found laden with the baroque rises of the Borch Palace and Collegium Nobilium, and peppered with the crumbling remnants of the infamous ghetto wall.