Warsaw, founded in the fourteenth century, has been the capital of Poland since 1611. The city is the centre of both culture and industry. Before World War Two, it was one of Europe's most beautiful city, but the war destroyed most of it. Today's image of Warsaw as a city has been shaped since the war - thus reflects the post-war times both in its appearance and its spirit. The few remaining historical buildings have been diligently renovated at the greatest detail, however, Warsaw creates the general impression of a modern city.
The river Vistula divides the city in half. On the Western bank is the city centre and on the North is the Old Town. Nearly everything worth seeing is in this area, as are here all the facilities offering their services to visitors. On the right bank of the river, there is nothing special to see, tourists hardly ever visit this side.
The Old Town was rebuilt from the foundations, as the destruction of war left the buildings as heaps of rubble. Thanks to the monumental restoration efforts between 1949 and 1963, the district regained its seventeenth-eighteenth century appearance. Every single piece of authentic remains found amongst the rubble was built into the restored buildings. In 1945, only two walls were standing out from the ruins of Old Town Square; the sight of a harmonic mixture of renaissance, baroque and gothic elements today impresses the visitors. A number of open-air coffee houses and souvenir-stalls make the atmosphere of the square even more enjoyable. The whole Northern side of the square is occupied by the Warsaw History Museum. Here we can see amazing documents on the destruction of the city, on the restoration efforts and also the collection of early relics of the city's history.
The main avenue of the city is the north-south King's Road leading from the Royal Palace all the way to the Lazienki Palace, the royal family's Summer residence. On the sides of one of Europe's widest road, we can see churches, palaces, galleries and museums. Roughly halfway, if we turn East, we can see the National Museum.
In Warsaw, we can find a wide range of different nations' culinary treats, and we can find bars and restaurants open to long hours of the night. A number of restaurants are in the vicinity of the Old Town, where we can sample both Polish and international dishes. The favourite dishes of the Polish are the soups, sauces, potato and meat - their diet is short of vegetables. The Polish flavour is characterised by marjoram and other spices, fungi and the different kinds of meat. The most famous Polish dishes are: the bigos (meat with sour cabbage), and the borsht soup.
Who he wants busy life, he may choose from the numerous students clubs on the southern part of King's Road, offering poetry reading, rock, folk, jazz concerts, cinema, theatre, etc.