Warszawa

We take the bus 106 again to Mariensztat and walk up to the Old Town again to start the "Warsaw - In Your Pocket" walking tour of The Royal Route.

The full Royal Route links the city's three Royal residences; Royal Castle, Lazienki Park's Palace on the Island and the Wilanow Palace. We cover the first part, taking in the many historical buildings, parks and monuments on the way to Lazienki Park via Warsaw's two main high streets, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiejscie and ul. Nowy Swiat.

Starting at the Royal Castle on Plac Zamkowy again, we walk down ul. KP past St Anne's Church, the Adam Mickiewicz Monument (he was a literary figure) to reach the fenced and guarded Presidential Palace. We visit the Church of the Nuns of the Visitation (Fryderyk Chopin attended as a youth) and pass some buildings of the University of Warsaw to reach the Holy Cross Church; this is the final resting place of Chopin's heart (in a sealed urn) and the interior is exceptional.

After an intersection, the road becomes ul. Nowy Swiat, and definitely more trendy. We reach the modern art installation that is the famed Palm Tree, situated in the middle of a roundabout! At Plac Tlzech Krzyzy, a roundabout with St Alexander's Church on it, the Royal Route becomes ul Al. Ulazpowska and we walk down here, passing a statue of Ronald Reagan opposite the US Embassy, to reach the western perimeter of Lazienki Park.

We pass Belvedere Palace, the residence of Polish Presidents 1918 -1995; this can only be viewed from the Royal Route and no visitors are allowed. We enter Lazienki Park and see the Art Nouveau Chopin Monument, the open-air Theatre on the Island and the magnificent semicircular Myslewicki Palace before reaching the Palace on the Island. The name derives from the fact that it was originally a private bath-house before being bought by the last king of Poland in 1772 and converted to a private residence.Read more