What to See in Warsaw

The Królikarnia park is named after a pretence to being a rabbit warren for the King Augustus II in the 18th century, but in reality it served as a leisure residence and a place for meetings of the arts community. Those took place in the classicist palace, modelled after the renaissance Villa Rotonda outside Vicenza by the royal architect Domenico Merlini.…

Łazienki Park was built and designed for a Polish politician, but became King Stanisław Poniatowski's, the last king of Poland, residence for much of later half of the 18th century. During Poniatowski's reign, many of the buildings on the park grounds were built.…

An artistic installation of an artificial palm tree (made of plastic and preserved imported palm tree leaves, periodically replaced), it was inspired by the artist's visit to Israel and the fact that Aleje Jerozolimskie, where it is placed, is named after New Jerusalem, a large pre-war Jewish settlement in Warsaw that does not exist anymore.…

Warsaw's most recognizable landmark has a controversial history: it was constructed in the 1950s ostensibly as a "gift" from the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The gargantuan building is home to various institutions, including three theatres, a multiplex cinema, the Museum of Technology and the Congress Hall (built for Communist Party congresses, but mostly used for entertainment purposes now).…

A bit of a meta-museum, because it did not quite keep in with the times and became a fossizilied monument to old-style museums where you are not expected to experience or touch anything and just read the descriptions on the boards.…

Ogród Saski is a lovely park in central Warsaw. It's small in comparison to Łazienki, but nonetheless relaxing with its forested landscape. Prior to Word War II, it housed the Saxon Palace, which like the rest of Warsaw was destroyed in the insane Nazi vengeance for the Warsaw Uprising. Plans to rebuild the palace have failed to materialize due to funding.…

A relatively small zoo, but with some interesting species, including a pack of wild and rambunctious monkeys that seem to fascinate every visitor. Other Zoo residents include lemurs, giraffes, elephants, hyraxes (the elephant's strange looking relatives that weigh only 2 - 5 kilograms compared to an elephant's weight o…

Enormously fascinating, The Warsaw Risng Museum is a moving experience that anyone to Warsaw must visit. This museum will almost certainly not bore anyone, especially with the museum's superb use of multimedia. The museum has bilingual displays in Polish and English.…

The "Eastern Wall" is a complex of buildings designed to flank the eastern side of the Palace of Culture and form a buffer between it and the rebuilt historic part further east. There are three highrise residential towers, a string of department stores and a restored pedestrian passage with a number of retail and gastronomic outlets.…

The round building was erected to house a bank branch, which it still does, but quickly became much more than that due to its very central location and large expanse of pavement around it, which makes it a favourite meeting spot for locals. The striking 1960s building suffered a tragedy in 1979, when a gas main exploded right below it, killing 49 people.…

St. Catherine's is the oldest continually existing parish within Warsaw, founded in 1238. This may be a bit misleading, as the current church building is much younger, dating in its present form from 1848, but still well-worth a visit for its elegant form, picturesque hilltop location and quite pristine condition.…

Built in 1999, the new home of the Warsaw University Library is a postmodernist building blending raw concrete with patinated copper. The building also features freely accessible extensive rooftop gardens providing interesting views over Warsaw.…

Wilanów Palace is tucked away in the romantic surroundings of the royal gardens. Its an ideal place to take a date or just to relax, but be forewarned that there are a few ponds and lakes along the walking paths that are infested with mosquitoes, so be wise and protect yourself or your date with bug repellent.…

Ujazdów Park, another beautiful park, lies just north of Łazienki, but is far less known and visited by tourists. One of the big draws to the park is the Ujazdów Castle, which dates it orgins back to the 13th century.…

An exploration centre that brings together various branches of science and demonstrates their key principles and modern advances via interactive exhibits and experiments. There is plenty to interact with for visitors of all ages, although the centre was designed mainly with families with children in mind.…

Directly across the street from Stadium Narodowy, this park isn't as well known as some of the others, most likely since a palace is absent from it, but that said, it's nonetheless a pleasant park for a stroll or to read a book and comes complete with its own lake.…

The museum has a wonderful collection of paintings, sculptures, and depictions of the passion of the Christ. It houses several of Poland's most known paintings. Jan Matejko's Stańczyk painting depicts a famous jester to the Polish royalty in despair after Lithuania lost the city of Smolensk to Russia in 1514.

Designed by Sir Norman Foster and erected in 2003, the Metropolitan office building blends in with the surrounding historic buildings while standing out as an architectural masterpiece. The fountain in the freely accessible courtyard remains a photo favourite with tourists and locals.

A neogothic palace, once a remote park residence, now nestled between residential buildings. A reconstructed "mauretanian house" signifies the entry to the vestigial park from Puławska street. The palace is home to a musical company and not open to visitors except concert nights.

The Poster Museum is for you if you're interested in seeing cool posters by the likes of Rafał Oblinski, a Polish artisan who made a big splash across the world by making posters for the New York Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and numerous American magazines.

Sejm is the name for the lower chamber of the Polish parliament, which since the 1930s meets in a peculiar circus-shaped building. The upper chamber, named Senat, occupies a rectangular building behind it. They are surrounded by a nice park.

Not a major architectural draw or a typical tourist attraction, but a massive vault of knowledge and artistic work in print and other media. If this is of interest to you, you can easily schedule hours if not days for visiting the National Library.

The Saxon Kings of Poland have afforded themselves an imposing baroque palace, but sadly it was completely destroyed during Second World War and never rebuilt. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the only remaining piece of the palace.

The Umschlagplatz was the location Nazi officials herded Jews into cattle cars to be murdered at the Treblinka extermination camp. Estimates place the total number of persons transported from the Umschlagplatz at 300,000 or more.

Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, preferred the relaxed and artsy atmosphere of the Łazienki Park and built himself a secondary residence there to meet with the contemporary statesmen, thinkers and artists.

A park that's good for a stroll. There's a large sculpture of a giraffe and a playground for children within the park's grounds. Near the entrance to the Warsaw Zoo, there are a few eateries that serve up ice cream.

The Warsaw's cathedral was an opulent neogothic church before World War II, but following its destruction it was rebuilt in a sombre, masovian gothic style resembling what is presumed to be its original form.

An influential and popular exhibition space for contemporary art in the historic Zamek Ujazdowski, a former royal residence picturesquely situated on the escarpment between Park Ujazdowski and Łazienki Park.

Built in 1925, the tomb holds the remains of a Polish soldier who died in battle at Lwów, now Lviv, Ukraine. It also holds soil from 38 battlegrounds fought at by Poles.

The impressive palace a few steps from the historic Old Town has served many functions in its long history, but now houses the offices of the President of Poland

The offices of the Prime Minister are the hub of the administrative branch of the government. Most important ministries are also housed in the immediate vicinity

The luxury department store caused a huge stir when its facade clad in black stone debuted to the chagrin of inhabitants of a neighbouring residential building.

Exhibitions that tell the stories of various societies and cultures. The bank building it is housed in is an interesting piece of 19th-century architecture.

The building in which it is situated, called The Yellow Inn (Żółta Karczma) is probably a lot more interesting than the museum itself.

From the outside it seems like a large church, but step over the threshold and you'll see a rather modest and relatively small worship hall.

Established 1905, it is an IMAX one hundred years ago; a collection of unique 3D stereoscopic images from the 19th and 20th centuries.

A nondescript street in central Warsaw, whose claim to fame is that it's named after the children's book character Winnie the Pooh.

Internet cafe tucked away on the side street near TGI Fridays, and the Atrium International Business Center buildings.

A museum dedicated to the history of gasworks and provision of municipal gas, aptly located in Warsaw's old gasworks.

The castle in Ujazdów became a secondary royal residence, and today hosts the contemporary art museum (see below).

Actually, next to the Park of Culture, although there is another bus terminus (see above). No pets allowed.

The railway museum in the former Warszawa Główna (Warsaw Main) train station, a boon for railway buffs.

Displays in English and Polish. The museum's design favours interactivity at the expense of information.

A cool little gallery that mixes grafitti, sculptures, experimental painting, and photography.

New building opened in April 2013 awaits permanent exhibition.

Warsaw's only Orthodox Jewish synagogue in operation.

One of two Orthodox churches in Warsaw.

"East" means "in the Soviet Union".