Most first visits begin on Warsaw's Old Town Market Square, where almost nothing is as old as it looks. Nazi troops destroyed over 85 percent of the historic centre in 1944. Residents rebuilt it from archival records in five years, and UNESCO listed the result. The rebuilt Royal Castle reopened in 1984. An audio guide through these streets explains which walls survived the war. On summer Sundays, pianists give free Chopin recitals in Łazienki Park. With coffee, order wuzetka, a chocolate cream cake named after the postwar W-Z road.
Self-guided audio walk through Warsaw Old Town: Royal Castle, Sigismund’s Column, Barbican, Mermaid, legends, viewpoints, and 1944 memories.