Que faire à Varsovie

Warsaw's Old Town looks medieval but is almost entirely a meticulous post-war reconstruction — the city was flattened in 1944 and rebuilt from paintings and photographs, which is precisely what makes it moving rather than fake. Beyond that pocket, Warsaw is a properly modern Central European capital: a Soviet-era Palace of Culture standing next to glass office towers, a serious nightlife scene, and prices well below Western Europe for comparable quality.