3-Day Warsaw Hidden Gems Tour with Royal Residences and WWII Stories

• Visit the Frederic Chopin Museum in Warsaw and see the statue of the legendary Golden Duck, a vain princess who guarded a treasure and was turned into a duck. There are different versions of this story.

• Then continue along parts of the Royal Route, including Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat.

• Visit the Church of the Holy Cross, where Frederic Chopin's heart is located, and approach the Presidential Palace with the statue of Joseph Poniatowski.

• In Poland, the president has two residences: Belvedere and the Radziwiłł family palace, Namiestnikowska.

• Visit the Baroque Church of St. Anne.

• Pass by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Saxon Garden. Part of the ruins of the palace belonged to the residence of the Wettin family.

• There is a possibility of visiting the castle, a completely renovated building. There are no original monuments there.

• Visit Sigismund's Vasa Column.

• Visit the Warsaw Archcathedral crypt, where the last Polish king, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, is buried, as well as the first presidents, including the tragically killed Narutowicz.

• Visit the Old Market Square with the mermaid, the Barbican, the Small Market Square, and the monument to the Little Insurgent.

• Reach the borders of the ghetto.

• Lunch on the Old Market Square.

• There is also the possibility of visiting the National Museum or enjoying free time.

• Visit the palace complex of Łazienki, also known as the Royal Baths, a completely preserved residence that was not destroyed during the war. It was the summer residence of the last king of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, who worked here on the second constitution in the world and the first in Europe. Unfortunately, it was in force only for a short time. The name Łazienki has a dual meaning in Polish; today it mainly means a bathroom, but in the past it could also mean a spa. Łazienki was a summer residence.

• Visit the Palace on the Isle, the Museum of Hunting and Horsemanship, the White Pavilion, the Myślewicki Palace, the Chopin Statue, the Orangery, and the Belvedere, the president's second residence. Each president decides which buildings are to serve as a residence and which is to be the chancellery. You will also see monuments, resting places for the royal dogs, and many other buildings and exhibitions. Please note that some objects are open only from May to October.

• Have lunch.

• It is possible to visit the Museum of Modern Art at Ujazdowski Castle and approach the Parliament.

• There is also the possibility of visiting the monument to the Good Maharaja of India, Jam Saheb Digvijay Sinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja. From July 1942 to November 1946, this extraordinary man gave shelter to about a thousand Polish children, mainly orphans evacuated from the Soviet Union. He built a special housing estate for them near his residence in Balachadi, in the principality of Nawanagar. He also convinced 25 other maharajas to provide financial support and build more settlements. In total, about 5,000 children were helped in India by March 1948. The monument is an expression of gratitude for the help and hospitality provided by Jam Saheb. The situation was complicated, because even studying was a problem due to the lack of Polish textbooks, but he found a priest and teachers for them. The children who stayed in India remembered this hospitality very fondly, although unfortunately few people remember it today. Still, several publications and a documentary film have been created. Unfortunately, most of the people connected with this story are now dead or elderly. It can also be said that in this country, with such politics, no one wants to remember it.

• Visit Wilanów, the largest Baroque royal residence associated mainly with John Sobieski. Thanks to its role as the seat of the German authorities during the war, it was not destroyed. It is richly decorated and is mainly known for the winter Garden of Lights. Unfortunately, many tours omit it. Rest in the gardens.

• Have lunch.

• There is a possibility of extending or changing the program to include the Warsaw Zoo or, on some days of the year, Natolin Palace, where heads of other states are received and which serves as a hotel. Unfortunately, this possibility exists only on Sundays. The residence originally belonged to the Czartoryski family, then to the brother of John Potocki, the famous lycanthrope Stanislaus Kostka, and during the Cold War it was associated with wiretapping. Powązki Cemetery can also be included.

This trip is a bit off the designated route, so not all the museums from the main list are included here.

Remember that in Poland, places are theoretically accessible to wheelchair users. In practice, it is often more difficult. You can move by public transport, taxi, or on your own. The daily routes are accessible on foot.