Metravel city quest
City Warsaw: free walking route “Quest: Syrenka and the Old Town” along the sights. 12 points. Approximately 3 h. Quests and legends - straight from your
Warsaw is a city that died and rose again. In 1944 the Germans methodically razed it to the ground, house by house: after the war, more than 80% of the city lay in ruins. But the people of Warsaw rebuilt the Old Town, house by house, using old plans and paintings by Canaletto. In 1980 Warsaw's historic centre was added to the UNESCO list as an exceptional example of the complete reconstruction of a city that had been deliberately destroyed.
Warsaw's coat of arms bears a Mermaid who, according to legend, once swore to protect the city. It seems she is keeping her word.
In this quest you will walk through the Old Town and along the Royal Route, meet Warsaw's three main legends — the Mermaid, the Basilisk and the Golden Duck — and learn the stories of places people usually pass without a second thought.
What to do: 1) Read the legend and task at each stop. 2) Find the place on the map. 3) Look around and answer the question.
The route runs from north to south: from the Barbican through Market Square to the Palace of Culture. Onwards!
The route points in order — what these places are and why they are interesting. Tasks and answers stay inside the quest.
The Barbakan is a semicircular bastion built around 1548 by the Italian master Giovanni Battista of Venice (the Poles called him Jan Baptysta the Venetian). It was an outlying fortress that covered the Nowomiejska (New Town) Gate: a moat, a drawbridge, loopholes for cannons.
An optional stop, a recommendation rather than a riddle. There is a place near the route worth a short detour.
In the centre of Market Square stands Syrenka, the Warsaw Mermaid, the city's symbol and protector. According to legend, two mermaid sisters swam in from the Baltic Sea.
In one of the cellars of the narrow little street of Krzywe Koło (“Crooked Wheel”), according to legend, lived the Basilisk — a monster with a scaly body, bat wings and a crocodile’s tail. But the most terrible thing was its gaze: anyone who looked the Basilisk in the eye instantly turned to stone.
One of the oldest churches in Warsaw: the cathedral has stood here since the 14th century (around 1339).
Sigismund's Column is Warsaw's oldest secular monument and the first column in early modern Europe topped by the figure of a mortal king rather than a saint. It was unveiled on 24 November 1644.
The Royal Castle closes Castle Square on its eastern side. From here the kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth governed the country.
St Anne's Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście was founded in 1454 by Duchess Anna of Masovia for the Bernardine monks. The church burned and was rebuilt more than once.
Opening hours: Since October 2026 the terrace has been closed for repairs until further notice; check the website before visiting. Normal hours: summer (May–September) Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–22:00; winter (October–April) Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–21:00 · Ticket: Standard 15 PLN, concession 10 PLN (2026)
An optional stop — for pleasure, not for puzzles. The best discoveries on a journey often happen over a cup of coffee.
In front of the Staszic Palace sits Nicolaus Copernicus — the astronomer who “stopped the Sun and moved the Earth”. It was he who demonstrated that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth, but the Earth around the Sun.
One of the most touching legends of Warsaw. In the underground vaults by the Vistula, the story goes, lived the Golden Duck — in fact an enchanted princess.
Our final stop is Warsaw's most controversial building. The Palace of Culture and Science, 237 metres high including its spire, was built in 1952–1955 as a “gift from the Soviet people to the Polish people”.
Opening hours: Daily 10:00–20:00 (also 10:00–20:00 on 11 November; closed on 1 November); holiday hours on the website · Ticket: Standard 30 PLN, concession 25 PLN (2026)
This route is part of Metravel city quests. Below are the other quests in this city and cities with quests nearby.