Stare Miasto (Warsaw)

Warsaw's Old Town (Stare Miasto) is the historic core of the city, and its story is unusual. Most of it was destroyed in the Second World War, then rebuilt from paintings, drawings and surviving fragments so carefully that UNESCO added it to the World Heritage list in 1980. The result is a compact quarter of pastel merchant houses, churches and squares that reads as centuries old.

This is where a visit to Warsaw usually begins. The streets are pedestrian, free to wander and open at all hours, and they gather the Royal Castle, the Market Square, the city walls and a run of cafes and restaurants in a small area. The reconstruction story gives the place its meaning: what looks medieval was raised again from rubble within living memory.

The quarter is small enough to cover on foot:

• The Old Town Market Square, ringed by tall painted houses and centred on the bronze Mermaid, the symbol of Warsaw.
• The Royal Castle and Plac Zamkowy, with the Sigismund's Column at the entrance to the quarter.
• The Barbican and the surviving stretch of red-brick city walls.
• St John's Archcathedral and the narrow lanes around it.

The Old Town dates back to the thirteenth century. After the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 the Germans systematically destroyed most of it. In the years after the war it was reconstructed, reusing original bricks where possible and following historic images, including the eighteenth-century city views by Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto. UNESCO listed it in 1980 as an example of near-total reconstruction.

An unhurried walk takes about an hour. Add the Royal Castle interiors and a meal on the square and it grows to half a day.

Early morning is the quietest, before the tour groups arrive. Evenings are good, when the square is lit and the tables fill. Summer is the busiest season; December brings a Christmas market to the square.

The Old Town is closed to through traffic. It is a short walk north from the central Royal Route, and the nearest metro is Ratusz-Arsenal on the M1 line, a few minutes away; many buses and trams stop around the edge. For getting around the city, see the Warsaw guide.

The streets are flat but cobbled, which is uneven for wheelchairs and prams. The castle and other buildings have their own access arrangements, so check ahead if steps are a concern.

The Old Town connects straight to the rest of central Warsaw:

• The Krakowskie Przedmiescie boulevard, running south from Plac Zamkowy.
• The New Town (Nowe Miasto), just beyond the Barbican.
• The Vistula Boulevards, down the slope to the river.

Mostly rebuilt. It was destroyed in the war and reconstructed afterwards from historic images and surviving material. UNESCO listed it in 1980 precisely for the quality of that reconstruction.

The Syrenka, or Mermaid, is the symbol of Warsaw and appears on the city's coat of arms. A bronze Mermaid statue stands at the centre of the Old Town Market Square.