Area guide
The Old Town and the New Town: the back story
The Royal Castle and Castle Square, the Old Town Market Place and the Mermaid, the walls and the Barbican, and the New Town beyond.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jorge Láscar from Australia · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsWarsaw’s Old Town was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt, and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. From Castle Square, with the Royal Castle and Sigismund’s Column, the lanes lead to the Old Town Market Place and the Mermaid, out through the Barbican, and into the New Town.
Sights
The Royal Castle, St John’s Archcathedral, the Old Town Market Place, the Museum of Warsaw and the Barbican.
Eating
MUND, at the PURO Hotel on Canaletta, is in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Scotch Mist · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsCome early in the morning, or at dusk in December, when the Christmas market and the rink are lit.
Staying
PURO Warsaw Stare Miasto, Hotel Verte and Mamaison Le Regina.
Our advice: walk out through the Barbican to the New Town Market Square.
Why it's on our list
- Sights
- Eating
- Staying
What’s nearby
Distances from The Old Town and the New Town: the back story are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 14 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest metro and tram stops
- Stare Miasto 02Tram350 m5 min walk
- Stare Miasto 01Tram400 m5 min walk
- Metro Ratusz-Arsenał 10Tram850 m11 min walk
Key sights
- Royal Castle300 mWalk 3 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 6 min
- POLIN1.3 kmWalk 16 minCycle 6 minCar or taxi 9 min
- Palace of Culture2.1 kmWalk 26 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 11 min
- Royal Łazienki4.2 kmCycle 18 minCar or taxi 16 min
- Warsaw Chopin Airport10 kmCycle 43 minCar or taxi 32 min
- Wilanów Palace11 kmCar or taxi 34 min
Main railway stations
- Warszawa Centralna2.4 kmWalk 30 minCycle 10 minCar or taxi 12 min
- Warszawa Wschodnia2.7 kmWalk 34 minCycle 12 minCar or taxi 12 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyEating in Warsaw: the back storyHere is how Warsaw eats: four MICHELIN stars, ten Bib Gourmands from Praga to Wola, the old Polish dining rooms, the historic cafés and the vodka bars.
The back storyWarsaw CuisineŻurek in a bread bowl, pierogi, herring with a shot of vodka, flaki, pork knuckle in jelly, the wuzetka and the zygmuntówka, Wedel’s hot chocolate and the Wigilia table: the dishes of Warsaw, and where to taste them.
The back storyThe grand hotels of Warsaw: the back storyRaffles Europejski and the Hotel Bristol face each other on the Royal Route, the Sofitel Victoria looks over Piłsudski Square, and Nobu, the InterContinental and the Hotel Warszawa rise in the centre. Here is where to stay in Warsaw, district by district.