A Walk Through the Secrets of Old Warsaw Activity Overview
The Secrets of Old Warsaw walking tour is a true story of the city and the people who shaped it. The guide leads the group through the capital’s oldest alleyways, sharing not dry textbook dates, but anecdotes, behind-the-scenes stories of major events, and insights into the everyday lives of Old Warsaw’s residents over the course of seven centuries.
Character of the tour: it’s a fact-based walk, presented in a light, anecdotal style — no lectures or dates to memorise, with the focus on stories about people and places.
- starting at Castle Square with the story of Sigismund III Vasa’s Column — the oldest secular monument in Poland,
- the story of the capital moving from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596 and how this changed the course of the city’s history,
- a virtual visit to the Royal Castle — where the Constitution of 3 May was adopted, one of the first written constitutions in the world,
- the history of the Old Town Market Square as a centre of trade, but also a place of public punishments and executions in centuries past,
- anecdotes about the residents of old Warsaw — merchants, craftsmen and families whose everyday lives unfolded in the very streets the group will walk along,
- the moving story of the Old Town’s destruction in 1944 and its almost complete reconstruction — one of the world’s greatest achievements in historic preservation, recognised by UNESCO.
Live music – PLN 1,299 per group: just like the Warsaw Legends tour, this walk can be enhanced with a street musician playing the guitar or banjo. Throughout the entire route, they play, sing and add commentary while performing classics of old Warsaw courtyard music in the style of pre-war street hits. This option naturally extends the walk by around 30 minutes.
The walk can be conducted in English for an additional fee.