Warsaw is certainly a special city. A little bit village and a little bit metropolis, picturesque and characteristic in the historical area as much as modern in the new districts full of skyscrapers, at times incredibly stately thanks to its 19th-century buildings.
Warsaw is a perfect destination for a weekend, but if you are interested in recent history, linked to the vicissitudes of World War II, you will also have plenty to do for a week, thanks to the many museums and places of historical interest.
Warsaw is also a great idea in winter, when you can combine a visit with its characteristic Christmas markets.
Warsaw’s Old Town, Stare Miasto, was rebuilt following the destruction of World War II and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Town, which, despite its name, is not Warsaw’s oldest district, is built around the Market Square, Rynek Starego Miasta, with a labyrinth of narrow streets and very characteristic alleys, such as Piwna Street, full of neoclassical and baroque buildings. Finally, the famous Royal Route begins in the Old Town.
Between the Old Town and the New Town is the Barbacane Fortress, built by the Venetian architect Giovanni Battista in 1548, was a part of the Old Town walls.
The Royal Castle – Zamek Królewski in Polish – that we can admire in Warsaw today is a perfect copy of the original one bombed by the Nazis towards the end of World War II in August 1944. This imposing red brick building experienced its heyday during the reign of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, who had sumptuous Baroque flats built in the mid-17th century. The tsars also chose it as their residence, but in 1918, when Poland regained independence, it became the official residence of the president.
Rebuilt between 1971 and 1984, today there are two floors of the Palace that can be visited. The tour will take you through the flats and rooms of the kings, the flats of Jozef Poniatowski and the Houses of Parliament. Last but not least, the opulent Great Hall of Assembly. The basement exhibition ‘From Destruction to Reconstruction’ provides every detail of the resurrection of the Palace after World War II when it was destroyed by German bombers during the invasion of Poland in September 1939. The castle was also ransacked and German soldiers stole most of the works of art once kept here. Only the hidden objects survived and were stored in their former location.
The interior decoration of the building is in the so-called Stanislaw II style and is characterised by a harmonious integration of architectural elements with sculpture and large paintings. The most remarkable examples are the Knights’ Hall and the Great Hall or Ballroom, the Grand Apartment, all characterised by particularly harmonious colours. There is also the National Hall, with 6 large original canvases, the Marble Room, the Throne Room and the Canaletto Room, which houses 23 paintings in which Warsaw is depicted in its heyday in the mid 18th century.
Nowadays the Royal Palace is used as a branch of the National Museum and for ceremonial purposes.
Opposite the castle is Zamkowy Square, in the centre of which stands Sigismund’s Column, built in 1644 to celebrate the transfer of capital from Krakow to Warsaw. The sculpture of the king was saved from the bombings of World War II. Castle Square unites the Old Town with the New Town. From Castle Square starts the Royal Route, which after no less than 4 km of Renaissance and Baroque palaces reaches the Wilanow summer residence.
In the heart of Warsaw is the charming Old Town Market Square (Rynek Starego Miasta). It was one of the most atmospheric in Warsaw, the heart of the Old Town and where fairs, festivities and even executions took place. Lined with tall Renaissance and Baroque palaces, it has Gothic, reminders of the buildings destroyed in a great fire in 1607, and neoclassical elements. In the centre of the Market Square is a statue from 1855 depicting a mermaid, the symbol of Warsaw. According to legend, the statue is the sister of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.
The origin of this square dates back to the late 13th century when the city was founded. The entire district was damaged by German bombs during the invasion of Poland in 1939 and later in 1944, but the old market square, which is now one of the city’s main tourist attractions, was rebuilt in 1950.
It is very atmospheric to dine in one of the many restaurants overlooking the Market Square, although prices are affected by the breathtaking view. Here you can also find souvenir shops: folk art, traditional costumes, textiles, dolls and eggs decorated in the traditional style.
In the centre of Warsaw is the Basilica of St John the Baptist, Katedra sw. Jana in Polish. Built in the 14th century in Gothic style, the church was remodelled several times until it was razed to the ground during World War II. The post-war reconstruction of the city of Warsaw, which was carried out in full respect of its original appearance using drawings and photographs, concentrated on the Old Town between 1949 and 1963 with the aim of restoring its 17th and 18th century appearance. Even the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 90 per cent destroyed, was restored to its original Gothic splendour thanks to the reconstruction work, and today the church has been included together with the city on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The exterior reconstruction is based on an early 17th century illustration by Hogenberg and a drawing by Abraham dated 1627. The interior of the cathedral has been reconstructed in a significantly different way from its pre-war appearance: the interventions have brought the building back in time while maintaining the structure with 3 naves, 2 of which are side aisles. On the right side of the front is a bell tower while the left aisle is full of chapels. The consecration of Warsaw Cathedral after reconstruction took place on 9 June 1960.
The cathedral’s popular attraction in addition to its architecture are the organ concerts held throughout the day.
The Museum of the World of Illusion (Muzeum Świat Iluzji) is a fascinating interactive space that challenges visitors’ perception and tests the senses. This unique museum offers over 60 exhibits that play with the mind through optical illusions, interactive installations and rooms with altered perspectives.
Popular attractions include the Ames room, where people appear to change size depending on their position, and the upside-down room, where visitors can take amusing photos while appearing to walk on the ceiling. The museum also features holograms, magic mirrors and rotating tunnels that create feelings of disorientation.
A particularly immersive experience is the ‘Vortex Tunnel‘, a suspension bridge surrounded by rotating lights that creates the illusion of movement, testing visitors’ balance. The museum is perfect for families, photographers and anyone interested in exploring the boundaries between reality and perception.
A cruise on the Vistula River offers a unique and fascinating perspective of the Polish capital. As the river meanders through the heart of the city, it offers beautiful views of the modern skyline and the picturesque Old Town.
During the boat ride, which takes about an hour, you can admire iconic sights such as the Royal Castle and the Warsaw Mermaid, the symbol of the city. Boats depart regularly from the pier near the Świętokrzyski Bridge, especially during the summer season.
Sunset is a magical time for this experience, when the golden rays illuminate the facades of historical buildings and are reflected in the waters of the river.
Some cruises offer the possibility of sailing aboard a Galar, an authentic replica of the historical flat-bottomed Polish transport boats once used for river trade.
Muranow, the Jewish Quarter, is located west of the Old Town and was built in the 17th century by the Venetian architect Giuseppe Bellotti. It owes its name to the Venetian island of Muranow and here, before World War II, lived the largest Jewish community in Europe, second in the world only to that of New York, which numbered some 380,000 people, 30 per cent of Warsaw’s total population. Because it was a Jewish-inhabited district, in 1940 the Nazis established the Great Ghetto there, isolated by a 3-metre high brick wall.
On 19 April 1943 the survivors, estimated at only 50,000 people, took up arms and started an uprising: the uprising went on for three weeks until German planes razed the ghetto to the ground.
After the war, a Soviet-style neighbourhood was rebuilt there, dubbed ‘the paradise of the working class’.
The famous Ghetto Wall, 3 metres high and covered with barbed iron, stands between the houses at ul. Sienna 55 and ul. Zlota 62 and ul. Waliców.
The Jewish cemetery in Warsaw was founded in 1806 and is one of the largest in Europe with over 200,000 tombstones. The cemetery, which covers 33 hectares, was partially destroyed during World War II by the Germans, who on 15 May 1943 attacked the buildings here, including the synagogue.
The Jewish cemetery is one of the precious relics of Warsaw restored thanks to the Jewish foundation of the city: the entrance gates, numerous graves, and the 1907 aqueduct have been brought back to light. According to Jewish tradition, this burial place was located outside the city walls and the tombstones are richly decorated with granite, sandstone and stone.
It is one of the few Jewish cemeteries still in use in Poland and also houses the graves of famous people.
The Museum of the Uprising, opened on 31 July 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the 63-day fighting in the city, is housed in the former tram power station, a tastefully restored monument of early 20th-century red-brick industrial architecture in the south-western part of the former Jewish ghetto. The modern museum traces this page in Warsaw’s history through three levels of interactive exhibits, photographs, films and personal accounts of survivors.
The museum succeeds in conveying to visitors the sense of despair that the inhabitants of Warsaw had to deal with during the war and is a tribute to all those who fought and died for a free Poland. With an area of over 3,000 metres, it brings together more than 30,000 objects including 1,500 photographs and films: the heart of the museum is a steel monument, passing through all the floors of the building. With an area of more than 3 thousand metres, there are almost a thousand artefacts and a thousand and 500 photographs and films: the heart of the museum is a steel monument passing through all the floors of the building. On its walls is engraved the calendar of the Uprising and the sound of a heartbeat, which can be heard from inside, symbolises life in Warsaw in 1944. The museum also houses 11,000 volumes and 10,000 press articles.
On the ground floor, the museum exhibition takes you back to 1939 when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland. The second floor is dedicated to the 1944 Uprising while a special attraction is undoubtedly the museum tower with a beautiful view of Warsaw and the wall of remembrance on which are engraved the names of more than 10 thousand insurgents who died during the battle.
The Nozyk Synagogue is the only structure of its kind to have survived the Second World War, although partially damaged, because it was used by the Germans as a warehouse and stable for horses. Built between 1898 and 1902 by a well-known Warsaw merchant and his wife, today it is not only a place of worship but also an important centre of Jewish culture.
The building, reconstructed between 1977 and 1983, was designed by a famous architect from the Polish capital and features a neo-romantic façade with notable neo-Byzantine elements. The Synagogue has a rectangular floor plan, with a three-aisle interior chamber.
The interior of the synagogue consists of a main hall and the vestibule, in which there is a fountain used for the ritual washing of hands before entering the prayer hall. In the main hall, on the east wall, is the holy ark, a piece of furniture in the form of a colonnaded portico, in which the Torah scrolls, i.e. the first five books of the Bible, are kept. The prayer room in the synagogue is intended for men only. Women have a space specially reserved for them.
The synagogue can be visited from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., except on Saturdays.
A modern Muranow building, in the heart of the Jewish quarter, houses the Museum of the History of Polish Jews – POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich – opened on 20 April 2013, which represents the first attempt to show Jewish continuity in a single, local, thousand-year-old account of Polish Jews from the Middle Ages to the present day. This building, designed by a team of Finnish architects, stands where the centre of the Jewish quarter and the headquarters of the Judenrat were before World War II and is rich in symbolic meaning.
Its glass façade is divided in half by a majestic entrance evoking the biblical crossing of the Red Sea by the biblical children of Israel, the glass panels covering the façade have engravings in Hebrew and Latin letters forming the word “Polin”, Poland in Hebrew but which can also be read as “here they may rest”. Contemporary architecture is ideal for the museum, which aims to show a thousand years of co-existence between the Polish and Jewish peoples.
The museum is the first public-private run in Poland and is a meeting place for people who want to better understand past and contemporary Jewish culture, want to deal with stereotypes and reduce phenomena that threaten the modern world, such as xenophobia and nationalistic prejudices, and provides an overview, paves the way, encourages self-exploration of seldom visited places.
The building covers an area of 12,800 square metres of usable space. One third houses temporary exhibitions and a multipurpose hall consisting of an auditorium, cinema, concert hall, two screens, Education Centre, children’s space, a restaurant and a cafeteria. The permanent exhibition is the result of the international work of 130 scientists.
In the south-eastern corner of the park, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews has erected the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto – Pomnik Bohaterów Getta w Warszawie – to the thousands of Jews who lost their lives in 1943 during the uprising. The sculpture, surrounded by trees, is very austere: on one side the insurgents, men, women and children are depicted holding molotov cocktails and grenades while on the other side the martyrdom of women and children on their way to the extermination camps dominates the scene.
Built from a stone block on which relief decorations, one bronze and one terracotta, were placed, it was the first monument to bear witness to the heroism of the Jewish resistance and the destruction of the ghetto. Inaugurated on 19 April 1948 on the fifth anniversary of the uprising, the sculpture was not immediately appreciated. Today the monument is a meeting point. A curiosity: the façade was made from Swedish granite that the Nazis wanted to use for a monument of their own.
Housed in the Radziwill Palace, the Independence Museum collects exhibits documenting the history of the Polish people’s struggle for independence from the Kosciuszko Uprising of 1794 to the present day, as well as the fate of Poles scattered around the world. With more than 55 thousand exhibits, including art objects, military objects, medals, coins, photographs, postcards, flags and other national symbols such as objects created to commemorate anniversaries of important events.
The collection of exhibits documenting the history of the Polish struggle for independence is presented in a modern manner to facilitate visitor enjoyment.
The Umschlagplatz Monument marks the point of departure for Jews destined for the Treblinka extermination camp. The sculpture has a rectangular shape with marble walls and is a reminder of the cattle wagons in which the prisoners were herded. Between 5,000 and 7,000 people were taken from the Warsaw ghetto every day between 1942 and 1943, an estimated total of over 300,000.
Inaugurated in 1988, on one of its walls stand the symbolic engraved names of the victims, an inscription recalling those days of suffering and death and a passage from the book of Job.
On the wall are engraved 448 names as a memorial symbol, and on the monument the inscription reads: “Between the years 1940 and 1943 on this path of suffering and death, more than 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto were taken to the Nazi extermination camps”.
The monument features a sequence of colours, white with a black stripe on the front wall, referring to Jewish ritual clothing. The sculpture was created by architect Hanna Szmalenberg and sculptor Władysław Klamerus.
The Royal Road, Trakt królewski, is the old Warsaw street leading from Castle Square in the Old Town to the Royal Residence in Wilanów. The Royal Route, about 4 kilometres long, consists of three streets: Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat and Aleje Ujazdowskie, each surrounded by beautiful palaces.
Starting from Castle Square in the direction of Nowy Swiat, walk along the elegant Krakowskie Przedmiescie, the northernmost part of the Royal Route. Characterised by monuments and charming churches, it is home to the University of Warsaw and historical buildings. Founded in the 15th century as a commercial street, it is one of the oldest and most famous streets in the city.
Over the years this important and iconic artery of Warsaw was losing its charm and turning into a common and neglected street, but in the last decade it has been restored to its former glory as the city’s promenade at a considerable expense. Filled with benches, planters, trees and classic street lamps, it is an ideal place for shopping.
Between Krakowskie Przedmieście and Świętokrzyska the Royal street is called Nowy Swiat, the street of the New World: full of restaurants, shops and cafés including, not to be missed, the popular Bierhalle microbrewery.
It is certainly one of Warsaw’s most expensive shopping streets, boasting an important history since 1643 when it was crossed by the Kings on their way between Warsaw and Krakow, but its current neoclassical appearance is due to post-war reconstruction. Only 6 buildings survived the German fury out of the 71 present, but to rebuild the Art Nouveau buildings as they appeared before the war was unthinkable.
In 1996, the administration decided to turn this busy 4-lane thoroughfare into a pedestrian zone accessible only to trams, taxis, city buses and blue cars.
Travelling along the Royal Route from north to south there are many attractions and places of interest to be found. Here are the most important ones.
The Radziwill Palace is the official residence of the President of Poland in Warsaw and the largest building in the city. The monumental building consists of a four-storey main building, two side wings and a classical façade. Its present appearance dates back to the beginning of the 19th century and is the result of numerous renovations: the central body has half Corinthian pilasters.
The palace has a park of 8,500 square metres, divided into 5 terraces, sloping down towards the Vistula River, enriched by a Neo-Baroque fountain. The park is also home to 2 other buildings, an orangery built in 1850 in the north-east corner and a country house.
The palace also contains an equestrian statue of Prince Jozef Poniatowski. Destroyed by the Germans, it was reconstructed between 1948-1951 and recast in 1965 from the original mould by Paul Lauritz Rasmussen.
The world’s largest collection dedicated to the composer Frederic Chopin is located in Warsaw, in the Baroque Ostrogski Castle. The museum – Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie – one of Warsaw’s main attractions, was created in 1955 and is connected to two branches including the house where the musician was born. The Chopin collection houses over 7 thousand items including manuscripts, private letters, photographs, paintings, jewellery, drawings and much more and since 1999 part of the collection has been a UNESCO heritage site.
In 2010, the museum changed its look, turning towards multimedia to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of one of Poland’s most famous sons: hi-tech equipment, e-books, audio-visuals, musical games and touch-screen options, among the most modern in Europe, illustrate Chopin’s works without dictating the museum’s fruition. In fact, each visitor can choose his or her own route to explore the 4 floors of the exhibition until they can opt for the basement floor, where the masterpieces of Poland’s most famous composer can be listened to unhurriedly.
The entire exhibition consists of 15 rooms, each of which creates a mini-museum: a large room is dedicated to the composer’s Parisian period, from October 1831 until his death in 1849, characterised by an intense cultural and social life, while the women’s room explores the composer’s relations with the fairer sex. The museum also offers a small room dedicated to children.
Ostrogski Palace, the building housing the museum, whose purpose is to collect, organise, develop and care for Chopin’s memorabilia, is a kind of Warsaw landmark. The building dates back to the early 17th century but was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt between 1949-1954.
The National Museum in Warsaw houses the richest collection of art in Poland in a modern building near the Poniatowski Bridge. More than 800,000 exhibits from various epochs, from antiquity to the present day, include paintings, sculptures, engravings, photographs, coins and so on.
From the collection relating to the early Christian period to medieval art and a large collection of Polish paintings, including several canvases recovered after the looting of the museum during World War II.
The origins of the Museum date back to 1862, but it was not until 1916 that it was transformed into a national institution. The present building was inaugurated in 1938 after 11 years of construction, but the hostilities of 1939, with German bombing, deeply damaged the structure.
Łazienki Park, one of the most beautiful parks in Europe, is a 76-hectare botanical garden in the heart of the city that offers visitors the chance to relax among its water areas, flower beds and lawns. Popular with Warsaw residents for winter walks, the park features numerous architectural features including a monument dedicated to composer Frederic Chopin shown at the piano under a willow tree symbolising the artist’s hand.
It was built in the 17th century and contains numerous buildings, almost all designed by architect Domenico Merlini. The Water Tower, where an art gallery is housed, is very popular, not to mention the various royal residences starting with the oldest, the White House. Further afield, the Myslewicki Palace, the Museum of Hunting and Riding and the Palace on the Water, built in the Neoclassical style and named after the small island on which it stands. Finally, there is an amphitheatre on the lakeshore and the Belvedere Palace, the official residence of the state presidency.
Ujazdow Castle, built in 1620 on the ruins of an old settlement dating back to 1262 by King Sigismund, who had wanted it as his summer residence, has since 1985 been home to the Centre for Contemporary Art, a place for the creation, presentation and documentation of contemporary art in all its forms.
The castle was burnt down by the Germans in 1944, blown up by the Communists in 1954 and finally rebuilt in the 1970s. The Centre for Contemporary Art organises exhibitions, visual arts, performances, contemporary music concerts, experimental cinema, video art and creative workshops.
South of the castle are the Botanical Gardens, built between 1818 and 1825, boasting over 5,000 species and varieties of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.
Founded in 1978 by the cartoonist and satirical author Lipinski, the Caricature Museum collects drawings by various authors. Today’s modest collection boasts more than 25,000 pieces, mainly cartoons, caricatures and objects in painting and sculpture, from the 18th century onwards. The exhibition space is not very large and therefore the activities of the museum institution are limited to temporary exhibitions. However, the museum offers the opportunity to be trained in the field of caricature as well as numerous meetings with authors, book presentations, cultural events and numerous national and international satirical humour drawing competitions.
In the course of its history the museum has held more than 300 exhibitions in its own premises and more than 200 in Poland and abroad.
The Praga district is the oldest settlement in Warsaw: it lies on the right bank of the Vistula River and was incorporated into the city at the end of the 18th century. The district fortunately survived the bombings of World War II, thus preserving many original buildings dating back to the 19th century (especially along Zabkowska Street). The inhabitants of this district have always considered themselves to be the authentic citizens of Warsaw, as opposed to the inhabitants of the reconstructed post-war city.
In the past, the Praga district had a reputation as a dangerous and infamous neighbourhood, but since 1989 it has been undergoing a renaissance, thanks to the presence of numerous artists’ workshops, galleries, theatres and alternative venues that give it a very charming alternative and retro air.
Fun fact: the Stara Praga (Old Praga) district has no connection to the city of Prague, instead deriving its name from the verb meaning ‘to roast’.
If you stroll through the Praga district and come across a huge red brick building, know that it is the Koneser Vodka factory. Built in 1897, it has produced several types of liqueurs over the decades, including the well-known Polish brands Wyborowa, Luksusowa and Zubrowka.
The factory is an interesting example of industrial architecture from a century ago, with the front gate resembling a small castle with a watch tower. Currently the building houses a number of cultural institutions such as the Konsekwentny Koneser Theatre and the Luksfera and Klimy Bochenskiej photo and art gallery and also hosts many cultural events including concerts, film reviews, theatre reviews, dance workshops and lectures.
The Cathedral of St Michael the Archangel and St Florian is one of the most impressive examples of Neo-Byzantine architecture in Poland. With its distinctive copper-coloured domes and twin towers rising majestically into the sky, this Orthodox cathedral is a fascinating contrast to the surrounding architecture.
Built between 1894 and 1912, it was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III as a symbol of the Russian presence in the city. Its interior is decorated with beautiful frescoes and gilded iconostases that immediately capture the attention of visitors.
Miraculously surviving the bombings of World War II, today it is not only an important place of worship for the local Orthodox community, but also a testimony to Warsaw’s rich multicultural history.
One of the most beautiful buildings in the Praga district is undoubtedly the Cathedral of Mary Magdalene . Built in the mid-nineteenth century on the site of a late eighteenth-century church, it is clearly of Russo-Byzantine inspiration and has five onion domes. Consecrated in 1869, it also saw the consecration of the side chapel of St. Job of Pochaev in 1892. It is the cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Poland.
This church, a symbol of Russian rule, is one of two surviving Orthodox structures in Poland after the independence gained in the 1920s. The structure also survived the Second World War and is richly decorated inside: the walls feature reliefs with plant motifs and frescoes on the western wall.
The Greek cross plan with a slightly elongated nave places the altar to the east.
North of the Praga district is the Warsaw Zoological Garden. Established in 1928, relatively late compared to other European capitals, this facility today covers an area of 32 hectares and houses 3,646 animals representing 553 species.
Most of the animals were killed during the Second World War while the animals considered most valuable were exported to Germany. In the immediate post-war period, the zoo came back to life thanks mainly to private donations, but the real development of the facility took place when communist rule fell.
In 1998 an aviary was added, in 2003 a special pavilion for rhinoceroses and elephants was created, in 2006 a building for invertebrates was built, and in 2010 it was the turn of the large pavilion for monkeys, as well as the pavilion for hippos and the shark tank.
The New Town, Nowe Miasto, built in the 14th century, developed around the ancient walls of the Old Town and was an independent city, with its own Town Hall and Market Square, until the 18th century, when it was incorporated with Warsaw. It has no city walls probably because it has always been inhabited by poor people.
The home of the world’s most famous woman scientist and winner of two Nobel Prizes, Maria Sklodowska-Curie houses a biographical museum full of memorabilia such as correspondence, poems, documents, personal items, furniture and works of art. The intention of the museum, founded in 1967 on the occasion of the centenary of the scientist’s birth, was and is to celebrate the first woman professor at the Sorbonne and, until now, the only woman buried for her merits in the Paris Pantheon.
In 1903, she received the Nobel Prize for Physics with French physicist Henri Becquerel and in 1911 she received the Prize for Chemistry, becoming the only scientist to hold two Nobel Prizes in various scientific fields. During the First World War he organised a field medical service, and after the war he helped set up institutes for the treatment of cancer with radium. Maria Sklodowska-Curie died on 4 July 1934 in a French hospital as a result of leukaemia caused by handling radioactive substances during the First World War.
The Warsaw Uprising Monument in Krasinski Square is located in front of the Polish Army Cathedral and commemorates the thousands of martyrs of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising who fought the enemy for 63 days. The monumental bronze and concrete statue depicts Armia Krajowa fighters emerging like ghosts from the rubble while others descend into the sewers through a manhole. Inaugurated on 1 August 1989, on the 45th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising, it is one of the city’s most important monuments.
The sculpture is very realistic and has no dynamism or movement. Euphoria and drama coexist with the building of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland built in the background.
Almost in the heart of the city is the Citadel Fortress, built at the behest of Tsar Nicholas I in 1831 after the November Uprising and completed in 1836. The massive building, which overlooks the Vistula River, was for years a notorious political prison while today it houses the army.
The building, designed by General Ivan Dehn, consisted of three bastions, two half-bastions and a dry moat and occupied an area of 36 hectares. Partially demolished during World War I, the fortress possessed 555 cannons, although it never played a defensive role. Today, the Citadel houses Pavilion X, a branch of the Independence Museum.
Inside the Citadel is the Pavilion X museum, which at the time of its construction in 1828 was intended to house political prisoners. In this place, silent guardian of the atrocities of war, more than 40,000 people were imprisoned or executed, including the elite of the Polish nation: Romuald Traugutt, Jozef Pilsudski, Dmowski, Gustav Ehrenberg,Peter Ściegienny, Stefan Okrzeja and many others.
The Copernicus Science Centre is a fully interactive museum primarily aimed at 12-18 year olds. In six permanent exhibits Copernicus allows visitors to range from robotics theatre to the roots of civilisation, while the laboratories – chemical, biological, physical and robotic – offer hands-on experiences for small groups. Don’t miss the Discoverers’ Park, right on the banks of the Vistula River, and the Planetarium with its huge spherical screen.
There are 22 thousand square metres available for visitors to carry out experiments, which are both complex and fun. Another curiosity of the Copernicus Science Centre is the Electrobard, an electronic poet who writes poems on demand and then recites them. The green roof is not only for decoration, but also absorbs noise, has a cooling effect in summer and protects the building against heat loss in winter.
Warsaw’s financial district is dominated by the Palace of Culture and Science, a building donated by the Soviet Union to the Polish nation and built between 1952 and 1955. At 230.5 metres high and 42 storeys, the building is still the most imposing in the Polish capital and in the whole country, even though the structure, which houses congress halls, theatres, a multiplex cinema, two museums, a university, residential areas and offices, is not very popular with Warsaw residents.
From the Palace of Culture and Science, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the city: on the 30th floor, 114 metres above the ground, there is a rooftop terrace where you can let your gaze wander over the endless Masovian plains.
The architecture of the building is closely related to the various skyscrapers built in the Soviet Union in the same era and in particular recalls the building where the Moscow State University is located. However, the Soviet architect incorporated some Polish architectural details into the design, making it a mix of Russian social realism and Polish historicism.
Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the Fotoplastikon is a device that shows you 3,000 three-dimensional images from all over the world, immortalising the old Warsaw, the Warsaw of the good old days, before the Second World War. The machine is the only one remaining in Poland and one of the very few examples in the world, and during the projections you can listen to jazz music and think back to the city’s sad past.
The Fotoplastikon is definitely one of the most magical places in Warsaw: hidden in a dark pre-war building, a visit here is truly a journey back in time. Uncontrolled by the fascists during World War II, it served as a contact point for Polish resistance, academics and intellectuals.
The show consists of 48 images and lasts 20 minutes. Admission is free on Sundays.
South of Warsaw is the beautiful Wilanów Palace, surrounded by manicured historical parks and gardens, it is known as ‘Little Versailles’. Built by King John III as a summer residence in place of a small structure rather suited for petty nobility, it features Baroque elements of clear Italian inspiration.
The body of the palace is symmetrical: in the northern part, Queen Maria Kazimiera resided, while in the wing opposite the king, the< side wings were built on the initiative of the following owner, incorporating the central body as well, to ensure that the entire composition was harmonious.
The two-storey Entrance Hall is very interesting, as is the Grand Dining Room and the Gallery of Polish Portraits, which houses a collection of paintings from the 16th to the 19th century. The exterior of the palace is decorated with striking wall paintings, including a 17th century sundial with a bas-relief depicting Chronos, god of time.
The side door next to the northern wing of the palace gives accessto the gardens and parks: the central park comprises a well-kept Baroque Italian-style garden on two levels, which extends from the palace down to the lake; the southern part is Anglo-Chinese while the northern part is an English-style park.
In the 19th century, work on the palace focused mainly on the reconstruction of the interior to adapt it to the function of a museum and living quarters, in fact after World War II Wilanow Palace became state property and after extensive restoration work it was opened to the public in 1962 as a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw.
During the summer months, various musical events are held in the gardens. The palace is open to visitors every day of the week, except Tuesdays.
Discover Poland through the eyes of expert guides who will take you on a tour of the city's hidden treasures. Participating in a guided visit or a free tour will allow you to capture the true essence of Poland.
The free tours are a viable alternative to traditional guided tours. They work like this: participation is free and at the end of the visit you can leave a tip at your discretion. Below you will find our favourite free tour, otherwise you can see the full list by visiting this page.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
If you are planning to spend 2 days in Warsaw, we suggest you think of an itinerary to follow to discover this fascinating city.
On the first day, you can choose to immerse yourself in the enchanting medieval atmosphere of the Old Town, with its quaint little streets teeming with small shops, bars and restaurants, until you reach the Royal Palace. We recommend a visit to this beautiful 14th-century building with its imposing brick façade and Sigismund’s Tower, which stands right in the centre, a symbol of the Polish capital.
After lunch you can head to ulica Krakowskie Przedmiescie, one of Warsaw’s most elegant streets and the northern section of the Royal Route, surrounded by historical palaces, churches and manors.
From here you can continue to the Warsaw Uprising Museum set up in the brick building that originally housed the tram power station. The tour is very moving and winds its way through films, photos and audio documents through which the visitor takes a day-by-day look at the bloody history of the Warsaw Uprising that took place from 10 August to 19 October 1944.
In the evening you can decide to enjoy one of the many typical dishes in one of the restaurants in the Aleja Jerozolimskie area.
You can devote the second day of your two-day tour of Warsaw to visiting one of the Polish capital’s many museums, be it the Chopin Museum, opened in 2010 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the great composer’s birth after an impressive restoration, or the Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN), or the National Museum, where works that were stored in the Royal Castle were rescued during World War II, and which today offers visitors various collections divided by theme: ancient, medieval, decorative, European painting and others.
In the afternoon, if the day allows, you can go and relax in the beautiful Baroque-style Lazienki Park, which at 76 hectares is the largest in the city, or explore the markets and shops of Warsaw.
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