Warsaw
Completed in 1952, this expansive square is the centrepiece of the Marsza艂kowska Residential District (MDM). Although contemporary shopfronts, commercial signage and parked cars mar the socialist realist vision of the architecture, wonderful details remain, not least the heroic worker reliefs carved into facades and the giant pair of lamps at the southern end.
Make sure you return in the evening to see the animated neon Volleyball Player, designed by Jan Mucharski in 1960.
5.04 MILES
Warsaw鈥檚 top palace, 10km south of the city centre, was commissioned by King Jan III Sobieski in 1677. It has changed hands several times over the鈥
0.8 MILES
For over 60 years this socialist realist palace has dominated central Warsaw. A 鈥榞ift of friendship鈥 from the Soviet Union, it was completed in 1955 and鈥
1.77 MILES
This remarkable copy of the original castle blown up by the Germans in WWII is filled with authentic period furniture and original works of art鈥
1.65 MILES
This exceptional museum, housed in a former tram power station and its surrounding grounds, traces the history of the city's heroic but doomed uprising鈥
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
2.12 MILES
Housed in one of Warsaw's best examples of contemporary architecture, this award-winning museum documents 1000 years of Jewish history in Poland. The鈥
1.45 MILES
The fully interactive, push-the-buttons-and-see-what-happens Copernicus Science Centre pulls off that tricky feat of being both hugely fun and educational鈥
0.81 MILES
Pronounced wah-zhen-kee, this beautiful park includes manicured gardens, an ornamental lake, wooded glades and strutting peacocks. Once a hunting ground,鈥
1.02 MILES
This multimedia museum within the baroque Ostrogski Palace showcases the work of Poland鈥檚 most famous composer. You鈥檙e encouraged to take your time鈥
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Perhaps Warsaw's most iconic neon is this animation of a girl throwing a volleyball, designed by Jan Mucharski in 1960 and hanging off the corner of a鈥
2. Museum of Life Under Communism
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This small, privately run museum, devoted to the communist period in Poland's history, has found its spiritual home situated over a KFC and overlooking鈥
3. Church of the Holy Redeemer
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Finished in 1911, this elegant church borrows from both the Renaissance and baroque periods. Demolished by the German occupiers during WWII, it was鈥
4. Mausoleum of Struggle & Martyrdom
0.42 MILES
Once used by the Gestapo for interrogation, torture and murder, this building now stands as a memorial to the thousands of Poles who passed through its鈥
0.51 MILES
A pleasant spot to hang out is this charming wooded enclave in the heart of Warsaw. The colony of some 20-odd Finnish wooden cottages have been here since鈥
0.52 MILES
Destroyed during WWII, this church was rebuilt to its original early-19th-century design inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Inside, look to the left of the鈥
7. Sejm of the Republic of Poland
0.54 MILES
Apply online or by phone at least a week in advance to arrange a tour around Poland's national parliament, the Sejm. You will need to bring some form of鈥
0.57 MILES
Photography enthusiasts will be thrilled by this late-19th-century contraption. Reputedly the last working example of its kind in Europe, it consists of a鈥