  The current census of, and stellar population in, massive Galactic star
clusters is reviewed. In particular, we concentrate on a recent survey of
obscured Galactic Giant H II (GHII) regions and the associated stellar clusters
embedded in them. The regions have been selected as the most luminous radio
continuum sources, and as such the stellar clusters appear to be among the
youngest massive clusters in the Galaxy. The emergent stellar populations are
further studied through near infrared spectroscopy of the brighter members. We
also discuss the massive stellar clusters within 50 pc of the Galactic center
(GC), comparing their known properties to those found in the GHII region
survey. It is suggested that the somewhat younger clusters associated with the
GHII regions are more suited to measuring the initial mass function in massive
star clusters. Narrow band images in the central pc of the GC are presented
which identify the young stellar sequence associated with the evolved He I
emission line stars.

Astrophysics