Warsaw

The rebuilt Old Town

In the middle of the square stands the Mermaid (Syrenka), shield and sword in hand. She's the city's emblem and its guardian. A few steps away, Sigismund's Column (Kolumna Zygmunta III Wazy) rises in front of the Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski). Erected in 1644, it's Warsaw's oldest secular monument. The castle is where the Constitution of 3 May 1791 was adopted, the first written constitution in Europe. Inside, the Canaletto Room is hung with views of Warsaw by Bernardo Bellotto, the painter known as Canaletto, so you meet the streets you just walked all over again, this time in paint. For the Old Town from above, head to the bell tower of St. Anne's Church (Kościół św. Anny). After 150 stone steps, the Old Town rooftops and eastern Warsaw across the Vistula (Wisła) spread out below you.

1 August, 5 pm

On 1 August 1944, the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) rose up against the German occupiers. The Warsaw Rising lasted 63 days. After it was put down, the Germans took brutal revenge on civilians and completely destroyed the city. That's why every year on 1 August at 5 pm, Warsaw stops for a minute. While the sirens wail, trams and buses halt, and people and cars stand still where they are. It's the very hour the insurgents code-named "W," for Wolność, meaning freedom. The Warsaw Rising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego) follows the people of Warsaw who fought the Germans. Climb its 32-meter tower and you look out over the city where the uprising was fought.

Following Chopin along the Royal Route

Fryderyk Chopin spent his childhood and early youth in Warsaw, left for Vienna in 1830 and never came back. His heart did. After his death, his oldest sister Ludwika brought it to Warsaw. Today it rests inside a pillar of the Holy Cross Church (Bazylika Świętego Krzyża). The Royal Route (Trakt Królewski) links three former royal residences: the Royal Castle, Royal Łazienki (Łazienki Królewskie) and Wilanów Palace (Pałac w Wilanowie), nicknamed the "Polish Versailles." At places tied to Chopin, you'll find Chopin benches: press a button and one of his pieces starts to play. In summer, keep your Sundays free. Free open-air concerts take place at the Chopin Monument in Łazienki at noon and 4 pm. In 2026 they ran from 5 July to 27 September, and the dates can change from year to year. The Chopin Museum in Ostrogski Palace announced it would be closed for all of 2026. If you're going in 2027 or later, check first whether it has reopened.

A palace and a tower, face to face

If Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Warsaw has the Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki), visible from almost anywhere in town. Stalin first proposed it in 1949; construction began in May 1952, and it opened on 21 July 1955. It's 230.68 meters to the tip of its spire, with nearly 3,300 rooms and four theaters, a cinema, museums and universities inside. From the viewing terrace on the 30th floor, 114 meters up, you see the glass towers that have risen around it. Among them, Varso Tower, completed in 2022, reaches 310 meters with its spire, making it the tallest building in the EU. Its observation deck, 230 meters above the ground, is the highest in the EU too, and up there you're almost exactly at eye level with the tip of the palace's spire.

Milk bars and the taste of Warsaw

Make your first meal at a milk bar (bar mleczny). These canteens still carry the atmosphere of the communist era, and many have served home-style food at modest prices for decades. Pierogi come with fillings from meat, cabbage and mushrooms to fruit. Żurek is a soup of meat broth soured with rye sourdough, served with a boiled egg and white sausage. For dessert, order wuzetka, a cocoa sponge layered with milky cream. It's named after the W-Z Drive, built right after the war to run beneath the Old Town, so the rebuilding years even made it into a cake. At an E. Wedel chocolate café, try a hot chocolate and "bird's milk" (ptasie mleczko) pralines. Look out for pyzy, too: potato-dough dumplings topped with crisp pork scratchings and fried onion. Every Varsovian knows the taste.

Praga, across the river

Praga, on the east bank of the Vistula, largely escaped destruction in World War II and kept its prewar buildings. Cross over after seeing the rebuilt Old Town and you meet Warsaw's original face. Almost every old courtyard holds a small shrine, built during the German occupation as a place of prayer and consolation. Around 100 survive, cared for by residents for generations. Turn from Targowa onto Ząbkowska Street, and in the courtyard at No. 13 you'll find a wooden gallery built around 1870. The Koneser complex, a revived vodka factory site, houses the Museum of Polish Vodka in its old distillery. On summer evenings, head to the Vistula riverside for outdoor festivals and concerts.

What to eat

• Pierogi (dumplings with many fillings)
• Żurek (rye sourdough soup)
• Pyzy (Warsaw-style potato dumplings)
• Wuzetka (cake named after the W-Z Drive)

Handy tips

• Within the city (zone 1), a 75-minute ticket is PLN 4.40, a 24-hour ticket PLN 15 and a 3-day ticket PLN 36. The 24-hour ticket is valid for 24 hours from when you first validate it, and the airport advises buying at least a 75-minute ticket for the ride into town.
• Most Sundays in Poland are non-trading days, so shops stay closed. Small grocery stores like Żabka are the exception, so finish your shopping and souvenir runs by Saturday.
• The Warsaw Rising Museum is closed on Tuesdays and free on Thursdays. A regular ticket is PLN 35, and a visit takes about two hours.