Palace on the Water, Łazienki Park

What makes it special

Stanisław August bought this Baroque bathhouse in 1764 and had it rebuilt as his neoclassical summer residence, which the museum calls the Palace on the Isle. Today 140 works from his collection hang in its rooms, and the interiors, from the gilding and stucco to the Dutch tiles, have been fully restored.

The rooms you pass through include the Ballroom, the Chapel, the Picture Gallery and the Portrait Room. Look up at the ceilings for the king's crowned initials, SA. On one fireplace, Hercules stands with his club and lion skin.

The Bacchus Room has walls covered in tiles, a Dutch fashion, and takes its name from a ceiling painting it never received. The Solomon Room is the main reception hall of the palace. Stand at its windows for the view north over the water.

Visiting

Before you cross to the island, buy your ticket online, at the ticket machine in the palace, or at the Old Orangery or the Officer Cadets School. One ticket covers the palace, the Old Orangery, the Myślewicki Palace and the Kubicki Stables, so you can see all four on one visit.

Inside, leave large bags, rucksacks and umbrellas in the cloakroom, which is free, and put on shoe protectors if staff ask. The route covers eleven rooms on the ground floor and eight upstairs.

The museum has no guides of its own. Its English audio guide is the commentary it provides.

Tips

Eating and drinking are not allowed inside, so finish your coffee in the park before you go in. Only guide dogs may come in with you.

The accessible toilet is on the ground floor of the Eastern Pavilion, with its own entrance from the colonnade rather than through the palace.