Warsaw Walking Tour with Audioguide on your Smartphone

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1
  Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy)

  Plac Zamkowy, or Castle Square, forms the grand entrance to Warsaw’s Old Town. It is dominated by the Royal Castle and Sigismund’s Column, erected in 1644 in honour of King Sigismund III Vasa. Much of the square was destroyed during World War II and later reconstructed together with the Old Town. Today, it is one of Warsaw’s busiest meeting places and the starting point of the historic Royal Route.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The Royal Castle was the residence of Polish monarchs and a center of political life, where parliament also met. Expanded under King Sigismund III Vasa in the early 17th century, it was destroyed by German forces in 1944. Rebuilt from 1971 with public donations and surviving original fragments, the castle reopened in 1984 and today symbolizes Warsaw’s extraordinary post-war reconstruction.

  Admission ticket free
• 2
  Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

  St. John’s Archcathedral is one of Warsaw’s most important historic churches. Dating from the 14th century, it witnessed royal weddings, funerals and the coronation of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Constitution of 3 May was sworn here in 1791. About 90% of the cathedral was destroyed in 1944, but after the war it was rebuilt in its earlier Gothic form.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 3

  The Bell on Kanonia Square was cast in Warsaw in 1646 by royal bell founder Daniel Tym, who also created the statue atop Sigismund’s Column. Intended for a Jesuit church in Jarosław, it was never installed there. Since 1972, the bell has stood behind St. John’s Cathedral. Local legend says that walking around it and touching it can help make a wish come true.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 4

  Dung Hill, or Gnojna Góra, has one of Warsaw’s strangest histories. From the Middle Ages until the late 18th century, this artificial hill served as the Old Town’s rubbish dump. Today, the former waste mound is a peaceful viewpoint overlooking the Vistula River and the Praga district. Couples also leave padlocks on the railing here as symbols of lasting love.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 5
  Warsaw Mermaid

  The Mermaid is Warsaw’s emblem and legendary guardian. According to local tradition, she vowed to defend the city and is shown armed with a sword and shield. The statue in the Old Town Market Square is a copy of Konstanty Hegel’s 1855 sculpture; the original is preserved in the Museum of Warsaw. Images of the Mermaid appear throughout the city, from buildings and bridges to street signs.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Muzeum Warszawy (Pass by)

  The Museum of Warsaw occupies eleven historic townhouses along the Old Town Market Square. Founded in 1936, it tells the city’s story through everyday objects, artworks, photographs and architectural details. Its permanent exhibition, The Things of Warsaw, includes thousands of exhibits, among them the original Mermaid statue from the Market Square, revealing how Warsaw has changed, been destroyed and rebuilt.

  Admission ticket free
• 6

  Warsaw’s Old Town fortifications began taking shape in the 14th century and eventually formed a rare double line of defensive walls with towers, gates and a moat. As warfare changed, the defenses were expanded, culminating in the Barbican of 1548–1550. Much of the system later disappeared, but surviving sections were uncovered and carefully reconstructed in the 20th century.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 7
  Warsaw Barbican (Barbakan Warszawski)

  The Warsaw Barbican was built in 1548 as part of the New Town Gate and designed by Italian architect John Baptist of Venice. Projecting beyond the city walls, it strengthened Warsaw’s northern defenses. Much of it later disappeared, but the structure was carefully reconstructed after World War II, incorporating surviving historic fragments. Today, it is one of the Old Town’s most recognizable landmarks.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum (Pass by)

  The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum occupies the 18th-century house where the future Nobel laureate was born in 1867. Opened in 1967, it is the world’s only biographical museum devoted entirely to her life and work. Its collection includes photographs, letters, personal objects and scientific instruments, tracing the story of the pioneering physicist and chemist who won two Nobel Prizes.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The Museum of Dollhouses, Games and Toys is a miniature world hidden in Warsaw’s Old Town. Its collection includes more than 150 fully furnished dollhouses, shops, schools and hospitals, with the oldest exhibits over 200 years old. You can also see historic Polish toys, religious miniatures and more than a thousand dolls in traditional costumes from around the world.

  Admission ticket free
• 8
  King Sigismund's Column (Kolumna Zygmunta)

  Sigismund’s Column has stood on Castle Square since 1644 and is Warsaw’s oldest secular monument. King Władysław IV erected it in honour of his father, Sigismund III Vasa, who moved the royal court to Warsaw. The column was destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, but the bronze statue survived. Restored in 1949, it remains one of the city’s most recognizable symbols.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The Copper-Roof Palace, or Pałac pod Blachą, stands beside Warsaw’s Royal Castle. It gained its late-Baroque form between 1720 and 1760 and was named for its unusual copper-sheet roof. Around 1800 it became the residence of Prince Józef Poniatowski and a fashionable center of Warsaw society, known for lavish receptions, parties and courtly intrigue.

  Admission ticket free
• 9
  St. Anne's Church (Kosciol Swietej Anny)

  St. Anne’s Church is one of Warsaw’s oldest churches, founded in 1454 by Duchess Anna of Masovia for the Bernardine order. Rebuilt and enlarged over centuries, it combines Gothic and Baroque elements with a striking Neoclassical façade completed in 1788. Remarkably, much of its historic interior survived World War II, while its bell tower offers one of the finest views over the Old Town.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 10
  Church of St. Joseph of the Visitationists

  The Visitationist Church is one of the few historic churches in central Warsaw to survive World War II largely intact. Founded with the convent in 1654, it preserves a richly decorated Baroque interior, including a remarkable pulpit shaped like a boat. The church is also closely linked to Fryderyk Chopin, who played its organ as a young student during services for the Warsaw Lyceum.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 11

  Uruski Palace was built in 1844–1847 for Count Seweryn Uruski, replacing an earlier residence linked to the Poniatowski family. Designed by Andrzej Gołoński in a Renaissance-inspired style, it later passed to the Czetwertyński family. Burned during World War II, the palace was rebuilt by 1951. Today, it forms part of the University of Warsaw and houses its Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 12

  The Pod Messalką tenement was built in 1910 and named after Lucyna Messal, a celebrated star of Warsaw operetta who lived here. Hidden behind the façade was an elegant Art Nouveau bathhouse decorated with stained glass, majolica and reliefs. The building was badly damaged in 1944, but the historic bathhouse survived and was later restored.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 13
  Holy Cross Church (Kosciol Swietego Krzyza)

  Holy Cross Church is one of Warsaw’s most important Baroque landmarks. The present building was constructed between 1682 and 1757 and has long played a role in the city’s religious and national life. Its most famous memorial contains the heart of Fryderyk Chopin, brought from Paris by his sister. Badly damaged during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, the church was rebuilt after the war.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 14

  Staszic Palace was built in 1820–1823 for the Warsaw Society of the Friends of Learning, funded by scholar and reformer Stanisław Staszic and designed by Antonio Corazzi. Its appearance changed dramatically under Russian rule before its classical form was restored. Damaged in World War II and rebuilt afterward, it now houses the Polish Academy of Sciences.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 15

  Casimir Park, or Park Kazimierzowski, stretches down the Vistula escarpment behind the University of Warsaw. In the 17th century, this land formed part of the royal Villa Regia estate, with gardens, ponds and a menagerie. After war damage, the park was redesigned in the 1960s by landscape architect Longin Majdecki. Today, its wooded slopes, paths and pond offer a quiet green break near the Royal Route.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 16
  University of Warsaw Library

  The University of Warsaw Library opened in its striking modern home in 1999. Designed by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski, the building combines monumental architecture with greenery and symbolic inscriptions. Its greatest attraction is the vast rooftop garden, opened in 2002, with paths, bridges and viewpoints overlooking the Vistula and Warsaw skyline.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Copernicus Science Centre (Pass by)

  The Copernicus Science Centre opened in 2010 and is one of Warsaw’s leading interactive attractions. Rather than a traditional museum, it invites visitors to experiment, test ideas and discover science through more than 400 hands-on exhibits. The complex also includes the Heavens of Copernicus Planetarium and a rooftop garden overlooking the Vistula River.

  Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• The audio guide is available through a special mobile app for iOS and Android
• Entry tickets to the museums are not included. Please buy them separately in advance
• The tour doesn’t cover all the sights of Warsaw
• This is a self-guided tour. You will need to download the audio guide mobile app, activate your purchase, and follow the route on the app's map. There is no human guide provided

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