Warsaw.

Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa) 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 1,700,536, with a metropolitan area of approximately 3,350,000. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area — Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th largest city in the European Union.
Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.

Culture

Theatre
From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny (Theatre Square) was the country's cultural hub and home to the various theatres.
The main building housed the Teatr Wielki from 1833–4, the Rozmaitości Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 — the Nowy Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama, including those directed by Leon Schiller.
Nearby, in Ogród Saski (Saxon Garden), the Summer Theatre was in operation from 1870 to 1939, and in the inter-war period, the theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw's first literary cabaret, and Leon Schiller's musical theatre Melodram. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre (1922–6), was the best example of "Polish monumental theatre". From the mid-1930s, the Teatr Wielki building housed the State Institute of Dramatic Arts — the first state-run academy of dramatic art, with an Acting Department and a Stage Directing Department.
Plac Teatralny and its environs was the venue for numerous parades, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls, and concerts.

Warsaw is now home to over 30 major theatres spread throughout the city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre in Warsaw (established 1778).
Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers who add to the city's theatre culture. Their productions may be viewed mostly in smaller theatres and Houses of Culture (Domy Kultury), mostly outside Śródmieście (downtoooon Warsaw). Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.

Music
Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the Roma and Buffo music theatres 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.

Museums and art galleries
There are many museums and art galleries in Warsaw, the most notable are:
National Museum - Muzeum Narodowe
Zachęta Art Gallery - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki
Centre for Contemporary Art - Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej
Museum of the Polish Army - Muzeum Wojska Polskiego
Royal Castle - Zamek Królewski
Warsaw Uprising Museum - Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego
Fryderyk Chopin Museum - Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina

Tourist attractions

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 2, 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.
Warsaw'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,[7] 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 River 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, the Stadion Dziesięciolecia which used to be the biggest open-air market in Europe and the Plac Konstytucji 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.
Ulica Kubusia Puchatka, probably the only street in the world named after Winnie-the-Pooh and located in the very centre of a metropolis.
The modern architecture in Warsaw is represented by:
Metropolitan Office Building at Plac Piłsudskiego (Pilsudski Square) by Sir Norman Foster
Warsaw University Library (BUW) by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski with a garden on the roof and beautiful view on the Vistula River
Rondo 1 office building by SOM
Zlote Tarasy retail and business centre



Interesting Info: http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Poland/Warsaw/index.html