Warsaw, the capital of Poland and its largest metropolitan area, is located in the central part of the country. You can reach it in 1 - 5 flight hours from any major European city: Paris, London, Rome, Zurich, Frankfurt, Moscow. The Warsaw downtown is just 10 kilometers from Warsaw International Airport.

Warsaw has seven centuries of history full of hardship. During World War II alone, 90% of the city was destroyed, as the Nazi authorities intended to erase Warsaw from the map of Europe. It raised itself from ruin like the phoenix emerging out of the ashes. In 1980, the heart of Warsaw - the Old Town - restored with amazing detail, was added by UNESCO to the world heritage list. Over the centuries, the Old Town has witnessed a number of events of primary importance to the nation's history. In 1773, in the Royal Castle, the Polish Parliament established Europe's first Ministry of Education, the Commission for National Education. In the same place, in 1791, the Constitution of May the Third, Europe's first and the world's second (after that of the United States) written democratic constitution was signed. You can absorb the history of Warsaw and Poland just by walking around the city and visiting palaces, museums, churches and cemeteries.

As the capital of the country, Warsaw is the center of public and cultural life; there are hundreds of galleries, theaters, cinemas, music scenes; several prestigious international cultural festivals and competitions take place here every year.

Warsaw is a nice city to stay in. Located on both sides of the Vistula river, it has numerous parks and gardens, including the world-renowned palace and park complex, Łazienki, where a piano concert takes place every Sunday. Mild weather makes outdoor activities pleasurable from mid-spring to late fall; in winter you can sometimes enjoy snow covering streets and trees. More important, with its 1.8 million population Warsaw managed to avoid many of the social problems that have affected large North American and European cities.

Warsaw is also one of the largest academic centers in Europe. Approximately 200 000 young people are currently studying at more than 50 universities and colleges. We are particularly proud of one of these - the Warsaw University of Technology Business School.

Useful links:

http://www.poland.pl
http://www.gopoland.com/wheretogo/warsaw/
http://www.warsaw-travel.com/warszawa.html
http://www.travel-poland.pl/
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/30.htm
http://www.warsaw.prv.pl/
http://www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/warspubs.htm