Highlights

• Walk around Warsaw Old Square and town
• Museum of Warsaw– museum is interesting and there is a great city view at the top
• Palace of Culture and Science and the view from the top of the tower
• Open Studio Jazdów for concerts- don’t forget to take cash for a donation!
• Time for Chopin concert in an art space at plac Zamkowy 8
• Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary Magdalene– impressive church with a nice view of the city from the hill
• Zachęta – National Gallery of Art
• Bazylika Archikatedralna church
• The Royal Castle
• Museum of Fryderyk Chopin 
• Holy Trinity Church
• The National Museum in Warsaw
• Sigismund’s Column and surrounding colourful buildings
• Carmelite Church
• Nicolas Copernicus Monument
• Saxon Garden and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• Presidential Palace
• Park Praski
• City Zoological Garden in Warsaw
• Dung Hill Lookout Point
• Ujazdów Castle
• Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge for nice views towards the city
• parkrun Warszawa-Praga
• PGE Narodowy stadium
• Copernicus Science Centre
• Muzeum Wódki to learn about and taste vodka
• Neon Museum
• Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły Park
• Royal Łazienki Museum and park
• Cadillac Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego
• Chopin Monument

Before you go

• Warsaw is the capital of Poland, located in the middle of the country, slightly east
• The Old Town of Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during WW2 but was rebuilt in the old style
• Warsaw’s nickname is the Phoenix City, because it has been destroyed and rebuilt many times
• Vistula River flows through the city
• Official Warsaw Tourism page
• Warsaw Pass can be good value depending on which attractions you plan to see
• Some museums are free on certain days so check online. I found out by chance that the Royal Lazienski Museum is free on Fridays
• Many places accept credit cards but smaller places may only accept cash. Also tips are better in cash
• Tipping is optional but appreciated, usually around 10-15% for good to great service
• Hard alcohol is only sold in Alkohole shops and not at the supermarket or other stores
• Tap water is drinkable
• Many people smoke, so eating outdoors may mean you also have smoke around you
• Noble Prize winner Maria Skłodowska-Curie was born in Warsaw and she is better known as Marie Curie
• The famous composer Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was born near Warsaw
• Varso Tower is the tallest building in the European Union (as of 2023)
• For bus and metro travel in Warsaw, it is possible to pay with cash or use an app such as Mobilet. Some apps didn’t work for me as they required a Polish bank or Blik. Mobilet worked and I had to pre-load money and then buy the tickets through the app
• Blik is like a PayPal equivalent popular in Poland

Transport

• Warsaw Chopin Airport is the main international airport in Warsaw
• Bus 175 leaves from just outside the terminal and goes to the city centre. Tickets can be bought at a machine or you can use an app such as Mobilet
• Walking is a good way to get around the central area of the city. However, Warsaw is quite large so the metro and bus system are convenient and cheap
• Taxis and Uber are also available

Accommodation

• As usual, I recommend checking Booking.com for reviews to choose a hotel or guesthouse
• Most hotels were very expensive in July 2023! Luckily, I found a good hotel called the Motel One Warszawa-Chopin. It was centrally located across from the Chopin Museum. The rooms and decor were very modern.
• Breakfast was not included but the hotel is in the city centre so there are many options nearby or you can pay for the hotel breakfast
• There was air conditioning and lifts so it was a very comfortable stay

Food

While I was in Warsaw for just 3 days, I tried as many restaurants and dessert places as I could. I was very impressed, especially with the value of the fine dining!

Main dining

First, I had dinner at Butchery & Wine which is known for its steaks and wines. I enjoyed a perfectly-cooked sirloin steak with sides of fries and salad, and a glass of Spanish red wine. I didn’t see many Polish wines on the menu, or I would have tried something more local.

Although the hotel offered breakfast, I skipped that so I could try bakeries around the city. I also had to save room for lunch so on the first morning I skipped breakfast and headed straight to Rozbrat 20 after some sightseeing. It’s in the Michelin guide and is on the affordable end of fine dining. The decor is elegant and the service very attentive. First, I had the bread and butters, and those were delicious so I had to stop myself from eating them all! Next I enjoyed beef tartare for starter, stone bass for the main and a caramel ginger crumble for dessert! All dishes were beautifully-presented, fresh and tasty.

GOŚCINIEC Polskie Pierogi is a casual, traditional Polish restaurant. As the name suggests, pierogi is one of the specialties and there are many types of fillings. In addition, you can have them boiled or fried. I hadn’t tried fried pierogi before so I ordered the fried spicy sausage pierogi to go. On the way to a concert, I enjoyed the pierogi and some vegetables in a park. Unfortunately, the takeaway did not include cutlery so I had to use my fingers. Still, they were very tasty and filling, and I enjoyed them while sitting in the sunshine.

Finally, my last lunch was at another semi fine-dining Polish restaurant called Kieliszki na Próżnej. Beef tartare was on the menu again so I had that and it was fresh and delicious. For the main, I had traditional cheese dumplings which were simple, tasty and filling. Somehow I still found room for a light dessert of berries and cream.

Desserts

In the old town, there is a small window called Ice Cream Granita, which serves both. A mango granita on a hot summer day was perfect!

For doughnuts and baked goods, a visit to Cukiernia Strzałkowski in the Old town for breakfast after Parkrun was ideal. There are many pastries and cakes to choose from and the service was very friendly.

Interestingly, I recognised the brand at Chocolate Cafe E.Wedel, as we have it in England. However, the choice of chocolate in the cafe was much larger. I bought some to try and to take home.

Manufaktura Cukierków is a traditional hard candy shop where they make the candy by hand. Luckily, I visited while they had a kids’ class on making the candy so I got to see the candy makers in action. The flavours were very distinct and I liked the candies, even though I am usually not a hard candy fan.

Cheesecakes are very popular Polish desserts and can be found in most bakeries. However, I found a place that only sold cheesecakes, and had more of a an American style, Cheesecake Corner. The Oreo cheesecake was amazing, so light and flavourful.

While walking around near the National Museum, I found a very small ice cream shop called Lody z Brańszczyka. It’s easy to miss but the location on GoogleMaps is accurate. There are some typical and other more unusual flavours. Also perfect for a hot summer day!

Beverages

Vodka (Wódka) is probably the most famous beverage from Poland. I didn’t have any vodka while in the city, but I did try two at the Warsaw airport lounge. Zubrowka and Wyborowa vodkas were both smooth, but strong!

Piastowski is a type of mead which we were served at the intermission at the Time for Chopin concert. It is very sweet and does not taste too strong. Also, Krupnik is another honey alcohol usually made from vodka, and it has a similar taste to mead.

Poland also has many local beers to try, though I haven’t tasted most of them. The one I saw most often around Warsaw was Żywiec.

Fruit juices are also excellent, and my favourite is cherry juice, which I often buy from a local Polish shop.

Finally, there are some Polish wines although I did not find many at the restaurants I visited. I tried a rose wine from Winnica Modla. I have to say that it was drinkable but quite sour. Maybe I need to do some more Polish wine tasting to find some favourites!