Palace of Culture and Science

One of the biggest tourist attractions of Warsaw is the Palace of Culture and Science.

It was built in the 1950s in the socialist realism style.It is a very controversial building. On one hand it became a landmark of the city (though it is not a unique building of this type, in Moscow there are 7 of them). On the other hand, it is a reminder of the dark days when Poland was not fully independent.

The Palace houses theaters, museums, concert halls and offices. It remains one of the tallest buildings in Poland.

Nowadays it is however surrounded by a growing number of sky scrapers.

If you come to visit the Palace, you must start with taking the lift up to the 30^th floor. It offers you the unique possibility to see Warsaw in its full beauty.

To see it better you have to look through the grid (but be careful!).

You can see there the Vistula river and its bridges …

… and even spot some more remote districts like Mokotów...

… or the Old Town (the big beige building is the National Theater and Opera House).

Have you noticed the unusual round-shaped structure?

It is the National Football stadium. The red and white stripes represent the Polish flag. The shape is supposed to look like a wicker basket. A strange idea for a football stadium. Anyway, I think the stadium does not look that bad – you can judge by yourself.

You can also have a closer look at the top windows of the sky scrapers that I have shown you from the ground level.

If you would like to check what can be seen right now from the Palace Terrace, click on the link. But the best choice will be to simply come and see it by yourself.