Day 4. The Royal Castle Warsaw

On By Little Miss TravellerIn Europe, Warsaw March 2018

A bright, sunny morning to start the final day of our short break in Warsaw so after breakfast we took the bus to the old town which was looking so much nicer than on our earlier visit.

Mermaid Statue, Old Town, Warsaw
The Mermaid Statue, Old Town, Warsaw

We started our tour in the old town market place with its Dutch inspired houses. The pedestrianised cobbled square is a delight with its colourful buildings and the statue of the Warsaw mermaid as its centrepiece, The Warsaw mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw and appears on its coat of arms.

Old Town, Warsaw
Colourful houses in Old Town, Warsaw

Surrounding the square are numerous cafes, bars and souvenir shops and I’m certain it comes to life in the summer months when people are able to sit and relax on the restaurant terraces.

Royal Castle, Warsaw
Royal Castle, Warsaw

Just off the square stands the Royal Castle which dates back to the 14th century. It has been the residence of Polish kings, the President and the seat of parliament and was painstakingly reconstructed between 1971-1984. Entrance to the castle is 30zl (£6.20) and is not included in the Warsaw Pass. Fortunately admission is free on Sundays so we were able to take advantage of this .

Royal Castle, Warsaw
Interior of the Royal Castle, Warsaw

After leaving our bags and coats in the cloakroom, we followed a self guided tour of the Kings’ apartments which were heavily adorned with artwork. The tour also included the Great Assembly Hall and chapel. Down in the basement, we found the exhibition ‘Destruction to Reconstruction’ of interest as it detailed the demise of the original castle together with the rebuilding project.

Royal Castle, Warsaw
The Coronation Chair, Royal Castle, Warsaw

After retrieving our coats, we set off along the first part of the Royal Route which begins in Castle Square and continues to Lazienki Palace ending at Wilanów, both of which we had already visited.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Warsaw
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Warsaw

Nowry Swiat Street, along the Royal Route is one of Warsaw’s historic thoroughfares and is lined with impressive neo-classical buildings. We tried to go inside the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary but a service was taking place so we just admired it from the outside.

Polish dumplings
Delicious Polish dumplings for lunch

Our next stop was at Gosciniec in the old town which serves traditional Polish food. The restaurant was already busy with lunch-time diners and we needed to wait a few minutes for a table but it was worth the wait as our meals were delicious. We ordered a skillet of fried dumplings and a plate of pork and potato pancakes to share. The bistro seemed to be popular with locals and despite not hearing about it before, we enjoyed our lunch and would recommend Gosciniec for its food, ambience and reasonable prices.

University of Warsaw
Entrance gates to the University of Warsaw

We still had a little time to spare before returning to the airport so we continued along to the main building of the University of Warsaw and explored its attractive campus.

University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw

From there, we took the metro to the central railway station and then caught the hourly service to Modlin station taking 35 minutes. Tickets cost 19zl (£3.95) and include the ten minute shuttle bus to the airport, so allow one hour for the entire journey.

University Station, Warsaw Metro
University Station, Warsaw Metro

Modlin airport is very small with few facilities.  There is an airside cafe but it only has a small seating area. Our Ryanair flight departed on time and arrived back in the U.K. ten minutes ahead of schedule. We very much enjoyed our short break in Warsaw and would recommend the Polish capital for a pleasant city break. We made good use of our Warsaw Pass visiting many of its attractions. There are more places we would like to explore in and around the city so hopefully we’ll be back sometime soon to see more.

Modlin Station, Poland
Modlin Station, Poland

I would like to thank Visit Warsaw for helping to make this short break possible. As always all opinions are my own.

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56 thoughts on “Day 4. The Royal Castle Warsaw”

  1. Pingback: Day 2. Wilanow Palace Warsaw – Love Travelling Blog

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  7. jasonlikestotravel

    Warsaw is my next trip so it was good fun re-reading your four days and getting some tips. The advice for Modlin is particularly helpful! Thank you! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Pingback: Day 4. Exploring Stockholm’s Royal Palace – Love Travelling

  9. The truthism project

    Warsaw seems to be really fabulous… thank you very much for sharing these wonderful informations. ☆
    Feel free to check out my latest artical to learn more about Tunisia sightseeing…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your comments, I hope you decide to visit Warsaw as I think you would find it to be very enjoyable. It does seem strange that Warsaw not being near the sea has a mermaid as it’s symbol. Legend has it that King Baltyk ruled his kingdom from the bottom of the Baltic Sea with his beloved daughter who was a mermaid ‘syrena’ in Polish!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  23. Again,thank you – all most interesting. More than enough to see and do. Impressed by the architecture rebuilt and repaired since the terrible damage in the last war. Have you sampled Prague yet? Can thoroughly recommend it. It has a great atmosphere and many extra delights.Those feet are made for walking… x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Joy for your positive thoughts. Warsaw has some beautiful architecture both original and carefully restored and I’m certain you would enjoy a visit. I’ve visited Prague a couple of times and enjoyed my short breaks there also

      Like

      Reply

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