The University of Warsaw – which vies with the Jagellonian University of Kraków for the title of Poland’s most respected seat of learning – occupies a suitably grand location on Krakowskie Przedmieście, Warsaw’s own version of the Champs Elysee. Established in 1816 after the partitions of Poland, the university employs more than 7,500 people, who look after around 48,000 students. A walk around the university’s main campus is one of the most enjoyable diversions a visitor to Warsaw can take. A genuine campus-like atmosphere greets you as you wander through the grand main gates, where inside a number of fantastic period buildings and palaces, set amongst leafy courtyards, exude erudition and learning from every brick. Students sit on benches reading books and smoking cigarettes, a few hurry between buildings scurrying from lecture to lecture. It all adds to the buzz.