Warsaw is a modern, cosmopolitan, European city - and for a capital city, it's surprisingly good value for money.
Compared to other cities we've visited in Central Europe, there isn't much to 'do' as a tourist in the city.
It's a professional and commercial hub. Somewhere people live and work, rather than a holiday destination.
In a few days you can cover all of the attractions and on the Warsaw Tourism website there is handy a guide for 1, 2 or 3 days in Warsaw.
We stayed for 3 days and had we stayed longer, would have struggled to fill another day unless we took an excursion somewhere.
A New City
The Nazi's destroyed over 70% of the city during WWII, so the city you see today is essentially only 80 years old.
The old town district was rebuilt - thanks to a series of 18th century Canaletto paintings of the city that survived the war and were used as a template to rebuild.
However, only the most important and culturally significant buildings were rebuilt, so the district is quite small, featuring restored churches, grand houses, Warsaw Cathedral and Royal Palace.
Attractions
The Museum of Warsaw is also housed across eight replica baroque era merchant's houses on the main square that would have been the medieval market square and trading hub for the early city.
This museum itself wasn't the most inspiring. It features portraits of nobility, clothing, statues, pottery, an interpretation of data telling the story of the city, old photos, and models of buildings and maps. The basement level of the buildings were left relatively intact after the war and some original features survived.
Get Walking
Get some comfy shoes on and take a walk. A walking tour is a great way to get to know a city.
I recommend doing one on your first day in any city you visit so you can quickly get your barings and decide what areas you'd like to go back to and attractions to visit.
We did the Walkative free walking tour.
Our guide, Jacek was extremely knowledgeable, funny and friendly - he was always happy to answer questions (assuming you can get a word in). It's a two hour tour and they had meeting points in different parts of the city, with tours in different areas. We took the Old Town tour.
There's a 'pay as you feel' approach to these free tours - show your appreciation at the end by tipping. Make your mind up ahead of the tour, what's a fair amount to pay for a good walking tour and make sure you have the cash.
We arrived in Warsaw at the start of May, when it was a national holiday (probably why our RyanAir flights were cheap!). It meant that some of the museums were closed.
We did, however, visit the Warsaw Rising Museum.
The museum is a fascinating, absorbing and interactive way to learn a little about Poland's history during WWII.
In 1944, the Polish Resistance, supported and reinforced by the civilian population of the city rose up against the Nazi occupiers.
The exhibits are in Polish and English. There is an audio guide option.
We walked around the museum in approximately 2 hours and skim read most of the information. If you took the audio tour you may wish to allow longer.
Entrance fee at time of writing this is 25 Zlt (£5) and worth every penny.
It's a powerful snapshot into the lives of ordinary Poles in the war, made all the more poignant by the fact The Rising, didn't end well for Warsaw. Already heavily damaged by the Nazi occupation, with ghettos having been established and liquidated - wiping out the Jewish population - the city was all but razed to the ground by the Nazi's in revenge for The Rising.
Transport Links
So much of the city was destroyed that town planners could start from scratch when the city was rebuilt in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, while Poland was under Communist occupation.
The downtown area is arranged on a grid system with wide multi-lane roads, wide pavements, cycle paths, tramways and an underground train system. Blocks are spaced out, roads wide and public transport is well organised, frequent and cheap.
A 20 minute single Metro ticket for Zone One will get you across the city, with stops and station changes for 3.20 Zlt (about 65p).
Apart from the manmade medieval fortification of the old town district, Warsaw is flat, so it's really quick and easy to get around by bicycle or scooter.
You can hire these all over the city - as long as you have a smartphone with data roaming activated and a QR code reader app installed. You have to register an account online, scan the code of the bike or scooter and away you go.
At this point, I shall have a small rant about how unfriendly the world is becoming in a bid to be 'mobile friendly'. For some reason - whether a restriction on my contract - even when my Android phone is set with data roaming enabled, it doesn't work abroad. I really wanted to hire a scooter to save our feet, otherwise there is a lot of walking to get from one place to another across the wide boulevards. Fortuntaley, the weather was good while we were there so strolling around in the sun was no great hardship.
Food and Drink
As a cosmopolitan European city you can find food from all over the world, as well as familiar fast food and coffee chains. For the less adventurous it's easy to find something familiar.
If you like to eat like a local, Polish food is a mish-mash of food influences by different cultures across Europe.
Pierogi (dumplings) are the fast-food street food of Poland. They can be sweet or savoury and are a quick and cheap snack, ideal with a pint of craft beer.
Food and drinks are really good value, a meal with drinks for 2 people is less than £20.
The Beer
Our time in Warsaw essentially truned into a craft beer tour of the city.
Good quality, local craft beer is £2-£3 a pint.
Tap rooms dot the city, but the area with the highest concentration of craft beer bars is to the southwest corner of the Palace of Culture, 'Nowogrodzka'.
Favourites were:
Drugie Dno
Kufle i Kapsle
We were fortunate to have a really lovely bar and restaurant with a fairy-light-lit terrace, opposite our apartment. It quickly became our favourite and our local for that last cheeky beverage of the day - Banjaluka.
Best for Food, Drink and Quirkiness: Banjaluka
We were fortunate to have a really lovely bar and restaurant with a fairy-light-lit terrace, opposite our apartment. It quickly became our favourite and our local for that last cheeky beverage of the day - Banjaluka.
Practical Tips
We landed at Warsaw Modlin airport which is about an hour from the city.
The Modlin Bus / OK Bus is the best option for transfers to the city (£37 return for both of us). A taxi will set you back about £60 and there is no railway link from Modlin.
If you are on a city break, I can never see the point of hiring a car, as once you get to the city, you will be using public transport and walking. Driving around is one of the worst ways to see a city in my opinion - modern cities are designed to take cars away from the leisure and tourist areas - plus, you can't have a drink!
The Modlin bus picks up and sets down at the Palace of Culture (PKiN)
Location, Location
PKiN is the centre of the city, everything revolves around this 1955 skyscraper.
If you find accommodation close to it you really can't go far wrong, you'll be right in the heart of the city with easy access to everything and plenty of places to eat, drink and shop on your doorstep.
Top Tip:
Baggage: If you have to hang around before or after check in at your accommodation, there are baggage lockers on the lower ground floor level of PKiN (Palace of Culture) - 2zl an hour (40p)*Warsaw, not much of a looker but a big personality!
*Prices based on exchange rates as at May 2019: 5 Zloty = £1
