Night of Museums at the Royal Castle in Warsaw
16/17 May 2026, 7 p.m. – 2 a.m.
(last admission at 1 a.m.)
The Night of Museums is the only opportunity during the year to see selected interiors of the Royal Castle in Warsaw in a unique evening setting. As part of this year’s edition, on Saturday, 16 May, from 7 p.m., we invite all lovers of after-hours culture to visit the royal residence. A special sightseeing route and additional attractions have been prepared together with the Castle’s partners and sponsors.
During the Night of Museums, visitors will be invited to tour the Great Apartment – the royal reception rooms, the Royal Apartment – the king’s living quarters, and the Parliamentary Chambers.
During the night visit to the Castle, guests will have the opportunity to admire the most magnificent interiors of the Great Apartment, especially the Great Assembly Hall, which during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski served as the venue for numerous ceremonies. Banquets, balls, concerts and theatrical performances were held there. Visitors will also pass through the Knights’ Hall, which, according to the intention of King Stanisław August, was meant to commemorate the most important moments in Polish history. That is why the walls of the hall are decorated with monumental historical paintings by Marcello Bacciarelli, whose themes were personally selected by the king.
The tour of the Great Apartment will conclude with an official audience with the king, namely a visit to the Throne Room. It was here that the monarch received official guests, who were meant to be impressed not only by his majesty, but also by his refined taste. Entering the Throne Room, resplendent with a multitude of gilding, was the highlight of a visit to the royal court.
Visitors will also be invited to the Royal Apartment, where the king’s private rooms were located, including the Study, Dressing Room and Bedroom. It was here that the daily life of the court unfolded — the king received guests for informal audiences, worked and rested. Guests will also see one of the most beautiful interiors in the Royal Castle in Warsaw — the Canaletto Room with its collection of famous views of Warsaw painted by Bernardo Bellotto.
In the Parliamentary Chambers, visitors will be able to see the Senators’ Hall — the place where the Constitution of 3 May was adopted — as well as the Princes’ Apartments with monumental paintings by Jan Matejko, such as Rejtan – The Fall of Poland, The Constitution of 3 May 1791 and Batory at Pskov.
After completing the tour of the Apartments and Parliamentary Chambers, visitors are invited to the Kubicki Arcades, where the musical part of the evening prepared by the Museum of Jazz will take place. The programme titled Jazz Fates 1939–1945 will feature a concert by The Dixie Fellows of Jerzy Więckowski & Joanna Morea. Narrative panels devoted to the fate of jazz musicians during the war years will also be presented by Krzysztof Karpiński, Tomasz Lach and Tomasz Lerski, alongside presentations by Tomasz Muc titled Polish YMCA During the Second World War and by Tomasz Lerski titled The Polish Jazz Poster During World War II. As part of the programme, the Museum of Jazz will also present archival films from World War II. Visitors will additionally have an opportunity to see Andrzej Rumianowski’s exhibition Jazz Fates 1939–1945, inspired by the book There Was Jazz. The Cry of the Jazz Band in Interwar Poland by Krzysztof Karpiński.
During this year’s Night of Museums, visitors will also be able to relax in special partner zones prepared by the Castle’s partners: Totalizator Sportowy, ORLEN and Bank Pekao. Refreshments will be available there throughout the evening.
Especially for the Night of Museums, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., visitors will be able to walk through the Historic Tunnel connecting the Castle with the Kubicki Arcades.
Further attractions await visitors in the Castle Gardens, which also look particularly picturesque at night thanks to special illumination. In the Lower Garden, along the Kubicki Arcades, Automobilklub Polski will present a collection of vintage automobiles.
During the Night of Museums, the Gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw will transform into a magical forest inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Visitors will not merely stroll through the gardens — they will be invited into the world of an emerging theatrical production.
The Dream Night Trail is an interactive evening walk inspired by one of the most romantic comedies by William Shakespeare, created as part of the Shakespeare Under the Stars project. Rather than a traditional outdoor game, it will be an immersive narrative walk in which every participant follows their own unique path.
For one night, the Castle Gardens will become a symbolic space where visitors may lose their way, turn back, encounter characters and perhaps even themselves. By scanning QR codes placed along the route, participants will discover short recordings by actors appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Jakub Krofta. The actors will address participants directly and guide them through four stages of an emotional journey.
The Dream Night Trail, presented during the Night of Museums, forms part of the Shakespeare Under the Stars project, whose first premiere will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream — an open-air performance presented in the Castle Gardens from 11 July.
We invite you to visit the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Castle Gardens during the Night of Museums — one of the most anticipated nationwide museum events in Poland.
