Are you looking for a cool European city break destination and have already seen other popular places? Then you might want to take a closer look at Warsaw, the capital city of Poland!
Delightful old town, a grim history, bizarre architecture mix, fascinating museums, tasty local food, many places to explore, and fairly cheap flights from many places in Europe… Doesn’t it sound appealing? It sure does! As Poles, we’ve already visited Warsaw a couple of times and today we’ll show you what to do during your Warsaw city break. Let’s go!
Fun fact. Warsaw’s name in Polish is Warszawa. Among Poles, it’s often called Wawa (say it like ‘Vava’).
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Warsaw, Poland FAQ
Warsaw, the capital and largest city of the country, is located in east-central Poland on the Vistula River banks.
Two days in Warsaw are enough to see most of the main landmarks and get a good feel of what this city is all about.
Yes, Warsaw is an interesting city where you’ll immerse into history, where you’ll see how old is intertwined with new and beautiful with shabby. There, you’ll find a bizarre mix of modern glass skyscrapers, concrete giants, and nice medieval-style squares. Warsaw offers a huge variety of activities for everyone.
Warsaw is a walkable city and most of the main attractions aren’t located too far from each other but to get to some places you’ll need to use public transport (bus/metro/tram). But don’t worry – the city is well-connected! Just use jakdojade.pl to quickly find connections you might need.
Things to do during Warsaw city break
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw Old Town is one of the prettiest areas of the city and home to many important landmarks. Here, you can admire beautiful townhouses, take a photo with the famous Mermaid, explore the former residence of the Polish monarchs, and taste local cuisine in one of the restaurants or cafes. Exploring the old town is one of the most important things to do during Warsaw city break.
But Warsaw Old Town wasn’t always like this… It was destroyed during World War II almost completely, during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Then over the next few years, it was meticulously reconstructed, making it finally a beautiful and vibrant place full of life. In 1980, Warsaw Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In Warsaw Old Town you’ll find points of interest like Castle Square, Royal Castle, St. Anne’s Church with observation deck, Warsaw Market Square with Mermaid sculpture, Barbican, or Royal Route. The area is best explored on foot.
Warsaw Tourist Office is located in Plac Zamkowy square just a few steps from Royal Castle.
Castle Square
Castle Square (pl. Plac Zamkowy) is a large area in the heart of Warsaw Old Town. It was razed to the ground by order of Adolf Hitler in 1944 and rebuilt in later years in a uniform architectural style.
Here, you’ll find landmarks like Royal Castle, St. Anne’s Church, and Sigismund’s Column (pl. Kolumna Zygmunta). Column commemorates King Sigismund III Vasa, who moved the seat of government from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596. The famous Royal Route also begins right here at Castle Square.
Royal Castle
Royal Castle (pl. Zamek Królewski) is a reconstructed 14th-century red-colored palace proudly standing in Castle Square. For hundreds of years, it served as the residence of Polish monarchs, both kings and presidents. Nowadays, it’s a museum housing an impressive art collection and historical artifacts. It might not look too spectacular from the outside, but its interior is quite dazzling.
If you’re a history or art lover you might want to add a visit to Royal Castle to your Warsaw city break itinerary. But if not, we recommend spending precious time on different attractions. For more information about ticket prices and opening hours, visit zamek-krolewski.pl website.
Behind the Royal Castle, you can also find its magnificent Gardens, a hidden gem not known to most tourists. It’s a great place for peaceful walks, admiring colorful flowers, or just relaxing on a bench or soft grass. Exploring Royal Castle Gardens is free during opening hours.
St. Anne’s Church & observation deck
St. Anne’s Church (pl. Kościół św. Anny) is a church in the heart of Warsaw Old Town featuring a beautiful Neoclassical facade and rich interior. But the cherry on the cake is the spectacular panoramic view from the observation deck located at the top of the church bell tower.
After climbing 150 steps, you’ll get nice views over Castle Square, the Vistula River, the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw’s skyscrapers, and more. It’s a must stop in Warsaw for anyone who loves great views.
Entrance to the observation deck costs 15zł for a normal ticket and 10zł for a reduced one (November 2026). For current ticket prices and opening hours visit taraswidokowy.pl website.
Royal Route
Royal Route (pl. Trakt Królewski) is one of the most famous historic streets in Warsaw. It begins at Castle Square and leads directly to the Wilanów Palace. It’s about 10 kilometres long, but don’t worry, you don’t need to walk it all – the most interesting and important part is between Castle Square and the Charles de Gaulle Roundabout, including two streets: Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat.
Along Krakowskie Przedmieście street you’ll find points of interest like the Presidential Palace, Hotel Bristol – a beautiful historic five-star luxury hotel, Holy Cross Church – famous for being home to the heart of Fryderyk Chopin, and iconic bronze statue of Nicolaus Copernicus. Here, you’ll quickly understand why walking along Royal Route is one of the best things to do in Warsaw.
Nowy Świat street is a picturesque and always full-of-life street lined with many restaurants, cafes, and small shops. It’s a perfect place to grab something to eat. This street ends at the Charles de Gaulle Roundabout that features… a huge palm tree made of steel!
Old Town Market Square
Colorful and vibrant Warsaw’s Old Town Market Square (pl. Rynek Starego Miasta) is the prettiest part of the city. And it’s hard to believe that it’s no older than 70 years! Yes, like everything else in the area it was blown up by the German Army after the Warsaw Uprising and restored to its prewar appearance in the 1950s.
Today it features beautiful townhouses and in the middle, you’ll find a Mermaid statue – the symbol of Warsaw. The square is surrounded by numerous restaurants and cafes, and if lucky you’ll also come across some street performers. During your Warsaw city break, you definitely can’t miss exploring all the nooks and crooks of the Old Town Market Square. It’s such a delight!
Barbican & City Walls
Warsaw’s Barbican (pl. Barbakan) is a semicircular fortified outpost that was originally part of a series of walls and fortifications that once encircled Warsaw. It’s located between Old and New Towns and dates back to the 16th century. As you might expect, barbican and city walls were largely destroyed during WWII and reconstructed in the mid-20th century (at least partially). Nowadays, it’s one of the most iconic places in Warsaw.
Be sure to take a nice stroll along the walls, and on the walls too. Best place to admire Barbican and walls? From the outside, from the intersection of Podwale and Nowomiejska streets. Also, just a few steps away you’ll find a bronze sculpture of Little Insurgent (pl. Mały Powstaniec) that commemorates child soldiers of World War II.
Tomb of Unknown Soldier
One of the most important things to do during Warsaw city break is visiting the Tomb of Unknown Soldier (pl. Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) located on Piłsudski Square, close to Presidential Palace along Royal Route.
It’s a monument to the unknown Polish soldiers killed during World War I. Since 1925 the tomb houses the unidentified body of a young soldier, and in the urns housed in the surviving pillars the earth from battlefields where Polish soldiers fought has been added too. The Tomb is constantly lit by an eternal flame and guarded by two soldiers. If you want to see the guard change, be sure to be there at full hour.
Behind the monument, you’ll find Saxon Garden (pl. Ogród Saski) – a beautiful, green public park with tree-lined walking paths, Baroque statues, and fountains.
Palace of Culture and Science
When most people think of Warsaw, the Palace of Culture and Science (pl. Pałac Kultury i Nauki) is usually the first landmark that comes to mind – and it’s easy to see why!
This iconic building was built in the 1950s and has a total height of 237 metres (which makes it the second tallest building in Poland). Palace of Culture and Science was actually an unwanted gift from the Soviet Union, first known as Joseph Stalin’s Palace of Culture and Science, but it was changed in the wake of destalinization.
Today, the building houses a various cultural institution, including theatre, museums, cinema, congress hall. There’s also Warsaw Tourist Office and viewing terrace. Visiting Palace of Culture and Science is simply a must see during Warsaw city break.
The biggest highlight of the Palace of Culture and Science is undeniably the viewing terrace. It’s located on the 30th floor and is reached in only 19 seconds by an elevator. From there, you’ll enjoy breathtaking 360-degree views over all faces of Warsaw – a truly unforgettable experience that quickly became one of the most popular things to do in Warsaw.
Entrance to the viewing terrace costs 30zł for a normal ticket and 25zł for a reduced one (November 2026). You can either buy a ticket online (which is recommended) or at the ticket office. For current prices, opening hours, and online tickets visit bilety.pkin.pl website.
Tip. The Palace of Culture and Science looks impressive not only during the day but also at night when it’s beautifully illuminated. So if you can, visit the area after dark too.
Warsaw Museums
During your city break in Warsaw, you’ll also have time to visit one or two of the city’s many great museums. The most important/interesting ones are Warsaw Uprising Museum, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and Museum of Life under Communism.
Warsaw Uprising Museum
Warsaw Uprising Museum (pl. Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego) tells the story of the uprising that started in August 1944 to drive Germans out of the town. Fighting was brutal but despite lesser manpower and guns resistance fighters were able to hold for almost 2 months. Unfortunately, the result was quite bad. Inside, you’ll find many exhibits, artifacts, videos, and photographs detailing this tragic Warsaw’s battle for independence.
POLIN Museum
If you want to learn about the history of Polish Jews, direct your steps to the POLIN Museum, a modern museum with many interactive exhibits and various historical artifacts, covering over the 1000 years of Jewish history in Poland, from the Middle Ages until today.
Museum of Life under Communism
Museum of Life under Communism (pl. Muzeum Życia w PRL) will take you back in time to the communist era in Poland which lasted from 1944 to 1989. There you’ll discover why Poland fell under communism in the first place, and thanks to many relics, artifacts, and life stories you’ll discover how everyday life looked back then.
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Royal Łazienki Park
Łazienki Królewskie is a big green space in Warsaw, a perfect place if you need to spend some relaxing time in nature and away from the crowds. It featured not only many walking paths but also some stunning buildings.
Here, you’ll find places like the 18th century Palace on the Isle (pl. Pałac na Wyspie), ruins of Amphitheater, Ujazdów Castle housing contemporary art museum, Botanical Garden, Belweder Palace, New Orangery, or Chopin Monument. But that’s not all – just wander around and for sure you’ll discover even more amazing places.
Copernicus Science Centre
Visiting the Copernicus Science Centre (pl. Centrum Nauki Kopernik) is one of the most educational things you can do in Warsaw. Interactive exhibits, planetarium, robotics and high-voltage theatre, experimental zones, laboratories… So much fun for big and small ones!
Just a little warning – this cool and fun place will take at least 3-4 hours of your time!
Entrance cost to the Copernicus Science Centre depends on the type of ticket you want to buy (exhibitions only or exhibitions+planetarium) as well as the day of the week. Remember to buy online tickets in advance. Due to the place’s popularity, it’s almost impossible to get ones in the ticket office.
Explore local attractions
How to get to Warsaw?
Warsaw is located about 290km from Krakow, 310km from Poznan, 340km from Gdansk, and 350km from Wroclaw. The most convenient way to get to Warsaw is by car, train, or bus.
Airports near Warsaw
There are two airports in Warsaw: Chopin Airport (only 10km from the city center) and Modlin Airport (40km from the city center). From each of them, you can get to city center by bus or train. You can also take a taxi or rent a car.
To learn more about all possible transport options visit lotnisko-chopina.pl for Chopin Airport, and modlinairport.pl for Modlin Airport. You can also use rome2rio.com website.
Where to park in Warsaw?
If you choose to travel by car you need to know that it isn’t very easy to find a parking place for a car (especially a free one). Your best option is probably to find accommodation with parking space and then walk or travel by bus/tram/metro in Warsaw city center.
You can also leave a car in one of the underground parking lots, like Parking Warsaw Spire or Interparking Piękna, or try to find a place along the streets and pay by parking meter or via app.
To Warsaw by train
You can easily get to Warsaw by train, as Poland is quite well connected by trains. For example, a trip from Krakow will take about 2.5 hours, less than 3 hours from Gdansk, and about 4.5 hours from Wrocław. To learn more about connections that might interest you visit rozklad-pkp.pl or rome2rio.com website.
To Warsaw by bus
You can also easily get to Warsaw by bus, especially from other big Polish cities. For example, the trip from Gdansk will take around 5 hours, 4 hours from Krakow, and 5 hours from Wroclaw. To learn more about bus connections that might interest you visit rome2rio.com or Flixbus website.
Warsaw City Break – Summing up
As you can see now, Warsaw is a very interesting Polish city, perfect for a short weekend city break. And now, with our guide, you’re ready to explore Warsaw in the best possible way.
An exciting journey through history, culture, architecture, nature, and food is at your fingertips! We have presented the most important landmarks that can be seen in just a few hours. Enjoy your time in Warsaw!
Our video from Warsaw
Our opinion about Warsaw
As for us, over the years we visited Warsaw a few times, first during school trips and later only on some business trips. And to be honest, we’ve also never really liked this city. Don’t get us wrong – it’s not bad, but for us it’s just not that interesting or beautiful like other places in Poland.
What do we like about Warsaw? The first thing that comes to mind is an amazing food scene. We also appreciate the large green spaces, and its charming old town. Warsaw is also a great place to learn an important history lesson. What do we dislike? We don’t like the concrete jungle and pompous and unpleasant people. Many homeless and drunk people in the center are quite overwhelming too.
Restaurants, accommodations, and map
Check out various recommended places below.
Where to eat in Warsaw?
Here are your best, high-rated options in Warsaw:
