GO CITYBREAK: Full of cafes and bars, Warsaw is a lively city coming to terms with its tragic past, writes Laurence Mackin
WARSAW DOES NOT give up its secrets easily. Reduced to rubble during the second World War, it has rebuilt itself brick by brick into the political and business heart of Poland.
Cracow might be its more accessible, openly seductive sister, but Warsaw is a cultured femme who demands respect.
Beneath the businesslike veneer, though, is a city with the heart of an artist. Its skyline is dotted with incongruous skyscrapers in a jarring amalgamation of architectural styles.
Socialist blocks of concrete sit cheek by jowl with soaring towers of gleaming glass. Downtown has even tried to hide its ugliest architectonic immodesties with giant billboards, although these only emphasise the somewhat ad-hoc nature of the city's aesthetic planning in the past few decades.
This makes it something of a challenge for the weekender, but a rewarding challenge.
Scratch the surface of Warsaw and you'll find a bubbling mass of artistic ideas, restaurants and clubs simmering with a progressive, young population. There are hundreds of bars and cafes, dozens of theatres and reams of cinemas, showing more art-house and independent offerings than any other city I have visited.
The Polish approach to culture is a model to be admired: opera is talked of in the same breath as rock music, going to a jazz gig or ballet is seen as on a par with a trip to the cinema or a gallery. There is no cultural snobbery here, and all artists, and art forms, are viewed as equals.
Warsaw's history is steeped in tragedy. The second World War almost destroyed the city utterly, and communism did its best to break its back, but still it stands with a quiet pride of all that it has gone through, and the monuments from these eras of oppression that dot the streets are haunting and moving in their simplicity.
This is a city of young people, a university town full of polymath, multilingual new Europeans, polite to a fault - and it is no harm that the women are impossibly beautiful. They are, in general, ferociously attached to the city, and only too happy to help you find your way around.
Warsaw sprawls out from its communist-constructed heart, the Palace of Science and Culture, and the debate still rages about what should become of it. There are those who would tear it down - the city has never recovered a true centre after the maze of streets and alleys was razed to make way for this monolith in the 1950s.
Walking around is no mean feat, but it is well worth it. Elegant squares and almost Italian piazzas, such as Plac Trzech Krzyzy, and the winding alleys of the Stare Miasto, give on to verdant pockets of greenery, such as Park Ujazdowski, and effortlessly cool hunks of modernism, such as Warsaw University Library or the Metropolitan building.
This is a city of contrasts, as elegant as the great beauties of Europe and, by turns, as unlovely as its worst brutes. But it is a place full of life that is still realigning and moulding itself into the true centre of new central Europe, a city as essential to the continent as Paris, Rome or London.
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
5 places to stay
• Le Regina, Koscielna 12, 00-48-22-5316000, www.leregina.com. This is one of Warsaw's first boutique hotels. Effortlessly chic and with a cracking location in the quiet end of the Stare Miasto, it features understated luxury that is hard to resist. The rates can be very reasonable, so check the website for deals.
• Le Meridien Bristol, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 42/44, 00-48-22-5511000, www.starwoodhotels.com. At the top end of the market, the venerable Bristol remains hard to beat. An elegant setting on the rejuvenated Krakowskie Przedmiescie combines with its old-school charm for a hotel experience as pleasing as a well-cut suit.
• Intercontinental, Emilii Plater 49, 00-48-22-3288888, www.warsaw.intercontinental.com. You are spoiled for choice at the four- and five-star end of the spectrum in Warsaw. The Sheraton has an excellent location, and the Marriott's bar has spectacular views from its 40th floor perch, but the Intercontinental's pool on the 46th storey gives it an indulgent edge.
• OkiDoki hostel, Plac Dabrowskiego 3, 00-48-22-8265112, www.okidoki.pl. It's hard to find good accommodation at the budget end of the market, but the OkiDoki hostel is a gem. More hotel than hostel, thanks to private rooms and good service, with each room individually designed by local artists. Genius.
• Old Town Apartments. Various locations, 00-48-22-8879800/10, www.warsawshotel.com. Get your own apartment in the rebuilt historic centre of Warsaw. The apartments are clean, comfortable and a bargain to boot.
5 places to eat
• Cafe Kulturalna, Palace of Science and Culture, Plac Defilad, 00-48-22-6566281, www.kulturalna.pl. Few bars enjoy as dramatic a location as Cafe Kulturalna, which cowers in the foot of the mighty Palace of Science and Culture. A Varsovian favourite with excellent drinks, decent food, good live music - from jazz to reggae - and an achingly hip crowd, without the pretentious atmosphere (well, almost). What more could you want?
• Le Melange, ul Nowy Swiat 22/28. Go through the archway of Pawilon 30, take a left and then a right. It's near the end of the row. Small and perfectly formed, this minuscule bar, with pink fuzzy walls, has been packing them in for several years. It's tricky to find but worth the effort, as a good night is practically guaranteed and you'll almost certainly be the only tourist in the place.
• Zakaski Przekaski, Krakowskie Przedmiescie, opposite the Bristol hotel. This might be one of the most recent additions to Warsaw's nightlife, but it feels as if it's been here forever. Order a round of vodka shots, ice cold, with a juice chaser and some traditional biala kielbasa(white sausage) and sledzik(pickled herring) while standing at the bar. There are no seats, the staff range from gloriously grumpy to unflaggingly friendly, and it all makes for a brilliant night-time haunt.
• Restauracja pod Gigantami, Al Ujazdowskie 24, 00-48-22- 6213059, www.podgigantami. pl. For an elegant night of fine dining with prices that would make an Irish restaurateur wince, walk under the giants that give the restaurant its name and prepare yourself for an utterly tasteful affair.
• Pierogarnia na Bednarskiej, ul Bednarksa 28-30, 00-48-22-8280392. Pierogiare Polish cuisine's most munchable items, and this is the best place in town to have them. Choose from the melt-in-the-mouth savoury varieties, such as potato and bacon (ruskie), or blackberry and white cheese (dzialkowca).
5 places to go
• Stare Miasto. The Stare Miasto, or Old Town, is something of a contradiction. The area was completely destroyed during the second World War, and was rebuilt brick by brick, mostly by using the paintings of the 18th-century Italian artist Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto as a guide, in a hugely impressive, utterly faithful reconstruction. Getting lost is part of the fun, and stumbling across memorials and highlights, such as the Warsaw Rising monument, completely by accident, makes for a perfect afternoon. From Stare Miasto you should follow Szlak Królewski (The Royal Way) through Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat, Plac Trzech Krzyzy and Aleje Ujazdowskie to Lazienki Park to get the best feel for the historic architecture, as well as the lively vibe of the city's young crowd rushing to Warsaw University. You'll also also enjoy all the vibrant locations en route.
• Lazienki Park, Aleje Ujazdowskie, www.lazienki.ueu.pl. The elegant heart of Warsaw is the beautiful Lazienki Park. The summer palace and ponds have been home to many a movie shoot, and it's easy to see why. The faux-Roman open-air theatre in the lake makes for a thrilling evening out in the summer, while the free Chopin recitals in the rose garden are an essential Varsovian experience, every Sunday (May to September) at noon and 4pm.
• Warsaw Rising Museum, Grzybowska 79, 00-48-22-5397905/6, www.1944.pl. Few cities suffered as much during the second World War as Warsaw, and few stories are as tragic as that of the Warsaw Rising. This thrilling multimedia museum brings it all to life in brilliantly-constructed exhibitions.
• Palace of Culture and Science, Plac Defilad, 00-48-22-6567600, www.pkin.pl. This building continues to divide Varsovians. For some it's a malignant reminder of communist rule, for others it has become the intrinsic heart of the Polish capital. It was a "gift" to the city from Stalin (not the kind of chap you refuse gifts from), and the sheer brutal scale of the building is breathtaking. The Sala Kongresowa used to host the communist congress, but is now an impressive, if somewhat shabby, venue bedecked in red velvet seats. It is also home to theatres, bars, museums and a cinema, and a trip to the rooftop gives unparalleled views of the sprawling city.
• Praga district, east bank of the River Wisla, or Vistula. During the war the Russian advance halted on the east bank of the Vistula river in the Praga district of Warsaw. Although the city on the west bank was razed, Praga remained intact, and today it contains practically all of Warsaw's authentic pre-war architecture.
Now it is becoming more famous as a hive of artistic activity, with too-cool-for- school bars, clubs and restaurants dotting the charmingly shabby streets. One highlight is Fabryka Trzciny, a former marmalade factory turned performance-art space and bar. Parts of Praga are still a touch risque for the average tourist after dark, though. Galeria Luksfera, in the old koneser vodka distillery, is another diamond in the rough.
Hot spot
• Zaklete Rewiry, ul Narbutta 50a, 00-48-22-4252012. This place has to be seen to be believed. If it's gilt-edged, velvet-draped or finished in gold, you'll find it here in an old cinema now home to one of Warsaw's hottest bars - with a tasty film-obsessed menu to match.
Cool coffee
Czuly Barbarzynca, Jagiellonska 26, 00-48-22-3430338/9, www.czulybarbarzynca.pl. Warsaw has a number of cafes that double as book shops, and Czuly Barbarzynca, or Gentle Barbarian, is the original and best. Pick a volume from the limited English-language selection and order some excellent coffee and cake. Afterwards, stroll across the road to the brilliant Warsaw University library and check out its stunning, rolling rooftop garden.
Where to shop
In Warsaw the shopping centre is king. The city is quite spread out, so no one area has managed to assert itself as home to the dominant high street. Most of the chain stores are clustered around ul Marszalkowska, Chmielna and Nowy Swiat, but it is the new Zlote Tarasy centre (Zlota 59, www.zlotetarasy.pl), sheathed in its glass globes behind the incongruous Central Railway Station, that seems to be the shopping destination of choice. The market in the 10th Anniversary Football Stadium (Aleja Ksiecia Jozefa Poniatowskiego, www.jarmark.damis.pl), referred to by locals as simply "Stadion", used to be the best place for everything from counterfeit luxury goods to anti-aircraft missiles (honestly), but now it faces closure and is a shadow if its former disreputable self. A better option is the weekend market at Kolo on ul Obozowa, a 20-minute tram ride outside the city centre, where you can pick up all manner of antiques, furniture, medals and second World War paraphernalia, as well as a fur coat to keep the biting winter cold at bay. But get there early.