Warsaw Sights

  1. Koneser Vodka Factory

    In the up-and-coming Praga neighbourhood is the disused redbrick Koneser Vodka Factory, dating from the early 20th century. It houses two progressive galleries, Luksfera (specialising in photography) and Klimy Bocheńskiej (specialising in contemporary art). Note that Praga is not safe to wander at night; it's best to travel from A to B by taxi.

    Read more about Koneser Vodka Factory

  2. Krasiński Palace

    The 1677 Krasiński Palace, designed by the ubiquitous Tylman van Gameren, is considered one of the most splendid Baroque palaces in Warsaw. Today it's a branch of the National Library, and if you ask nicely you may be let inside.

    Read more about Krasiński Palace

  3. Literature Museum

    The Literature Museum features a permanent exhibition dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz, Poland's most famous poet.

    Read more about Literature Museum

  4. Luksfera

    In the up-and-coming Praga neighbourhood is the disused redbrick Koneser Vodka Factory, dating from the early 20th century. It houses two progressive galleries including Luksfera, specialising in photography. Note that Praga is not safe to wander at night; it's best to travel from A to B by taxi.

    Read more about Luksfera

  5. Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum

    Marie Curie was born in 1867 along Ul Freta (the New Town's main street), and her former home now houses the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum which chronicles the life and work of this distinguished scientist.

    Read more about Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum

  7. Mauzoleum Walki i Męczeństwa

    A short distance to the west of the Botanical Gardens is the Mauzoleum Walki i Męczeństwa, a branch of the Pawiak Prison Museum. Like Pawiak, this building was used by the Gestapo for interrogation, torture and murder, and now stands as a memorial to the thousands of Poles who passed through its doors. With its depressing basement holding cells and Gestapo officer's interrogation room (complete with original bullwhips, coshes, knuckledusters etc), it's a hard place to visit.

    Read more about Mauzoleum Walki i Męczeństwa

  8. Monument to Mordechaj Anielewicz

    From the Ghetto Heroes Monument head north along ul Zamenhofa, past a garden with a little mound topped by a simple limestone block, a Monument to Mordechaj Anielewicz, leader of the Ghetto Uprising, who perished in a bunker on this site in 1943.

    Read more about Monument to Mordechaj Anielewicz

  9. Monument to Nicolaus Copernicus

    The contemplative figure sitting on a plinth south of Warsaw University is a Monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, the great Polish astronomer.

    Read more about Monument to Nicolaus Copernicus

  10. Monument to the Warsaw Uprising

    Directly opposite the Polish Army Field Cathedral stands one of Warsaw's most important landmarks, the Monument to the Warsaw Uprising. This bronze tableau depicts Armia Krajowa (AK; Home Army) fighters emerging ghostlike from the shattered brickwork of their ruined city, while others descend through a manhole into the network of sewers. The monument was unveiled on 1 August 1989, the 45th anniversary of the uprising.

    Read more about Monument to the Warsaw Uprising

  11. Museum of Caricature

    A short detour off ul Krakowskie Przedmieście leads to the quirky Museum of Caricature. The museum holds around 15,000 original works by Polish and foreign caricaturists dating from the 18th-century onwards, plus satirical and humorous books, magazines, and the like. Displays are rotated on a regular basis.

    Read more about Museum of Caricature

  12. Advertisement

  13. Museum of Independence

    Stranded on a traffic island in the middle of Al Solidarności, close to Plac Bankowy, is the Museum of Independence, which has a small room devoted to the Solidarity movement and stages temporary exhibitions related to Poland's struggles for independence.

    Read more about Museum of Independence

  14. Museum of the History of Polish Jews

    Opposite the Ghetto Heroes Monument is the site of the proposed Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The museum will be a multimedia and education centre, but as it's still in the design stage it's hard to know what will be included, or how the building will even look. At the time of writing, Finnish architects Lahdelma & Mahlamäki have been chosen for the design, and the entire project is expected to cost more than $US65 million.

    Read more about Museum of the History of Polish Jews

  15. Muzeum Pawilon-X

    From the huge gate overlooking the river known as Brama Straceń (Gate of Execution), a short cobbled road leads to the Muzeum Pawilon-X, which preserves a wing of the old political prison.

    Read more about Muzeum Pawilon-X

  16. National Museum

    Containing almost 800,000 items in its permanent galleries, the National Museum is the largest museum in the country. It's housed in a massive building, which is wheelchair accessible, at the western end of Al Jerozolimskie.

    Read more about National Museum

  17. New Town

    The New Town is a bit of a misnomer, considering it was founded at the end of the 14th century and since 1408 has commanded its own jurisdiction and administration. It exudes similar architectural styles to those found in the Old Town, but lacks any defensive walls, probably due to the fact that historically it was inhabited by poor folk. Ul Freta is the New Town's main street, leading north from the Barbican towards New Town Sq (Rynek Nowego Miasta).

    Read more about New Town

  19. Nożyk Synagogue

    Plac Grzybowski is the centrepiece of Warsaw's current Jewish community. Here, behind the Teatr Żydowski (Jewish Theatre; ) is the Nożyk Synagogue, the city's only synagogue to survive WWII. Built between 1898 and 1902 in neo-Romanesque style, its interior features heavy metal chandeliers and tall vaulted colonnades. It's still used for religious purposes, and you may catch children reading from the Torah during the day.

    Read more about Nożyk Synagogue

  20. Old Town

    The Old Town was rebuilt from the foundations up because after the war it was nothing but a heap of rubble. The monumental reconstruction, which took place between 1949 and 1963, aimed at restoring the appearance of the town in its best times, the 17th and 18th centuries. Every authentic architectural fragment found among the ruins was incorporated in the restoration.

    Read more about Old Town

  21. Old Town Square

    The partially walled Old Town (Stare Miasto) is centred on Old Town Square, which, for those with an eye for historical buildings, is the loveliest in Warsaw. It's lined with tall houses exhibiting a fine blend of Renaissance and Baroque with Gothic and neoclassical elements - aside from the façades at Nos 34 and 36, all were reconstructed after WWII. An 1855 statue of the Mermaid (Syrena), the symbol of Warsaw, occupies the square's central position, the site of the city's original town hall demolished in 1817.

    Read more about Old Town Square

  22. Orthodox Church

    Close to the city's zoo, rising from behind a clump of trees just off Praga's main thoroughfare Al Solidarności, are five onion-shaped domes of the Orthodox Church. Built in the 1860s in Russo-Byzantine style, its small nave still retains original Byzantine portraits and gold upon gold.

    Read more about Orthodox Church

  23. Ostrogski Palace

    A short detour east of Ul Nowy Świat along ul Ordynacka leads to Ostrogski Palace. Situated on a high fortified platform on the Vistula escarpment, the small Baroque palace (again designed by Tylman van Gameren) is today the seat of the Chopin Society, which hosts recitals and chamber music concerts in a lovely concert hall inside.

    Read more about Ostrogski Palace

  24. Advertisement

  25. Palace of Culture & Science

    The open expanses and tall buildings bounded by ul Marszałkowska, Al Jerozolimskie, ul Jana Pawła II and Al Solidarności collectively constitute Warsaw's financial zone. Its dominating feature (and that of the city) is the Palace of Culture & Science , which rises high above the newly built skyscrapers that have begun to mark this area in the past 10 years.

    Read more about Palace of Culture & Science

  26. Palace on the Water

    The centrepiece of Łazienki Park is the neoclassical Palace on the Water, the former residence of the king. It straddles an ornamental lake (gondola rides around zl6 /around zl4 per adult/child) and like most other Łazienki buildings was designed by the court architect Domenico Merlini. During WWII the Nazis attempted to blow it up, but succeeded only in starting a fire that destroyed much of the 1st floor. Renovated and refurbished, the palace is open to guided tours - highlights include the 17th-century marble reliefs depicting scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses gracing the original bathhouse ( łazienki in Polish, hence the name), and the ornate ballroom.

    Read more about Palace on the Water

  27. Pawiak Prison Museum

    Take tram 16, 17, 19, 29 or 33 northbound on Al Jana Pawła II to the Anielewicza stop, and walk back south one block to the ugly concrete bunker of Pawiak Prison Museum. Built between 1830 and 1833, Pawiak was Poland's most notorious political prison, once used for incarcerating the enemies of the Russian tsar.

    Read more about Pawiak Prison Museum

  28. Plac Bankowy

    Like most of Warsaw's squares, Plac Bankowy is too big and busy to be appealing. It was once the financial district of 19th-century Warsaw, but the only reminder of this is spread along the western side of the square; here you'll see the imposing City Hall (Ratusz; M0570) and the former stock exchange and Bank of Poland building, both grand neoclassical buildings designed by Antonio Corazzi in the 1820s. The eastern side of the square was redeveloped after WWII and is now dominated by a blue skyscraper built on the site of a synagogue destroyed by the Nazis. The story goes that a local rabbi placed a curse on the site and, sure enough, the skyscraper was dogged by problems and took 30 years to build.

    Read more about Plac Bankowy

  29. Plac Grzybowski

    Plac Grzybowski is the centrepiece of Warsaw's current Jewish community. Here, behind the Teatr Żydowski (Jewish Theatre; ) is the Nożyk Synagogue, the city's only synagogue to survive WWII.

    Read more about Plac Grzybowski