Warsaw is Poland’s largest city, and is also its capital. The city is the tenth largest in Europe, and is situated on the Vistula River. Warsaw is a major destination for tourism, and is a major economic hub for the European region.

The Capital City of Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. Its population as of 2004 was estimated at 1,676,600, with an urban agglomeration of approximately 2,400,000.

This was a market and defensive township as early as in the 10th century, but only officially a town from the mid 13th on. As the years passed, Warsaw flourished at times, then crashed at others. The Swedish invasion and two World Wars were terribly hard on the city. Having suffered significant bomb damage through World War 2, the city has since been rebuilt.

The city benefits from a wide range of public transport options, including buses, trams, metro, light rail and regional rail systems. The majority of the public transport system is operated by the Warsaw Transport Authority (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego).

Warsaw must-see

The old Town is a World Heritage Site as an example of faithful reconstruction from its pre-War state, in many cases down to the finest detail. The most impressive buildings in Warsaw are the Royal Castle, the Wilanow Palace and Park and Lazienki Park with its several palaces en route. All told, the Trakt Krolewski as it is known takes in the Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat and Aleje Ujazdowskie thoroughfares, all attractive and worth a stroll, with their many churches, palaces and stylish tenement houses. A quite different scene is that of the city centre proper, dominated as it is by the imposingly stark Socialist-Realist architecture of the Palace of Culture and Science.