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It is very difficult to pinpoint where the Warsaw city center is. Varsovians differ in its definition. Some would say it is the area around the Palace of Culture and Science (and the Central Railway Station), which bustles with fashionable shops and hotels. Others would argue that plac Trzech Krzy?y is the center—or plac Zbawici
It is very difficult to pinpoint where the Warsaw city center is. Varsovians differ in its definition. Some would say it is the area around the Palace of Culture and Science (and the Central Railway Station), which bustles with fashionable shops and hotels. Others would
It is very difficult to pinpoint where the Warsaw city center is. Varsovians differ in its definition. Some would say it
It is very difficult to pinpoint where the Warsaw city center is. Varsovians differ in its definition. Some would say it is the area around the Palace of Culture and Science (and the Central Railway Station), which bustles with fashionable shops and hotels. Others would argue that plac Trzech Krzy?y is the center—or plac Zbawiciela. For many, it would be the area around the Royal Castle and the Old Town square; after all, it was at this location that a fishing hamlet was founded and eventually grew into Warsaw town.
For the visitor, the question is, happily, not so important because all these places are not at all far from one another, and Warsaw is an easy city to navigate. The Palace of Culture and Science will certainly provide you with a useful orientation point: to its north lies the Old Town, which encompasses most of the Royal Route; to its south, the Diplomatic Quarter and the ?azienki Park. West of the Old Town lie Muranów, Mirów, and Wola, neighborhoods in the former Jewish district. All these sights are on the left bank of the Vistula River.
On the right bank is the Praga District, a poorer quarter of workers and artisans that emerged from the war fairly intact. Today, Praga is becoming increasingly fashionable, and many visitors find its galleries, bars, and unique "provincial" flavor well worth the trip across the Vistula.
The Chopin Museum occupies the 17th-century Pałac Ostrogskich, which towers above Tamka. The best approach is via the steps from Tamka. In the 19th century the Warsaw Conservatory was housed here (Ignacy Paderewski was one of its students). In 2010, on the occasion of Chopin's Year celebrations, a modest collection of mementos, including the last piano played by the composer, was turned into an exciting, interactive, state-of-the-art display across four floors of the Palace. Many programs and events are running here throughout the year, including piano recitals and museum lessons for children. The museum's motto is for the visitor to "Experience Chopin." The works of Chopin (1810–49) took their roots from folk rhythms and melodies of exclusively Polish invention. Thanks to this composer, Poland can fairly claim to have been the fountainhead of popular music in Europe in the mid-19th century, when the Chopin's polonaises and mazurkas whirled their way around the continent.
Anti-Communists love the irony of this once-despised symbol of oppression; for a decade after the Communist fall, until 2001, it was the seat of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (today, it's the Centrum Bankowo-Finansowe). This is not a tourist sight in a strict sense, but it is worth a peek for its monumental—even oppressive—architecture, a remainder of what the fallen system was like. It was declared a historic monument in 2010.
al. Jerozolimskie and Nowy Świat 6/12, Warsaw, Mazovia, 00-400, Poland
Built in the early 19th century as a replica of the Roman pantheon, St. Alexander's stands on an island in the middle of plac Trzech Krzyży, a name that is notoriously difficult for foreigners to pronounce and means "Three Crosses Square." One of the crosses is on the church itself.
The heart of Poland's most famous composer, Frédéric Chopin, is immured in a pillar inside this baroque church. Atop the church steps is a massive, sculpted crucifix. Across from the church is the statue of Nicolaus Copernicus, standing in front of the neoclassical Staszic Palace, the headquarters of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Like many other notable Warsaw monuments, this statue is the work of the 19th-century Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
In a functional 1930s building, the National Museum has an impressive collection of contemporary Polish and European paintings, Gothic icons, and works from antiquity.
If you're interested in all things military, you might want to visit this museum's exhibits of weaponry, armor, and uniforms, which trace Polish military history for the past 10 centuries. Heavy armaments are displayed outside. In a few years, the museum will move to the new building, now under construction—but until then, it remains open in the old location.
Now the home of the Academy of Fine Arts, the Czapski Palace dates from the late 17th century but was rebuilt in 1740 in the rococo style. Zygmunt Krasiński, the Polish romantic poet, was born here in 1812, and Chopin once lived in the palace mews.
This massive Stalinist-Gothic structure looks like a wedding cake and is the main landmark in the city. Some hate it, some love it but it's been a national monument since 2007. From the 30th floor you can get a panoramic view. The old joke runs that this is Warsaw's best view because it is the only place from which you can't see the palace. To view all of urban Warsaw from 700 feet up, buy tickets at the booth near the east entrance. But do see the interiors as well, and try to see beauty in them. The building houses a number of facilities, including a swimming pool and the Museum of Science and Technology, with a display that hasn't changed for several decades, making it charmingly vintage, and not at all high-tech. Curiously, the Palace is also home to several species of animals: cats live in the second level underground, peregrine falcons on the 43rd floor, and, since 2015, there are even beehives.
The high wrought-iron gates of Warsaw University lead into a leafy campus with some beautiful buildings. The Pałac Kazimierzowski (Kazimierzowski Palace), which currently houses the university administration, is among the more historic campus buildings but also a focal point for the university. In the 18th century it was the Military Cadet School where Tadeusz Kościuszko studied.
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