The Old City in Warsaw

Old Town & Royal Route

The beautiful baroque and Renaissance-style burghers' houses of the Old Town would be remarkable in their own right for their period detailing, but what makes these buildings truly astounding is that they're only a few decades old. As one of the main centers of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, the Old Town bore the brunt of German reprisal attacks, and the entire area, save for one building, was blown to bits at the end of 1944. After the war, to reclaim their heritage, the Polish people launched an enormous project to rebuild the Old Town exactly as it was, brick by brick. Many of the original architectural sketches were destroyed in the war, so the town was rebuilt from paintings, photographs, drawings, and people's memories. The reconstruction was so authentic that UNESCO in 1980 listed the Old Town as a World Heritage Site. Today, the Old Town is given over mostly to touts and tourists, but still rewards a couple of hours of strolling.

Chopin, Our Chopin -- Even classical music fans are blissfully unaware of Chopin's Polish roots. Born to a French father and a Polish mother, Fryderyk Chopin (1810-49) is Poland's most famous composer. The capital city, in particular, is very possessive of this talent since Warsaw was where he spent his formative years. In November 1830, Chopin left to perform in Vienna, not knowing that he would never again return to Poland. Later that month, the November Uprising against the Russians broke out, and Chopin sought refuge in Paris, which became his base for the rest of his short life. However, Chopin left his heart in Warsaw, in the literal as well as the emotional sense. As was his wish, upon his death, his heart was sealed in an urn and returned to Warsaw. The urn is in the Holy Cross Church (Krakowskie Przedmiescie 3; tel. 022/556-88-20; www.swkrzyz.pl). Don't miss the Chopin Monument and Sunday piano recitals in Lazienki Park . Chopin's birthplace in Zelazowa Wola is the pilgrimage point for fans worldwide. The Chopin Museum, totally revamped for the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth in 2010, gives you a high-tech delivery of Chopin's biography. Also as part of the bicentennial birthday bash, 15 "Chopin Benches" were installed, mostly along the Royal Route, at places that can claim "Chopin was here." At the touch of a button, the bench dispenses melodies. Follow the inscribed instructions, and you can upload Chopin tunes, photos, and trivia onto your mobile phone. A more conventional memorial to the composer is the modest Chopin Salon (Salonik Chopina; Krakowskie Przedmiescie 5; tel. 22/320-02-75), the living room used by the family when they were residing in Warsaw. It has a copy of the piano Chopin played on. The salon is poorly signposted: You'll find it through the second door on the left side of the courtyard. The room is on the second floor. There are also tour operators that dish out Chopin's Warsaw excursions.