The Royal Route in Warsaw: palaces, churches and gardens from Castle Square to Wilanow

For centuries Warsaw was the home of Polish rulers, and the Royal Route (Trakt Krolewski) is the spine their city grew around. It begins at Castle Square and runs south along Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Nowy Swiat, then down Aleje Ujazdowskie towards Lazienki Park and, further on, the baroque palace at Wilanow. Walking it is the simplest way to read Warsaw's history in one line.

The Royal Castle and Castle Square

The route opens at the Royal Castle (pl. Zamkowy 4), the seat of Polish rulers from the 16th century, today a museum with royal insignia, thrones and paintings by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Matejko. Above the square rises Sigismund's Column, commemorating King Sigismund III Vasa - according to the city's official guide, the oldest secular monument in Warsaw and the first column honouring a lay person erected in modern Europe. The two-level castle gardens behind the palace are a quiet place to rest above the Vistula.

Krakowskie Przedmiescie

The first stretch of the route passes the Presidential Palace (Krakowskie Przedmiescie 48/50), the largest of Warsaw's palaces. Built in the 17th century, it hosted balls and theatre performances; Napoleon stayed here, and the eight-year-old Fryderyk Chopin gave his first concert in the palace. Today it is the seat of Poland's president, guarded by a statue of Prince Jozef Poniatowski and four stone lions. Further along stands Kazimierzowski Palace (Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28) on the University of Warsaw campus: once a royal villa, later converted by King Stanisław August Poniatowski into a school for young nobles, and home to the Warsaw Lyceum attended by Chopin between 1817 and 1831.

Pilsudski Square and the Saxon Garden

A short detour west brings you to Pilsudski Square, once the courtyard of the Saxon Palace, residence of kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III. Soldiers stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the palace's surviving arcade fragment, and directly behind it spreads the Saxon Garden - the first public city garden in Poland, with baroque sculptures, a 19th-century sundial and a fountain built as part of the city's first water supply network.

Ujazdowski Castle and Krasinski Palace

Down Aleje Ujazdowskie, Ujazdowski Castle (ul. Jazdow 2) was begun in the 17th century by Sigismund III Vasa as a summer residence and now houses the Centre for Contemporary Art. North of the Old Town, the baroque Krasinski Palace (pl. Krasinskich 5) - described by the city guide as the most illustrious baroque residence of the aristocracy - stands in a garden with alleys, flower beds and a fountain, entered through a restored baroque gate from Bohaterow Getta street.

Lazienki and Wilanow

The route's southern anchors are the two royal residences in their parks. Royal Lazienki (ul. Agrykola 1) holds an orangery, an amphitheatre and the classicist Palace on the Island with King Stanisław August's paintings; in summer, Sunday Chopin concerts take place at the composer's monument. At the far end, the Museum of King Jan III's Palace in Wilanow (ul. Stanisława Kostki Potockiego 10/16) - called the Polish Versailles - preserves 17th to 19th-century interiors and the Polish Portrait Gallery in baroque gardens.

Walking tips

The full line from Castle Square to Wilanow is roughly ten kilometres, so most visitors split it: Castle Square to Nowy Swiat on foot, then a bus down Aleje Ujazdowskie or straight to Wilanow. Wednesdays are a good day for the castle itself - see our guide to free museum days in Warsaw - and Thursdays bring free entry at Ujazdowski Castle and Wilanow.