Warsaw

The up and coming European city

By Michael Wilson

March 23^rd, 2017

The place to be

A while ago I read an article in Monocle describing Warsaw as the most up and coming city in Europe. It mentioned that the city was trying it's best to shake off the past and move into the future, which has led to a huge movement of independent restaurants and bars as well as a growing art scene. Ever since it's been on my list of places to visit so this month it was finally time for me to give it a try.

A wet and grey arrival

I arrived in Poland toward the end of the afternoon and it was very grey and the rain was coming down in spades. After dropping my stuff off at the awesome 5 star hotel I was staying, I didn't want to get soaked exploring the city so I headed out to find a sports bar to catch the rugby instead.

While I was drowning my sorrows at the lack of photo opportunities on my first day I remembered that someone had told me the Metro stations in Warsaw are incredible. After a quick search for the best stations, I headed underground where the weather couldn't touch me!

I was amazed by what I saw, they look like spaceships. Really bold and bright colours and with really high key lighting, I loved them!

The rain finally stopped

The next morning I was happy to see the rain had stopped. It was still overcast, which meant the city didn't look as beautiful as it could have but I was keen to explore. First stop was Łazienki Park where I found some really colourful ducks and got chased by some red squirrels! I also found the beautiful Palace on the Isle, which is a beautiful building surrounded by water (hence the name).

After passing the Legia Warsaw football stadium I crossed the Vistula river and headed for the PGE Narodowy national stadium, which was built for Euro 2012. The stadium dominates the views from the river and is the shape of a weaved basket to represent the old trade which used to provide for the city.

Biblioteka Uniwersytecka and the Old town

The next stop was the university library where I was looking for the rooftop garden. Obviously a cold morning in March isn't the best time to visit any rooftop garden but I did enjoy the building design and would imagine it'd be a great place to chill out during the summer.

After a quick coffee break I made my way to the old town region. This area of Warsaw was destroyed during WWII and has been rebuilt to the medieval style it had before the bombs. The old town is probably the main tourist area of Warsaw so this was the busiest region I found on my walks.

Exploring at night

After a quick pit stop (nap) back at my hotel it was time to see the city in lights. My hotel was near Centrum where the imposing figure of the Palace of Culture and Science lives. It's a brutal looking stone tower, which reminded me of the haunted building from Ghostbusters. At night, it gets lit with all manner of colours, which makes it stand out even more.

After getting a few shots, I made my way to the river again to see the stadium and surrounding bridges lit up and I wasn't disappointed.

After heading back toward the hotel I wanted to get closer to what was my favourite building in Warsaw, nicknamed The Sail it lives next to the Palace of Culture and Science, which seems to be where a lot of modern architecture is being erected. The Sail is named so because of the curved design and includes a red and white light to symbolise Poland.

One last walk before heading home

On my final morning I headed north to visit the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which tells the story of the Jewish community which was sent to concentrations camps from Warsaw. This is also where Umschlagplatz is, which marks the departure point for Jews transported to Treblinka with a memorial to the more than 300,000 dead.

I was catching my coach to the airport from outside the Palace of Culture and Science so I decided to take the elevator to the 30th floor and take in the views before I had to leave. While the weather wasn't ideal, the views were still pretty cool.

I didn't get the best weather to really show Warsaw off as a great place to visit but I really enjoyed my time there. If you're on a budget, this is an especially great place to go. I stayed in the best 5 star hotel I could find which only cost £55 a night. Food and drink is probably about half the price you'd expect to find in London and there's a huge number of independent places to eat or drink.

There's loads of parks to enjoy, which would be lovely in the summer and lots of places to shop if that's your sort of thing. With seemingly a lot of investment coming into the city from big business I think this place is only going to get better.