Things to do in Warsaw
The Warsaw Rising Museum details the 1944 people's rebellion, while Pawiak Prison illustrates the suffering the locals endured under occupation. Nothing represents the post-war Communist era better than the Palace of Culture & Science. In the Old Town you'll find the Royal Castle, with more regal places to visit at Wilanów Park and Palace and Lazienki Park and Palace. Most museums are closed on Mondays.
Wilanów Poster Museum
Iconic poster art
Warsaw's Poster Museum at Wilanów, housed within the estate's menagerie
building, has one of the world's largest collections of poster art. Over
half of these are Polish designs, but there are also works by artists like
Dali, Warhol and Picasso.
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Cost
Zl8; concessions Zl5; Mon free
Opening Hours
Mon 12pm-4pm; Tue-Sun 10am-4pm (until 5pm Jun-Sep)
Address
10/16, ul. St Kostki Potockiego, Warsaw 02-958
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 842 4848
Museum of Technology
Marvel at modern technology
While the labyrinthine layout is baffling it also makes the experience more
fun as visitors stumble across increasingly bizarre displays. Oddities
housed in this city-centre Museum of Technology include a glass woman, Atari
computers and a 1950s MIG flight simulator.
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Cost
Zl8; children Zl5
Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm
Address
1, Pl. Defilad (Palace of Culture), Warsaw 00-901
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 656 67 47
Pawiak Prison
Former Nazi political prison
Pawiak Prison became synonymous with Nazi terror when the Gestapo turned it
into a political prison. More than 37,000 people were murdered here and it
is now a moving tribute to them, with reconstructed cells and personal
effects on view.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Wed 9am-5pm, Thu 9am-4pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm
Address
24/26, ul. Dzielna, Warsaw 00-162
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 831 92 89
Centre for Contemporary Art - CSW
Scandalous contemporary art
Find works by Poland's leading contemporary artists at the Centre
for Contemporary Art - CSW, housed inside a central castle. The multimedia
installations and exhibitions are a frequent source of scandal making this
one of the country's most talked about galleries.
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Cost
Zl12; children Zl6 (Thu free)
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 11am-7pm (until 9pm Fri)
Address
6, Al Ujazdowskie, Warsaw 00-461
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 628 1271
National Museum in Warsaw
Mummies to modern art
The central National Museum in Warsaw houses an impressive collection of art
spanning more than three millennia. Its 11 galleries are home to Egyptian
and Mesopotamian artefacts, medieval religious portraits, Venetian paintings
and works by 19th- and 20th-century Polish masters.
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Cost
Zl12; concessions Zl7; Sat freeTemporary exhibitions Zl17; concessions Zl10
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-7pm
Address
3, Al. Jerozolimskie, Warsaw 00-495
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 621 1031
Zacheta Gallery
Edgy art in Warsaw
Poland's leading modern art gallery features artists from home and
abroad inside its vast network of corridors and halls in the city centre.
The Zacheta Gallery's smaller sister gallery, avant garde
Kordegarda, can be visited on ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 15/17.
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Cost
Zl10; children Zl7
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 12am-8pm
Address
3, Pl. Malachowskiego, Warsaw 00-916
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 827 5854
Warsaw Rising Museum
World war II tragedy
This modern interactive museum commemorates the doomed 1944 rebellion to
liberate the city from Nazi rule. The central Warsaw Rising Museum brings
the uprising to life with a vast collection of artefacts, films, photographs
and even reconstructed sewers and aircraft.
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Cost
Zl4; concessions Zl2; Sun free
Opening Hours
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu 8am-8pm
Address
79, ul. Grzybowska, Warsaw 00-844
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 539 7933
Chopin Family Drawing-Room
Composer's home
The Chopin Family Drawing-Room, housed in the Czapski Palace, belonged to the
apartment where the famous composer lived before leaving Poland. The
19th-century furnishings, including a Buchholtz piano and portrait
paintings, recreate an original drawing by artist Antoni Kolberg.
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Cost
Zl3; concessions Zl2; Wed free
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
Address
Academy of Fine Arts, Czapski Palace, 5 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, Warsaw
Telephone
+48 22 3200275
Palace of Culture & Science
Stalin's present to Warsaw
Gifted to Poland by Stalin, the 231-metre Palace of Culture & Science
in Warsaw city centre is Poland's tallest building, and one of the
world's finest examples of Socialist Realist architecture. A visit
to the 30th-floor viewing platform is essential.
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Cost
Viewing platform Zl20; concessions Zl15
Opening Hours
Viewing platform: daily 9am-6pm
Address
1, Pl. Defilad, Warsaw 00-110
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 656 7600
St John's Cathedral
New Gothic cathedral
Destroyed during World War II, Warsaw's oldest church has been
reconstructed in Gothic fashion. St John's Cathedral in the Old
Town has works by Wit Stwosz, and eminent Poles buried in the crypt.
Europe's first constitution was signed here in 1791.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-1pm & 3pm-5.30pm
Address
8, ul. Swietojanska, Warsaw 00-288
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 831 0289
Transport
Stare Miasto tram
Royal Castle
Restored royal residence
Rebuilt on the edge of the Old Town the Royal Castle offers a prescribed
route through its immaculately reconstructed chambers. Of note are the
Canaletto room, the throne room, royal chapel and the cellars - home to
recently excavated treasures.
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Cost
Zl12-20, children Zl6-Zl13. Prices depend on route taken
Opening Hours
Tue-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 11am-4pm
Address
4, plac Zamkowy, Warsaw 00-277
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 657 2170/+48 (0) 22 6572 338 (ticket office)
Market Square and Old Town
Historic centre
The Market Square and Old Town should top any tourist itinerary. Rebuilt
following total destruction in the Second World War, its network of cobbled
alleyways houses numerous museums, churches and galleries, with the
centrepiece being the fully restored market square.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
24 hours
Address
Rynek Starego Miasta, Warsaw
Transport
Stare Miasto tram
The Ghetto Wall and Jewish Heritage
Poignant past
With the aid of a good map track down traces of Warsaw's Jewish
past, including surviving elements of the Ghetto wall, the synagogue and
Umschlagplatz - the spot where Jews were crammed into cattle wagons destined
for Treblinka.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
24 hours
Address
62, ul. Zlota, Warsaw
Wilanów Park and Palace
The Polish Versailles
Dubbed 'the Polish Versailles', the 17th-century
Wilanów Park and Palace houses priceless artworks and extravagant
chambers providing a glimpse into the lives of the ruling classes. The
grounds also encompass 45 hectares of landscaped gardens and a huge poster
museum.
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Cost
Palace: Zl20; children Zl10 (Sat free). Park and Orangery: Zl5; children Zl3 (Thu free)
Opening Hours
Mon, Wed-Fri & Sun 9am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm
Address
10/16, ul. S K Potockiego, Warsaw 02-958
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 842 4809 or 22 842 8101
Lazienki Park and Palace
Royal palace and gardens
The 18th-century Lazienki Park and Palace complex close to the city centre
features peacocks strutting around gardens, an amphitheatre modelled on
Herculaneum and the royal residence of Poland's last monarch. Enjoy
free weekend concerts in summer near the Chopin monument.
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Cost
Palace Zl12, children Zl9; park free
Opening Hours
Park daily 8am-dusk; palace Tue-Sun 9am-4pm
Address
1, ul. Agrykoli, Warsaw 00-460
Telephone
+48 (0) 22 5060 101
