Warsaw- the capital city of Poland
Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1 million 700 thousand people.
Warsaw is the 9th largest city in the European Union.
Warsaw straddles the Vistula River. It is located in the heartland of the Masovian Plain, and its average altitude is 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, although there are some hills (mostly artificial) located within the confines of the city.
Warsaw is a county and is further divided into 18 boroughs. The best known are the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and New Town (Nowe Miasto).
As the capital of Poland, Warsaw is the political centre of the country. All state agencies are located there, including the Polish Parliament, the Presidential Office and the Supreme Court.
Public transport in Warsaw is ubiquitous, serving the city with buses, tramways, and metro.
Tourists attractions worth visiting in Warsaw
Although today's Warsaw is a fairly young city, it has a lot of tourist attractions. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town quarter, carefully reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, King Sigismund's Column, Market Square, and the Barbican.
Further south is the so-called Royal Route, with many classicist palaces, the Presidential Palace and the Warsaw University campus. Also the popular Nowy Świat Street is worth mentioning.
Warsaw's oldest public park, the Ogród Saski, is located within 10 minutes' walk from the old town. City’s biggest public park and said to be the most beautiful is the Łazienki Park. It is also very old — established in the 17th century and given its current classical shape in late 18th century — is located further south, on the Royal Route, about 3 km from the Warsaw Old Town.
The Powązki Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe, full of sculptures, some of them by the most renowned Polish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since it serves the religious communities of Warsaw, be it Catholics, Jews, Muslims or Protestants, it is often called a necropolis. Nearby is the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe.
To the north of the city centre is the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto.
The borough of Żoliborz is famous for its architecture from the 1920s and 1930s. Between Żoliborz and the Vistula is the Warsaw Citadel, a monument of 19th century military architecture.
Former royal residence of king Jan III Sobieski — Wilanów Palace is notable for their baroque architecture and beautiful parks.
Notable examples of contemporary architecture include the Palace of Culture and Science, a Soc-realist skyscraper located in the city centre and the Constitution Square with its monumental Social realism architecture.
The central part of the right-bank (east) Praga borough it is a place where very run-down houses stand right next to modern apartment buildings and shopping malls.
Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw hosts many events and festivals. Among the events worth particular attention are: the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.