The best things to do in Warsaw
We visited Warsaw as a group of eight in mid-January 2024. The trip was planned for a friend’s birthday, and though our main goal was to explore the city’s nightlife (which someone had read was set to become ‘the new Berlin’) we still managed to fit in plenty of cultural sights and attractions.
These were our favourite places to visit in Warsaw.
Explore the Old Town
The charming old town of Warsaw was actually destroyed in the war, much like the rest of the city. But unlike London, Poland has done a great job of rebuilding its old streets to resemble their pre-war feel. So as you wander the ‘old’ area of the city, it’s hard to believe that the buildings are actually less than 100 years old. The cobbled streets, narrow alleys, and cosy bars and restaurants are especially inviting on snowy winter days.
The Uprising Museum
We spent about 2 hours in The Warsaw Rising Museum, and it still wasn’t enough time to read every piece of information in there. The exhibits are very informative and range from deep reading to interactive and even include a 3D film showing Warsaw as it looked at the end of the war. The museum is moving, and shares a detailed history of an element of World War II that is little-known in other countries.
It explains how the people of Warsaw defended themselves and their city against the double occupation of Warsaw in 1944 by both the Nazis and the Soviets. It’s well worth spending an afternoon here to learn more about the history of the city.
Tickets cost about £6.
The Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie)
We went to the Royal Castle in Warsaw Old Town on our first morning in the city. You can easily spend an hour or more wandering the impressive old rooms and learning about how the country’s richest people used to live. The free guided tour is worth following as it gives a lot of information about the smaller details of each room.
Tickets cost about £9 each.
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Another museum we explored on a snowy day in Warsaw was the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
Outside, you’ll see the famous Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, which commemorates the Warsaw Uprising. Inside, is a definitive history of how Jewish people came to Poland, how they lived, and how everything changed with the Nazi invasion.
We spent about two hours here (and stopped to eat delicious pierogies in the museum restaurant). The first half of the guided tour is quite slow and detailed, and takes a while to get to the modern history of Jews in Poland and Warsaw. If you’re short on time, it might be worth skipping through the details about houses, weddings, and styles of dress. But if you have a few hours to spare, you can learn just about everything there is to know about Polish Jewish culture.
Tickets cost about £9.
The Neon Museum
We had two people who know Warsaw well recommend a trip to the Neon Museum and since it was about an hour’s walk from our apartment in Old Town, we got an Uber across the river to see it.
While it does share a very informative history of neon and how it was discovered and used in Warsaw, the museum is small. But the space they do have is packed with old neon signage and information on where it was originally placed. If you want a good Insta opportunity, it’s a good place to go. But if you’re short on time and not in the Praga-Pouldie area then it may not be worth the trip.
Tickets cost about £8.
The Jewish Cemetery
If you want to spend some time outdoors in Warsaw, head to the Jewish Cemetery near Muranow. With more than 250,000 graves, it’s one of the largest cemeteries in the world. From renowned rabbis and writers to Jewish residents of Poland, it’s fascinating to wander through the 83 acres of land and read the historic gravestones. There is also a monument to the site of the mass graves where residents of the Warsaw Ghetto were buried during World War II.
It costs about £4 to enter.
Drink vodka and eat pierogi
Warsaw and Poland as a whole are famous for their vodka and pierogies. I don’t like vodka, even if it is the best in the world, but my friends drank plenty throughout the weekend. I was just pleasantly surprised to find that it’s one of the few European countries I’ve been to that has its own good cider.
What I did get involved in was the pierogies – small dumplings filled with meat and vegetables and either fried or boiled. You can find them in just about every bar and restaurant in Warsaw, and most of the time a minimum of eight have to be ordered. The good news for veggies is that there are plenty of options, the most popular being mushroom and cabbage, feta and spinach, and potato and cheese. There are sweet versions with berries and ice cream, too.
The meat options are endless and come served with crispy bacon, sour cream, and a range of other toppings. While you’re there, don’t miss the fried potato pancakes that usually come with either sour cream or a meat goulash.
Find our favourite places to eat and drink these Polish delicacies in our blog here.