Old Town Market Square
Rynek Starego Miasta
The heart of the Old Town, rebuilt brick by brick after the war from old paintings. Surrounded by colourful Baroque merchant houses, with the mermaid statue at its centre, it is Warsaw's most classic view.
The Old Town Market Square was founded in the late 13th century and is the centre of Warsaw's Old Town. Its four sides are named after 18th-century deputies, and it is surrounded by about 40 colourful merchant houses in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. In 1944 the city was almost totally flattened. In the 1950s the square was rebuilt using Bellotto's landscape paintings and prewar survey drawings, and UNESCO has described it as an outstanding example of a historic area reconstructed almost entirely from 13th- to 20th-century architecture. In the centre stands a statue of a mermaid holding a sword and shield; the mermaid is Warsaw's coat of arms. The Warsaw Historical Museum (Muzeum Warszawy) on the north side occupies several old houses. It tells the city's history and shows a short film about the destruction and rebuilding of the Old Town. Admission costs about 25 złoty, and the permanent exhibition is free on Thursdays. From the square, walk north through the red-brick Barbican gate to reach the New Town and the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum. Walk south past St. John's Cathedral to reach Castle Square. It's best to take photos in the morning when there are fewer people, and in the evening enjoy dumplings and local beer at outdoor restaurants. In summer, street performers and horse-drawn carriages fill the square at night. Restaurants around the square are expensive, so look for milk bars in the streets just outside.
Opening hours
Open all day; Warsaw Museum closed Mondays
Nearby sights
- St. John's Archcathedral
- Warsaw Barbican & City Walls
- Royal Castle & Castle Square
- St. Anne's Church & Viewing Terrace
- New Town & Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum
- Multimedia Fountain Park
- Warsaw Uprising Monument
- Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera