It's hard to believe, looking at this city, that it was almost razed to the ground during the Second World War. This city, boasting 13th-century buildings, ceased to exist after the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, when 90% of the buildings where destroyed. Little coloured houses surrounded by defensive walls, the spires of the churches and the Royal Castle; it's all the result of masterly reconstruction carried out in the post-war years. Warsaw's Old City was entered on the UNESCO list as an example of faithful reconstruction including the preservation of original sections of the architecture.

       a street in the Old City

Among the glass skyscrapers and wide, hectic streets of Warsaw, you can seek out restored palaces, historic houses and, sometimes, whole streets which have been harmoniously reconstructed:
Krakowskie Przedmieście, for instance, or Nowy Świat or Aleje Ujazdowskie.
There's no shortage of romantic lanes, you just have to look for them.

The parks are the pride of the city, a real treasure being the Łazienki Park, an 18th-century complex of palaces, parks and pavilions. It's famous for its alfresco piano recitals, which are held by the Chopin monument.

     the palace in Wilanów

 the Palace of Culture and Science