I currently live in Warsaw. I can assure you when I came here, I did not like the city. Before this I was living in France and not in a great town either.

Then with passage of time and experiences (both good and bad) I accepted Warsaw and made my peace with it. But in the past few months I started to leave my residence more and more and became a little outdoorsy. It was like a journey that started casually but soon started to feel like my own. It was then that I fell in love with the city of Warsaw. One step at a time, literally :-)

It is very difficult for me to choose the part of Warsaw that I like the most. In fact I had to put a lot of thought in it so as to reach a decision.

Old Town area is the place I like the most in the city of Warsaw. It is one place that I never get tired of. One place where I can go again & again and yet would want to visit next day. That is the paramount reason that I choose Old town area as my favorite place in Warsaw.

Old town or 'Stare Miasto' as you would say in Polski has a very old history. We can trace the history of the area to as far as one thousand years ago but the real settlements began around thirteenth century and it all started with the old town. Be it the myth of mermaid Sawa and the fisherman or the Royal Castle of the Duke.

As common with the cities of old, Warsaw is on the banks of a famous river called Vistula. Since old town is the beginning of the city thus it too lies on the banks of Vistula. It is a dual pleasure to come back here and stand along both the nature and the city.

Old town area is the cultural heart of the City of Warsaw. It is to the city of Warsaw as is Krakow is to Poland. When I come here I see old buildings that have been around for hundreds of years and will hopeful be there long after we are gone (keep in mind that much of it was destroyed in the Warsaw uprising and rebuild after WWII).

It has become my habit to go there sometimes in the evenings and night, to escape the noise. One would think that it would be filled with people and it is true but you'd be surprised by how many areas are there in this small part of the city that you'll find yourself alone in. I say alone but not lonely, because those old streets almost speak of their story and keep me company.

I am sorry that I mostly went with history. It is because history is my passion and it resonates with the place, particularly when I go there. I have read the history of the area and when I go there I am reminded of it. As if the streets talk and remind you of their past.

If you come to Warsaw and find where the heart of the city rests then come to the old town area. You will also find a piece if my heart there too :-)

(Image license under the Creative Commons)