Theatre in the past
From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny (Theatre Square) was the country's cultural hub and home to the various theatres.
The main building housed the Great Theatre from 1833 to 1834, the Rozmaitosci Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 - the Nowy Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama, including those directed by Leon Schiller.
Nearby, in Ogród Saski (the Saxon Garden), the Summer Theatre was in operation from 1870 to 1939, and in the inter-war period, the theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw's first literary cabaret, and Leon Schiller's musical theatre Melodram. The Wojciech Boguslawski Theatre (1922-26), was the best example of "Polish monumental theatre". From the mid-1930s, the Great Theatre building housed the Upati Institute of Dramatic Arts - the first state-run academy of dramatic art, with an acting department and a stage directing department.
Plac Teatralny and its environs was the venue for numerous parades, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls and concerts.

Theatre
Warsaw is home to over 30 major theatres spread throughout the city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre (established 1778).
Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers who add to the city's theatrical culture. Their productions may be viewed mostly in smaller theatres and Houses of Culture (Domy Kultury), mostly outside Sródmiescie (Central Warsaw). Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.

Music
Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the Roma and Buffo music theatres and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw hosts many events and festivals. Among the events worth particular attention are: the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the International Stanislaw Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.

Museums and art galleries
The levelling of Warsaw during the war has left gaping holes in the city's historic collections.  And although a considerable amount of treasures were spirited away to safety as the storm clouds gathered in 1939, it is also true that a great number of collections from palaces and museums in the countryside were brought to Warsaw at that time as the capital was considered a safer place than some remote castle in the borderlands. Thus losses were heavy.
Yet in spite of this, Warsaw still boasts some wonderful museums. As interesting examples of expositions the most notable are: the world's first Museum of Posters boasting one of the largest collections of art posters in the world, Museum of Hunting and Riding and the Railway Museum. From among Warsaw's 60 museums, the most prestigious ones are National Museum with a wide collection of works whose origin ranges in time from antiquity till the present epoch as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country and Museum of the Polish Army whose set portrays the history of arms.
The collections of Lazienki and Wilanów palaces (both buildings came through the war in good shape) are a delight, as are those of the Royal Castle. The Palace in Natolin - a former rural residence of Duke Czartoryski. Its interiors and park are accessible to tourists.
Holding Poland's largest private collection of art, the Carroll Porczynski Collection Museum displays works from such varied artists as Rubens, Goya, Constable, Renoir, van Gogh and Dalí, and countless others.

A fine tribute to the fall of Warsaw and history of Poland can be found in the Warsaw Uprising Museum and in the Katyn Museum which preserves the memory of the crime. Museum of Independence host of sentimental and patriotic paraphernalia connected with these fateful epochs, as well as some invaluable art collections. Dating back to 1936 Warsaw Historical Museum contains 60 rooms which host a permanent exhibition of the history of Warsaw from its origins until today.
The 17th century Royal Ujazdów Castle currently houses Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The centre also develops unique art programs that correlated with the reconstruction and organization of the Ujazdów Castle architectural spaces. The Centre of Contemporary Art currently realizes about 500 projects a year.
Zacheta National Gallery of Art is the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a tradition stretching back to the mid 19th century. The gallery organises exhibitions of modern art by Polish and international artists and promotes art in many other ways.
The city also possesses some marvellous oddities such as the Museum of Caricature (the only one of its kind in the world) and a magnificent Motorisation Museum, which has everything from 1930s classics to cars that were owned by Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Media and film
Warsaw is the media centre of Poland, and the location of the main headquarters of TVP and other numerous local and national TV and radio stations, such as TVN, Polsat, TV4, TV Puls, Canal+ Poland, Cyfra+ and MTV Poland.
Since May 1661 the first Polish newspaper, Polish Ordinary Mercury, was printed in Warsaw. The city is also the printing capital of Poland with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik Polska-Europa-Swiat Poland's large nationwide daily newspapers have their headquarters in Warsaw.
Warsaw also has a sizable movie and television industry. The city houses several movie companies and studios. Among the movie campanies are TOR, Czolówka, Zebra and Kadr who is behind several international movie productions.
Over the next few years the new Film City in Nowe Miasto, located a mere 80 km from Warsaw, will become the centre of Polish film production and international co-production. It is to be the largest high-tech film studio in Europe. The first projects filmed in the new Film City will be two films about the Warsaw Uprising. Two backlots will be constructed for these projects - a lot of pre-WWII Warsaw and city ruins.
Since World War II, Warsaw has been the most important centre of film production in Poland. It has also been featured in numerous movies, both Polish and foreign, for example: Kanal and Korczak by Andrzej Wajda, The Decalogue by Krzysztof Kieslowski, also including Oscar winner The Pianist by Roman Polanski.