The Palace of Culture and Science dominates the Warsaw skyline at 237 metres — the tallest building in Poland. Built in the Socialist Realist style and completed in 1955, it was presented to Poland by Stalin as a symbol of Soviet friendship. Poles have never quite decided what to do with it: too expensive to demolish, too prominent to ignore, it has become an accidental landmark.
The observation deck on the 30th floor gives the best panorama of Warsaw, and the building houses theatres, cinemas, a university, a casino, and countless offices. The surroundings have been transformed since 1989 into a lively area with a farmer's market, street food stalls, and the city's main shopping mall next door.