Warsaw is a city full of attractions. Here we will find an atmospheric Old Town, historic royal residences, museums documenting the history of Warsaw and Poland, galleries with thousands of works of Polish and world art, beautiful parks and lively boulevards on the Vistula River. Events are held here throughout the year to make your stay in the city more attractive, e.g. film festivals, concerts, fairs, conferences.
There are several viewpoints from which you can admire the city panorama. The most beautiful view of the Old Town and the right-bank part of Warsaw is from the bell tower of St. Anna, located right next to the Castle Square. A visit to the observation deck located on the 30th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science also provides an unforgettable experience.
When visiting Warsaw, it is worth going to the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace in Wilanów, the baroque residence of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski (1629–1696). The palace and the surrounding garden have remained unchanged despite partitions, wars and occupation. In the palace you can see the apartments of the king and his wife, including: Chinese, Dutch and Antiquities Cabinets and the Potocki Museum. There is a beautiful 17th century sundial on the façade of the Palace.
The Royal Łazienki Museum is the summer residence of the last king of Poland – Stanisław August Poniatowski (1732–1798). It consists of classicist monuments and historical gardens. In the Royal Łazienki Park you can see an orangery, an amphitheatre, the Palace on the Isle (with the Royal Picture Gallery), the Museum of Hunting and Riding, the Myślewicki Palace and numerous free-standing sculptures. In summer, from mid-May to the end of September, open-air Chopin concerts are held here.
Fryderyk Chopin (1810–1849) spent his childhood and youth in Warsaw. He is one of the most famous inhabitants of Warsaw, so his museum had to be here. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum is located in the historic Ostrogski Palace and is one of the most modern (interactive) biographical museums in Europe. Here you can see the artist’s letters, drawings, visiting tickets, musical sketches, notes and manuscripts of completed works. Priceless exhibits include, among others, a gold watch given to 10-year-old Chopin in recognition of his talent and a Pleyel piano, which he played for the last two years of his life. On weekends, your ticket includes listening to Chopin’s music live at the Museum. There are several other objects related to Fryderyk Chopin in Warsaw, most of them on Krakowskie Przedmieście street. Chopin Concerts are also held every day in two places in Warsaw's Old Town: the Fryderyk Concert Hall (https://www.fryderyk.events) and the Concert hall „Time for Chopin” (https://timeforchopin.eu/en/koncerty/). More details can be found here: https://warsawtour.pl/en/chopins-warsaw/.
On November 7, 1867, two-time Nobel Prize winner, Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867–1934), was born in Warsaw. The building where she was born now houses the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum. At the exhibition dedicated to her life and scientific activities, you can admire authentic equipment and objects belonging to Skłodowska-Curie or from her era, including: photos of the scientist and her family and friends, documents, coins and medals, books and 19th century furniture and small laboratory equipment. Among the exhibits, noteworthy are an elephant given to Maria by President Herbert Hoover and a leather bag in which she received money for the creation of the Radium Institute. The Museum also shows fragments of the Korean musical “Maria Curie”. The Nobel Prize winner spent her childhood and youth in Warsaw. We encourage you to visit other places related to Maria Skłodowska-Curie: https://warsawtour.pl/en/maria-sklodowska-curies-warsaw/.
For art lovers, it will be a real treat to visit the National Museum in Warsaw, where masterpieces of Polish and world art are presented. In the Faras Gallery, you can find the largest collection of Nubian art in Europe from the period from the 8th to the 14th century. They come from the flooded Christian cathedral in Faras in Sudan and depict divine persons, dignitaries and saints. The Gallery of the 19th Century Art also deserves special attention, where the most outstanding works of Polish artists are shown in the context of European works. “The Battle of Grunwald” by Jan Matejko (1838–1893) is extremely valuable – it is the largest Polish painting, the canvas of which is nearly 40 m2. The Museum’s collection includes works by Aleksander Gierymski (1850–1901), Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz (1854–1893), Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907), Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929), but also Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and other.
One of the most appreciated contemporary Polish painters was Zdzisław Beksiński (1929–2005). The gallery of his paintings is located in the Museum of the Archdiocese of Warsaw. Zachęta National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fantastic Art are also patrons of Polish art, where you can admire the works of, for example, Wojciech Siudmak (born 1942). It is also worth mentioning that the Warsaw Old Town is decorated with two sculptures by Igor Mitoraj (1944–2014). The first is the “Angel Door” of the Church of Our Lady of Grace (10 Świętojańska street) and the second is “Ikaria” located in the courtyard of the Copper-Roof Palace (right next to the Royal Castle).
For those interested in exploring the history of Poland, we recommend a visit to the Polish History Museum, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
More places worth visiting in Warsaw can be found at: https://warsawtour.pl/en/top-10-3/.
