The best way to get around is on foot, and I love to walk across the river and through Łazienki Park. I like to pick up a coffee at Hałas and lemon ice cream for my daughter at Pallone (she could eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner). I live in Warsaw’s Saska Kępa neighbourhood, which has many prewar, modernist buildings – a rarity in the city – and a village atmosphere. Bar Rascal © PION FotografiaĬhylak in the University of Warsaw Botanic Garden © Zuzanna Szamocka The café is a glamorous place to try the hotel’s famous Florentine biscuits. Paderewski co‑founded the hotel and, after Poland gained independence in 1918, held his first government session here.

Its café is filled with photographs of former guests, such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the Polish pianist and former prime minister. One of the exceptions is the Hotel Bristol, which was built in 1900 and remarkably survived the war. But the places I remember from my childhood aren’t here any more most of the places I go to today are completely new. I was born in 1987, so I can only remember when Poland was opening up, and people were able to have businesses after so many years. The city changed again when the communist regime ended in 1989. The planners had to decide: should we relocate the Polish capital and start again? But the spirit of the nation was to rebuild. If you look at pictures, it’s shocking – the city was non-existent. My father worked as an urban planner, so he taught me a lot about Warsaw’s rebuilding after the second world war. When you start from nothing, you are used to change. Chylak by the Old Orangery at Łazienki Królewskie Park © Zuzanna Szamocka When we launched Chylak in 2014, we saw people with Polish surnames buying bags from all over the world, proud to support our business. Friends in fashion were asking, “Are you sure?” But it turned out to be a great idea.

No one thinks of Poland when they think of bags or leather. It led to me launching a made-in-Poland accessories brand here. My boyfriend, now my husband, wanted to stay in the US. In my 20s I moved to New York to do an internship at Proenza Schouler.

I was born in Warsaw and I feel very attached to the city. Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

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