Warsaw is also on the UNESCO list. Looking at this city, it is hard to believe that it was almost razed to the ground during the Second World War. Once known as the “Paris of the North”, this city, boasting 13th-century buildings, ceased to exist after being bombarded and blown up. Little coloured townhouses surrounded by defensive walls, the spires of the churches and the Royal Castle – it is all the result of the reconstruction carried out in the post-war years. Warsaw's Old Town was entered on the UNESCO list as an example of faithful reconstruction including the preservation of original sections of the architecture.Among the glass skyscrapers and wide, busy streets of Warsaw, you can seek out restored palaces, historic houses and, sometimes, whole streets which have been harmoniously reconstructed: Krakowskie Przedmieście, for instance, Nowy Świat or Aleje Ujazdowskie. There is no shortage of romantic lanes, you just have to find them. The parks are the pride of the city, a real treasure being the Łazienki Park, an 18th-century architectural and park complex.
It is famous for its alfresco piano recitals, which are held near the Chopin monument. The Socialist Realist architecture of the Communist era may also be a tourist attraction. The most famous one is the Palace of Culture and Science, built in the 1950s according to a Soviet design, still the highest building in the country, and the sixth highest in Europe.
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