Łazienki Park

If you want a break from the urban bustle, then Łazienki Park, to the south of Warsaw, is a large and beautiful complex of public gardens and stately buildings. Here is our guide for what to see and how to visit.

Łazienki Park

Warsaw still has something of a Cold War reputation, so it surprises many people how green many parts of the city are. If you’re visiting during fine weather and want to stay outside, then Łazienki Park is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. This 76-hectares space is less than 20 minutes away from the city centre and is full of things to see. It should be considered one of the top 5 things to do in Warsaw.

Designed for a nobleman in the 17th century, it was extended by Poland’s last monarch roughly a century later, and became a public park in 1918.

In addition to the large and varied parkland, Łazienki also has some excellent palaces, villas, follies, and monuments, including a theatre, and amphitheater, and an extensive sculpture collection. You’ll see plenty of wildlife wandering around, including peacocks and swans. There is certainly too much to see in a single visit. Best of all, the grounds are always free to enter.

A number of tours of Łazienki Park are available, often combined with visits to other attractions, such as Wilanów Palace. They usually include a hotel pickup and handle all tickets.

What To See In Łazienki Park

Lake at Łazienki Park

It would probably take a small book to do full justice to Łazienki Park. With multiple gardens and roughly a dozen different buildings, the grounds also contain a wide range of flora and fauna. It’s a nice place to go for an afternoon stroll and part of the fun is just exploring.

However, the ornate Palace on the Isle is stunning neoclassical building, with tree-lined lakes out front and behind, and canals running past on either side. Peacocks wander around the grounds lazily and the sumptuous interior contains an art gallery.

Close to the Palace is a classical amphitheater with an island stage, also surrounded by water. It’s a great place for a spot of lunch – although you may get unwanted attention for peckish peacocks.

The Myślewicki Palace is modest by comparison, but still rather grand. Dating from the 18th century, it was home to Prince Józef Poniatowski. Eventually it ended up being used by the military and even hosted some key diplomatic meetings between the United States and China.

The Old Orangery contains an indoor sculpture court with modern and contemporary sculptures on the upper floor. It also has a splendid 18th-century court theatre hidden within the building.

The grounds also contain a number of other structures and follies, such as the Water Tower, the Temple of Diana, and the Egyptian Temple. Another public favourite is Wacław Szymanowski’s mammoth Chopin Monument and there is a cast of Rodin’s Caryatide Carrying Her Stone. Gardens include a Chinese garden, a 19th-century Romantic garden, and a 20th-century modernist garden. There are almost 10,000 trees within the grounds. Astonishing!

Read more reviews on TripAdvisor.

What To Expect When Visiting Łazienki Park

View of Palace on the Isle

There is so much to see in Łazienki Park that these highlights are just scratching the surface.

Palace on the Isle

The Palace on the Isle is perhaps the highlight of all the buildings and monuments in Łazienki Park.

Palace on the Isle

The Bacchus Room is a former ceramic-tiled bath room turned portrait gallery.

Palace on the Isle Bacchus Room

The Bathing Room featured tubs with hot and cold water and is decorated with scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Palace on the Isle Bathing Room

The Ballroom is thematically decorated with imagery richly symbolic images to the kind of governmental and nation aims of the king.

Palace on the Isle Ballroom

The Salle de Salomon was the main stateroom of the Palace, with decoration symbolising the virtues of a good ruler.

Palace on the Isle Salle de Salomon

As the name suggests, the Palace on the Isle is surrounded by water. In addition to the beautiful promenade out front, there are a number of attractive architectural features constructed around water.

Palace on the Isle canal

The stage of the classical Amphitheater is also surrounded by water.

The Amphitheater

Myślewicki Palace

Myślewicki Palace is more compact and more obviously a domestic space. Nonetheless, it has plenty of luxury.

Myślewicki Palace

The East Antechamber connects a number of more functional rooms but contains artworks.

Myślewicki Palace Antechamber

This is mirrored by the West Antechamber, which is more richly detailed.

Myślewicki Palace West Antechamber

Old Orangery

The Old Orangery would have provided winter shelter for the exotic plants and trees of the Park.

The Old Orangery

The main hall is now an impressive sculpture gallery.

The Old Orangery sculpture gallery

The upper floor has a collection of smaller Polish statues from different eras.

The Old Orangery sculpture collection

The biggest surprise in the Old Orangery is the Court Theatre, which seats 200 people and is still in use today.

The Old Orangery Court Theatre

Around the Grounds

Part of the enjoyment of Łazienki Park is exploring the grounds and finding surprises, like the Egyptian Temple.

Łazienki Park Egyptian Temple

The Chopin Monument is a handy place to sit and eat lunch.

Łazienki Park Chopin monument

The Water Tower is only open during the summer months.

Łazienki Park Water Tower

There are peacocks wandering around the Palace on the Isle, as well as swans, squirrels, and ducks.

Peacock on the Amphitheater

The Park obviously has a huge variety of plants and trees, as well.

Trees in Łazienki Park

How To Visit Łazienki Park

The gate opposite the Łazienki Królewskie bus stop

Getting to Łazienki Park is reasonable straightforward. There are numerous entrances to the grounds, but the 116, 166, and 180 buses disembark at the Łazienki Królewskie 01 stop just opposite the Józef Piłsudski Monument, close to the Chopin sculpture. This is as good a place as any to enter the Park. The 116 travels down Nowy Świat, for example. This journey takes less than 15 minutes and the fare is just 3,40zł.

Get off the bus and you’ll see the park across the road. It’s free to enter.

Łazienki Park address: Agrykola 1, Warsaw 00-460 Poland

The grounds are open daily from 6am to 8pm.

There are so many different buildings in the Park which are subject to seasonal variations and public holiday closures, such as Easter, Christmas, and New Year. As such, it doesn’t really make sense to break everything down here. Use these as a general rule of thumb but double check with the official Łazienki Park website, if there was something specific you hoped to see.

• Sun / Tue / Wed 10am-4pm
• Thu / Fri 10am-6pm
• Sat 12noon-6pm

All buildings are generally closed on Mondays and last entry is 30 minutes before closing.

Similarly, there are a range of different ticket options, including temporary exhibitions. You can get the latest information on the official Łazienki Park website.

You can get a single ticket that covers the Palace on the Isle, the Old Orangery, and Myślewicki Palace for 40zł, with 20zł for concessions, and 1zł for children over 7 and students under 26. It’s free for children under 7.

There is an extended ticket that includes these three buildings as well as the Kubicki Stables and Cantonists’ Barracks for 50zł, with 25zł for concessions, with students and children the same as above.

Best of all, entry is completely free to all buildings on Fridays.

You cannot buy tickets in advance, so you will have to buy one when you arrive. I went when it was free entry and I still had no problems getting into anything. Also, it should be noted that I found it very hard to find the ticket points. You should be able to buy them in the Old Orangery, which is reasonably close to the Chopin Monument. You’ll find maps all over the park but if you book a guided tour of Łazienki Park any problems with tickets and transport vanishes.

Southern Śródmieście District: The southern end of Śródmieście contains a number of important attractions, not least Łazienki Park, a huge complex of gardens, palaces, and museums. The area is also one of Warsaw’s best for eating and drinking, with Michelin listed restaurants, including Rozbrat 20 and kontakt wino & bistro. You’ll also find the full range of accommodation here, from the Sheraton Grand to the more budget-friendly Hotel MDM.

Tips For Visiting Łazienki Park

Łazienki Park

• You can easily spend a whole afternoon at Łazienki Park, if not a whole day. I would budget at least 30 minutes for each of the buildings you visit.
• Obviously you’ll be outdoors a lot of time, so be prepared for a change of weather. The Park has a lot of paths and places to sit, but you may want to bring a picnic blanket with you and proper footwear in case it rains. There are free public toilets dotted around the grounds.
• On the other hand, despite mention on the website of a cloakroom, I never found anywhere to leave coats and bags, and there are restrictions on what you can bring with you. So don’t pack too much.
• Photography and filming is allowed throughout the Park, even indoors, although tripods and artificial lighting are not. You’ll probably see wedding couples all over the grounds having their photos taken in one of Warsaw’s most photogenic environments.
• Children will love Łazienki Park. There’s space to run around, loads of birds and animals, as well as beautiful lakes and special play areas.
• Though steep in places, the Park itself is fairly accessible. Some of the buildings are cramped, but should still be accessible to wheelchairs. No accessible toilets.
• There is a restaurant with a garden area called Trou Madame close to the Palace on the Isle, as well as various ice cream and waffle stands dotted around – such as next to the amphitheater – and a luxury restaurant called Belvedere in the southern part of the Park. It is also a fantastic place for a picnic lunch.
• There is a gift shop just inside the entrance, close to the Piłsudski and Chopin monuments. There is also a bookshop within the Cadet School building related to exhibitions.