The Palace of Culture and Science, a 1950s 'gift' from Stalin, towers to 758ft and is a socialist-realist reminder of Soviet rule that will never be eradicated. The best view of Warsaw, they say, is from the top. The surroundings might be uninspiring in some places, but at least there is more to do especially if you like eating out or visiting the cinema. The highbrow arts of opera, ballet and classical music, encouraged by the Communists as they presented no threat, have now been joined by more rock and jazz. And if your taste buds don't warm to traditional Polish dishes such as pork fat in aspic or stuffed cabbage, you can eat anything from Tex-Mex to Japanese.
Nightlife is more of a problem, however.
Discotheques include Ground Zero, Colosseum and Warsaw's first gay clubs, Rudawce and Paradiso. Beyond that things start to go seedy, with Arena Nightclub proudly boasting 'striptease, women, mud and oil wrestling, sexy excitement' and Polish specialities such as pig's feet in beer. But there is a place that Warsaw's young people wax lyrical about, and that is about 150 miles to the south. Krakow, the capital of Poland until the late 17th Century, is everything Warsaw is not - beautiful, cosy and utterly charming. At its centre is the ancient Cloth Hall, now full of souvenir shops, and at one corner 13th Century St. Marys Church where a bugler plays a sad, unfinished tune every hour from 06.00 to midnight commemorating a predecessor who was slain in mid-tune by a Tartar arrow.