Consider taking a picnic! (Wilanow Palace Museum (Warsaw))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Wilanow Palace Museum (Warsaw)
Date:	08/08/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to reach, cheap to enter, lovely grounds

Disadvantages: Outside of the centre

The Wilanow Palace Museum lies in the south of Warsaw, not too far away from the city boundaries. It's easily reachable by bus with the best option being the 180 - this is a bus line that is dubbed the "tourist route", in fact it is used mostly by locals but it happens to connect the majority of the cities interesting sights. Wilanow Palace is the end of the line. Get off the bus, cross the road, walk through a small side street and there you are in a park often home to an old guy selling annoying novelty items!

Stroll through the park come woodland area and you will get to the main gates of Wilanow Palace, entrance is 5zl to the grounds and guided tours of the building are also available, although I'm not too sure of the price. I've visited twice and both times there was a painting job going on, the first time it was the face of the building (the side which faces the entrance) and the second time round it was the one which faces the ground. I believe this extensive paint job is finished now and it must have given a spark of life to the building because the exterior was starting to look a touch shabby.

The building itself is magnificent, a splendid palace that was initially built in the 1690s by King Jan Sobieski, it was later owned by various aristocratic families and kings and in the 1800s housed one of the first public museums in Poland. Not only is it nice to come and admire this magnificient structure but the grounds are particularly enjoyable, small streams, stepping stones and paths encircled by hedge rows that travel alongside moats are the name of the day! There are also some lawns as well as some impressive coloured plants in the garden near to the building.

This is one of the best sights in the city but the majority of visitors are too lazy to make the 10km journey down to the southern district of Wilanow and therefore apart from the occasional group, you can usually end up here almost alone - particularly on week days.

Summary: A top attraction that isn't visited enough