page_title: Tourist attractions in Warsaw
section_title: Major sights
hierarchical_section_title: Tourist attractions in Warsaw / Major sights
caption_attribution_description: English: Villa Łepkowski Warsaw 1934-35 architects Korngold&amp;Lubiński Polski: Willa Łepkowskich Warszawa, Francuska 2, 1934-35, arch. Korngold&amp;Lubiński
context_page_description: The city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, offers a variety of tourist attractions, including historical sights, monuments, museums, theatres, and places connected with Marie Curie, and with Frédéric Chopin and his music. Since 1980, the old town, one of the main attractions, has been a UNESCO World heritage site.
context_section_description: The oldest part of Warsaw, founded at the turn of the 13th century, is the Old Town. Its streets form a  regular chessboard pattern typical for medieval towns. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, King Sigismund's Column, Market Square, and the Barbican. Another important historic district is the New Town. It was formed at the turn of the 14th century as an independent city and after 1791, due to the tenets of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, was incorporated into Warsaw.
  Although today's Warsaw is a fairly young city, it has many tourist attractions. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town quarter, carefully reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, King Zygmunt's Column, Market Square, and the Barbican.
  Further south is the so-called Royal Route, with many classicist palaces, the Presidential Palace and the Warsaw University campus. Also the popular Nowy Świat Street, one of the principal business streets, is worth mentioning. Wilanów Palace, the former royal residence of King John III Sobieski, is notable for its baroque architecture and beautiful parks.
  Warsaw's oldest public park, the Saxon Garden, is located within 10 minutes' walk from the old town. Warsaw's biggest public park and said to be the most beautiful is the Royal Baths Park. It is also very old – established in the 17th century and given its current classical shape in late 18th century – is located further south, on the Royal Route, about 3 km (1.9 mi) from the Warsaw Old Town.
  The Powązki Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe, full of sculptures, some of them by the most renowned Polish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since it serves the religious communities of Warsaw, be it Catholics, Jews, Muslims or Protestants, it is often called a necropolis. Nearby is the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe.
  In many parts of the city, the Jewish culture and history are evident. Among them the most notable are the Jewish theater, the Nożyk Synagogue, Janusz Korczak's Orphanage and  the picturesque Próżna Street. Tragic events from Warsaw’s past are commemorated in places such as the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, the Umschlagplatz, fragments of the Ghetto wall on Sienna Street and a mound in memory of the Jewish Combat Organization.
  There are also many places commemorating the heroic history of Warsaw. Pawiak, an infamous German Gestapo prison now occupied by a Mausoleum of Memory of Martyrdom and the museum, is only the beginning of a walk in the traces of Heroic City. The Warsaw Citadel, an impressive 19th-century fortification built after the defeat of the November Uprising, was a place of martyr for the Poles. Another important monument, the statue of Little Insurgent located at the ramparts of the Old Town, commemorates the children who served as messengers and frontline troops in the Warsaw Uprising, while the impressive Warsaw Uprising Monument by Wincenty Kućma was erected in memory of the largest insurrection of World War II.
  After the expansion of the city area in 1916, the opportunity came up to build new estates. Later in 20's and 30's, new workers' and villas' estates were constructed. As a result, the villas' estate was built in Saska Kępa. Most prewar buildings at this district were not destroyed during World War II. Nowadays many examples of houses from the interwar period still exist, designed by notable architects such as Bohdan Pniewski, Bohdan Lachert, Józef Szanajca, Lucjan Korngold or Szymon and Helena Syrkus.
  In Warsaw, there are many places connected with the life and work of Fryderyk Chopin. The heart of the Polish-born composer is sealed inside Warsaw's Holy Cross Church. During summer, pianists give concerts at the Chopin Monument in the Royal Baths Park.
  Also many references to Marie Curie, her work and her family can be found in Warsaw: Marie's birthplace at the Warsaw New Town, the working places where she did her first scientific works and the Rad
caption: House of Łepkowski, an example of pre-war house designed by Lucjan Korngold
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