Slicing central Warsaw in two is Aleje Jerozolimskie, an area first chronicled in 1774 when it was known as Nowa Jerozolima, a small village populated largely by Jews. The village didn’t last long, most of its population choosing to move into the capital, but the name stuck and the throughfare acquired the name Aleje Jerozolimskie. Hither to a suburban backwater the opening of Warsaw’s first train station in 1845 was just the economic jumpstart Jerozolimskie needed. Built to a design by Henryk Marconi the Dworzec Wiedeński station was an architectural showpiece, grandly flanked by two 25 metre towers. The rapid modernization of Warsaw saw the station pulled down during the inter-war years, by which time Jerozolimskie had acquired a reputation as one of the most prosperous streets in Warsaw. Lined with tall art nouveau structures no address was more prestigious than Jerozolimskie 45, home of the Polonia Palace Hotel. Bankrolled by a family of local toffs the hotel was opened to widespread acclaim in 1913. It was the first hotel in town to boast luxuries such as running water in each room and it soon assumed a reputation as being a home to the stars. Unlike other hotels it escaped WWII virtually untouched and became the natural base for numerous foreign envoys and diplomats; black and white pictures recall a victory banquet that General Eisenhower held here in 1945. Following decades of neglect the hotel has finally had the face surgery it deserves, and in 2006 was the hotel of choice for contestants of the Miss World beauty pageant. Cross the street to reach the rotund PKO Bank building that overlooks Rondo Dmowskiego. Built in 1969 this popular meeting point was also the site of one of Poland’s biggest post-war disasters.. In 1979 an explosion tore through the building, killing 74 people and injuring 135. Although an inquest laid the blame on a gas leak many locals to this day believe the explosion was arranged by bank officials looking to cover up the embezzlement of funds. An identical replica of the rotunda was rebuilt following the disaster.
Although Jerozolimskie was smashed to pieces during WWII it is not without its architectural gems. One building of note is the DH Smyk children’s department store (ul. Krucza 50). Completed in 1952 this functionalist masterpiece was one of the triumphs of the Socialist Realist era and has been officially recognized as a historical monument since 2006. Designed to look like a gleaming lantern the building was struck by fire in 1975 with the blaze destroying all but two floors. Plans are currently underway to restore the façade to its pre-fire grandeur. Continue further down Jerozolimskie reach the EMPiK megastore. Formerly a German-only café during the war the exterior touts an interesting Socialist Realist mural of the Warsaw Uprising. Within close range find the Warsaw palm tree, the Charles De Gaulle Statue and the national museum, details of which you will find elsewhere in this guide.
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It doesn’t take long for visitors to get accustomed to Warsaw’s greater glories – streets like Krakowskie Przedmieście need no introduction, and even ugly brutes like Marszałkowska and Jerozolimskie prove inescapable to the human eye. But what of Chłodna and Elektoralana, the two co-joined streets that span a whole wedge of northern Warsaw. There’s a good chance your only knowledge of their existence will be limited to noting their addresses on crumpled flyers advertising brothels. It doesn’t sound appealing yet as further investigations prove, this is anything but a sleazy dead end part of town, rather an upcoming neighbourhood with a story to rival any of Warsaw’s more illustrious sights. To begin your Chłodna safari make a beeline for one of Warsaw’s unavoidable landmarks – the Warsaw Trade Tower. Completed in 1999 this 208 metre office block stands out as a masterpiece in a city not short of latter day architectural marvels. Towering over all its immediate neighbours the Trade Tower was originally christened the Daewoo Centre, before financial disaster saw it sold of f to the highest bidder – US$100 million to Apollo Rida Poland to be precise, in what was then the biggest purchase transaction in Polish real estate history. Characterized by its cylindrical shape and odd angles it’s a breathtaking piece of work, and equally impressive from the inside. The interior design was apparently inspired by art deco Chicago, while hi-tech gadgetry includes some of the quickest elevators in Europe – 35 seconds to the 41st floor. Onwards, and you’ll be quick to note that the tower stands out like a shark in a paddling pool. Surrounding it is practically nothing, just a stretch of grubby looking car service centres and overgrown patches of waste ground. It’s only as you reach the intersection with ul. Wronia that signs of regeneration become apparent. Straddling the corner is the Meridian apartment block, a flashy gated community with properties going from 11,700-13,000zł per square metre. Completed at the end of last year the project, located on the site of a former engineering factory, is the first of many aimed at regenerating this quarter of town.  Featuring a two-level underground car park, Japanese garden and marble lobby you couldn’t wish for a sharper contrast to what is found opposite. Facing it is Chłodna at its worse – a darkened pre-war tenement flanked by low-level prefabricated buildings selling hammers, spanners, mops and tyres. It’s here, at number 13, you’ll find Warsaw’s most depressing bordello. A cheaply perfumed hunting ground for the desperate and the drunk this is skid row at its bleakest, and a stark reminder of what becomes of people who don’t eat their greens. Then, lined up like tin soldiers, there’s enough bars to make sure your tour terminates earlier than expected; pick of the bunch is Maracana, a threelevel sports bar, recently opened and a definite contender for the ‘best bar in which to watch Euro 2008’ award.
Carry on down and there’s more derelict buildings, many with trees poking through roofs and doorways long bricked up, as well as one of the numerous plaques you’ll find around town commemorating yet another Nazi massacre. Things hot up as you reach the junction with Żelazna. Just before it you’ll find Chłodna 25, one of the finest establishments of its kind. Opened in 2004 this is where the theatre crowd gather to discuss opening night, and it’s not rare to find stars of Polish screen and stage hunched over beers while shaggy dogs sit in their midst. Don’t be surprised to walk in on impromptu poetry slams, or a performance by experimental bands answering to names like ‘The Crazy Pierogi’. Standing on the opposite side of the street, and ridiculously easy to miss, is a six foot concrete slab that marks the sight of the wooden bridge that once connected the small Jewish Ghetto with the larger one. Yes, this was the heart of the Nazi ghetto, and the tramlines that once ran beneath the bridge have been preserved in the cobbles further on.
More of Chłodna’s Jewish connections later, next up is a visit to Oberża Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem (Under the Red Hog Inn). The story’s a good one; in 2006 workers uncovered remains of a secret underground eatery frequented over the decades by all the communist baddies you’d ever think of: Mao, Lenin, Castro and Brezhnev to name but a few. Unearthed were a stack of medals, uniforms, manuscripts and menus, so this being capitalist Poland a plan was hatched to restore the restaurant to its former glory and make a mint from touting it as the all-singing commie experience. Of course, the story itself is a load of poppycock, and nothing more than a cheeky PR stunt pulled by the management. But it was enough to fool the journalists and a legend was born. Now it’s an intrinsic part on any tour of Socialist Poland, as well as jolly good place to dine on Tito Boar, Fidel’s Cigars and Activist’s Lard. Plus there’s some cracking waitresses.
Back onto Chłodna and you’ll find more signs of Poland’s communist legacy in the shape of rows and rows of grim concrete tower blocks. They all look the same, and are most certainly the design of an utter dingbat. Crucially there’s one detail to separate them, namely the existence of Calypso Café at number 15. It might not look up to much but take our word for it, they’ve got some of the best ice cream in the city. However it’s not for this reason that Chłodna 15 is best known. This is where Jerzy Popiełuszko, the Catholic priest murdered by security services in 1984, once lived. A fierce anti-communist Popiełuszko had strong links with the Solidarity movement and had been identified as a threat to the system. Having already survived one attempt on his life he was murdered on October 19th, before being unceremoniously dumped in the river Wisła. Seen as a hero his funeral attracted over a quarter of a million mourners, and today a stone tablet sits in the centre of Chłodna in tribute to his life.
 Standing on the other side you can’t miss Chłodna 20. Not only is this a smashing piece of art nouveau Warsaw, but there’s also a bit of history behind it all. Built in 1913 this is the former residence of Adam Czerniaków. An engineer by profession Czerniaków assumed fame as head of the Judenrat (the Jewish led organization responsible for implementing Nazi orders in the Ghetto). Troubled by German orders to oversee deportations to Treblinka Czerniaków chose death by cyanide rather than comply, and his body is now interred in the Jewish cemetery on ul. Okopowa. The Socialist Realist buildings found next door are typical of rebuilt Warsaw, and fine examples of this uniquely Stalinist style. Nice as it is, there’s only one thing that dominates the vision as you look down Chłodna – the splendid form of St. Andrew’s Church. Designed by Henryk Marconi, and built between 1841 and 1849, this glorious building was modeled on the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome. Miraculously it escaped WWII virtually in tact, with only the presbytery sustaining damage. Subject to recent work to restore the figures of the apostles that stand outside, this sits up there alongside Warsaw’s top churches. Moving swiftly on the next point of interest is the building that houses the Florian restaurant. While the restaurant itself can be bypassed, a visit to the gazebo-like beer garden outside shouldn’t. Those with half a brain will already know that Florian is the patron saint of firemen, and you’re going to find plenty of them in the vicinity. Warsaw’s first fire station was housed at number three, and nowadays you’ll find one of Warsaw’s quirkiest museums inside (Firemen’s Museum). From there you’re practically on Al. Jana Pawła II, separated from the clot of traffic only by TGI Friday’s. We usually wouldn’t condone a visi t here, but it’s worth mentioning TGI s place in gangland folklore. Back in 1999, when mafia gangs still ruled The Wild East, a mobster named Kajtek was shot dead outside in a hit by the Wołomin gang. An innocent bystander was also killed in the shooting, and the incident sparked a vicious spiral of violence; eleven days later five men with known associations with the Wołomin firm were murdered in reprisal in another Warsaw restaurant. Not nice, and there’s more death to be had once you cross the road to Hala Mirowska, where a plaque commemorates the civilians executed by the Nazis during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Hala Mirowska itself consists of two narrow brick halls constructed between 1899 and 1901 on the instruction of Russian mayor Nikolai Bibikov. It functioned as Warsaw’s largest market up until the outbreak of the Uprising. Though ravaged by fire the walls refused to give way and the buildings survived – check out the bullet scars still all too visible. Serving as a bus depot in the immediate post-war years the structure resumed its original purpose in the 50s, and today is notable for its flower stalls outside, as well as lines of gnarled peasants selling jars of mushrooms out of the back of their vans.
Continuing down Elektoralna street and it would be foolish not to stop off for a bite at the commendable Mille Gusti restaurant. From here you might spy a rather nasty looking pinkish stone that stands on the corner of Elektoralna and Al. Jana Pawła II. That’s there to honour Juliusz Słowacki, one of the ‘three bards of Poland’. He kept quarters at number 20, and you’ll find more details on him in our box about the nearby Plac Bankowy. Walking further down you’ll be met with the sight of the Mazovian Regional Centre of Culture and Arts on Elektoralna 12 – find classical music concerts organized each summer. That’s a far cry from years before when, as the plaque dutifully informs us, this neo-renaissance building served as ‘Warsaw’s first hospital with standalone pavilions’. Quite what that means is anyone’s guess, but it sounds impressive enough to warrant a mention.
As your walk slowly nears its conclusion you’ll find yourself passing a rather gloomy looking school building on Elektoralna 5/7. Of course, this being Warsaw, even this place has a story. Outside you’ll notice a plaque dedicated to the memory of a lad called Grzegorz Przemyk. He was the son of a subversive poetess called Barbara Sadowska who frequently fell foul of the communist authorities for her covert political and artistic gatherings. Fed up with her antiauthoritarian stance the militia decided to scare her by giving her son a damn good kicking. It went too far, and Przemyk died of internal injuries on May 12, 1983. The subsequent inquiry was a whitewash, however the case was re-opened in 2004 with a verdict due to be finally delivered in June, 2008. On the other side of street you’ll notice a figure of the Pope John Paul II peering out from behind the colonnades. Inside this building, formerly the Warsaw Stock  Exchange, you’ll find a collection of art named in honour of the late Pope. It’s also where you’ll find a completely bizarre museum dedicated to the world of measurement. The Museum of Measurement on Elektoralna 2 (Open 08:00 - 16:00, closed Sat, Sun. Entrance free), is possibly one of the most pointless exercises in sightseeing you’ll ever embark on, and as such an absolute must. Madness of note includes a 150 year old solar powered watch, and the first ever contraption used to beep in the time on local radio. And there you have it – Chłodna and Elektoralna, two unsung heroes on the route less travelled. Don’t miss them. [...]

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No visit to Warsaw is complete without a trip to ul. Nowy Świat (C-3/4). Considered Warsaw’s principal shopping street start any walk down Nowy Świat from Pl. Trzech Krzyzy (C-4), but leave the credit card at home unless you’re sleeping with the bank manager. It’s here you’ll find Warsaw’s premier boutiques, with names to indulge on including Zegna, Escada, Boss, Burberry, Max Mara and Lacoste. And spending opportunities aren’t just limited to office hours, you’ll find a good spread of bars in this stretch of Warsaw, not least legendary venues like Szpilka and Szparka. The story of Nowy Świat (New World) dates back to medieval times when it was used by Kings on the journey from Warsaw to Kraków. Settlements started appearing in the 17th century, though your first brush with the architecture of the area is likely to be the hulking edifice on Nowy Świat 6. For decades this brutish building served as Communist HQ. Completed in 1948 rumours that it was connected to the Palace of Culture by way of secret tunnels appear unsubstantiated, though one fact that can’t be argued is its post-communist fate. In a wonderful twist of irony it briefly found a new life as home to the stock exchange, thought now serves as a bank building. Across the road consider popping into Melodia bar and restaurant, once an exclusive venue only open to card carrying party functionaries. Cut in half by Al. Jerozolimskie the defining symbol of Nowy Świat stands in the middle of these aforementioned streets, a great big plastic palm tree, more of which you can read about on elsewhere in the guide. You’ll have no problem spotting EMPiK standing on the corner, but keep your eyes peeled for the socialist realist mural on the Jerozolimskie side of the street. If you’re wondering why this ghastly piece of art shows a girl holding a pistol your answer is this is one of the earliest (and nastiest) tributes to
the Warsaw Uprising. Indeed, this stretch of road is markedly different from its pre-war days when it was lined with towering town houses of all shapes and sizes. Levelled during WWII Nowy Swiat found itself rebuilt in uniform neo-classical style. EMPiK itself was once home to the Udziałowa cafe, a smoky haunt of thespians and intellectuals, and a venue you’ll still find old timers reminiscing about. Nowy Świat has long enjoyed a reputation for its bars and cafes, and you’ll struggle to find a better bar in modern Warsaw than Sense on Nowy Świat 19. Nearby the plaque adorning the wall at Mercers Cafe commemorates author Julian Tuwim, once a resident of this building, while Blikle Cafe is famous for once serving donuts to a young Charles de Gaulle. Take a detour down ul. Foksal for more gastronomic opportunities, and see the street to its conclusion to catch a glimpse of the Zamoyski Palace. Designed by Marconi this neo-renaissance pearl was the scene of a botched assassination attempt on the Russian governor in 1863. Infuriated Cossack troops reacted by launching a piano once tinkled by Chopin out of the window, though nowadays drama is limited to dancing in the basement club or dining on the elegant ground floor. Return to Nowy Świat to take a pic of Joseph Conrad’s Warsaw home at number 45, and don’t hesitate to finish your Nowy Świat tour by rewarding yourself with Warsaw’s best beer – find it coming out of the taps of Bierhalle at number 64. [...]

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