Visitors can explore St. John’s Archcathedral independently at almost any time: entry is free. After viewing the red-brick exterior and gabled roof, head inside to admire the gilded altars, vaulted Gothic roof, and stained glass windows before descending to view the crypt.
The archcathedral is an exterior stop on almost all Warsaw tours. Tour options vary from guided Old Town walks to wider city tours by minivan or even Soviet-era coaches and minibusses—the latter perfect for adding a fun, retro-style twist to your explorations. If you want to view the archcathedral’s interior with a guide, choose a private tour that lets you adjust the itinerary to accommodate an in-depth visit.
St. John’s Archcathedral sits on Swietojanska, in the heart of the traffic-free Old Town, and is only reachable on foot. To get there, catch a tram (numbers 4, 13, 20, 23, and 26) or bus (numbers 116, 175, 178, and 190, among others) to the Stare Miasto stop at nearby Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy). Walk northeast across the square and turn left into Swietojanska, where the archcathedral is on your right.
The archcathedral is open daily, although visitors are asked not to enter during mass services, which are usually held in the early mornings and early evenings on weekdays, and more regularly on Sundays. It’s worth double-checking the mass times and the archcathedral’s program of daily summer concerts before visiting.
If you’re exploring the archcathedral interior, don’t miss the underground crypt. It holds the tombs of key Polish figures, including the country’s last monarch, Stanislaw II August; and the brothers Janusz and Stanisław Mazovia, two Mazovian knights—whose tombstone depicts them in an eternal embrace. Afterward, stroll around the archcathedral’s exterior: one of its walls is embedded with parts of the Nazi tank that blew it up in 1944, during the fight against the Warsaw Uprising.
