9 Best Sights in Warsaw, Poland

The 180 acres of this park, commissioned during the late 18th century by King Słanisław August Poniatowski, run along the Vistula escarpment, parallel to the Royal Route. It's focus is the magificent neoclassical Pałac Łazienki, but there are many other attractions. Look for the peacocks that wander through the park and the delicate red squirrels that in Poland answer to the name "Basia," a diminutive of Barbara. Of course, the best way to entice a squirrel to come near is to have some nuts in your hand. One of the most beloved sights in Łazienki Park is the Pomnik Fryderyka Chopina (Chopin Memorial), a sculpture under a streaming willow tree that shows the composer in a typical romantic pose. In summer, outdoor concerts of Chopin's piano music are held here every Sunday afternoon.

These gardens, covering an area of roughly 3 acres, were laid out in 1818, so they will celebrate their two-hundredth anniversary in 2018. At the entrance stands the neoclassical observatory, now part of Warsaw University.

If you are interested in modern art, you will find it in the somewhat unlikely setting of the 18th-century Zamek Ujazdowski, reconstructed in the 1980s. The castle hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions by artists from Poland and all over the world. It is home to the most comprehensive permanent collection of Polish contemporary art found anywhere in the country (still growing, by its very nature). You can easily spend a day there, catching a lecture, a movie (in the summer outdoor cinema), or lunch (at a cafeteria or a more fancy restaurant within the castle gates). The bookshop is well stocked with art publications and souvenirs.

In the old coach houses on the east side of the park you'll find the Muzeum Łowiectwa i Jeździectwa, which contains a collection of stuffed birds and animals native to Poland.

At the entrance to this formal garden, there is a 19th-century weighing booth, just inside the gate, still in operation. There is also a well-equipped playground for small children, with sand, swings, and slides.

Built in the early 18th century, the palace was reconstructed in 1818 in neoclassical style by the Russian governor of Poland, the grand duke Constantine. Until 1994 it was—and is again since 2010—the official residence of Poland's president. Now the building is used for some gala state occasions and for some performances during the summer Chopin festival. Belvedere Palace stands just south of the main gates to Łazienki Park. It is not open to visitors.

A baroque gateway and false moat lead to the wide courtyard that stretches along the front of Wilanów Palace, built between 1681 and 1696 by King Jan III Sobieski. After his death, the palace passed through various hands before it was bought at the end of the 18th century by Stanisław Kostka Potocki, who amassed a major art collection, laid out the gardens, and opened the first public museum here in 1805. Potocki's neo-Gothic tomb can be seen to the left of the driveway as you approach the palace. The palace interiors still hold much of the original furniture; there's also a striking display of 16th- to 18th-century Polish portraits on the first floor. English-speaking guides and audio-guides are available.

Outside of the Pałac Wilanów, to the left of the main entrance, is a romantic park with pagodas, summer houses, and bridges as well as a lake. Behind the palace is a formal Italian garden from which you can admire the magnificent gilt decoration on the palace walls. There's also a gallery of contemporary Polish art on the grounds. Stables to the right of the entrance now house a poster gallery, the Muzeum Plakatu that is well worth visiting—this is a branch of art in which Poles have historically excelled.

This magnificent palace—often called "Pałac na wyspie," which means "Palace on the Island"—is the focal point of the Park Łazienkowski. Initially a baroque garden pavillion, it was bought for the king's summer residence in 1764 and remodelled into a neoclassical palace modelled on the likes of Villa Borghese in Rome. The palace has some splendid 18th-century furniture as well as part of the art collection of King Słanisław August Poniatowski. The king not only admired the works of art for their aesthetic value, but he had an ambition to "shape the spiritual culture of the nation" and planned to create the first modern, public museum of art.

The Polish Houses of the Sejm (parliament) are housed in a round, white debating chamber that was built during the 1920s, after the rebirth of an independent Polish state.

The only way to tour the parliament building is on an organized group tour on a weekday, which you can book online up to three months in advance.