Aleje Ujazdowskie

Warsaw is not a city lacking in baroque palaces, and visitors who mainly associate Poland’s capital with severe Stalinist architecture, dilapidated tower blocks and a sweep of new business parks will be very much surprised. Originally noblemen’s flashy family homes, these beautiful old buildings are now often used by government ministries, private institutions or businesses, while others house archive collections or slightly obscure museums. Some, however, are not only exquisitely restored outside and in, making a visit to view the breathtaking, often ostentatious interiors well worth your while, but contain interesting museums that will give you a fuller understanding of the wealth and history that made Warsaw. Ujazdowski Castle is one of these.

Between the Old Town’s Royal Castle and the suburban royal palace of Wilanow stretches the Royal Route, a path some 14 kilometers long that once led from the foot of Warsaw’s defensive walls into the countryside, lined heavily with the palatial homes of the wealthy and influential noblemen who pulled their weight in the Polish court. Today, the most popular stretch of the Royal Route is the northern end, including the elegant pedestrian streets Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Nowy Swiat, all the way down to Plac Trzech Krzyzy. The next segment of the route, Aleje Ujazdowskie, continues southward from Plac Trzech Krzyzy, opening up into a wide boulevard bordering vast parkland to the left, and rows of mansions and embassies to the right. With its beautiful surrounding neighbourhoods and its stunning palace gardens, this is a stretch of the Royal Route you absolutely should not miss.

Heading southward along Aleje Ujazdowskie, you’ll pass the lovely Ujazdowski Park, and catch stunning view of Ujazdowski Castle on its high escarpment, before heading along the western side of Łazienki Park.