Capital cities are great places to visit because there is always a lot to see and do. Warsaw is no exception. It is a transport hub, which makes it easy to connect to other places. As a capital city, Warsaw has many free activities, and extra care is taken to beautify the Old Town. Overshadowed by Krakow, Warsaw is sometimes left out of tourists’ itineraries. This was also the case in Croatia when we explored Zagreb. We enjoyed visiting both Krakow and Warsaw because we learned a lot about Poland’s history.
In addition to learning about Warsaw’s past, we also experienced Warsaw as a thriving, fully functioning modern city. We enjoyed being in a neighbourhood with locals, and we came to appreciate some aspects of daily life in Warsaw. We heard mostly Polish and Ukrainian speakers and very little English. Most of the large tour groups we encountered were Polish students on their end-of-year field trips. We appreciated the old and the new in Warsaw.
Where Did We Stay?
We arrived in Warsaw after a week of travelling through 3 cities. We usually stay in hotel-style accommodations, but we stayed in an apartment for our 5-night visit. We chose a one-bedroom apartment to catch up on laundry and reduce our reliance on restaurants. We travel light, so doing laundry is necessary. We also get restaurant fatigue on long trips, so having a place to make a simple breakfast and a chance to visit a grocery store is a nice change of routine.
We found our apartment via Marriott’s Apartment search, which earned us some nights toward our Bonvoy status. Arriving at night always makes this process more challenging! We eventually found the correct pin pad behind a gate thanks to a helpful person at a nearby cafe.
The apartment turned out to be in an excellent location. It was a 15min walk to the train station with many shops and restaurants around us. The tree-lined streets felt more residential, and we enjoyed discovering new places to eat and shop for groceries.
Things to do in Warsaw
Old Town Walking Tour
We booked a walking tour of the Old Town and learned many historical facts about Warsaw and the people who shaped it as we admired the architecture. Much of the Old Town was reconstructed in the 1950s. Some parts of the Old Town were 90% destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. We used GuruWalk to book this tour https://www.guruwalk.com/walks/46782-warsaw-old-town-unesco-area-facts-legends-small-groups?ref=b0daqs9t53by2ul34xjt
Our tour guide was very interested in the historical facts he shared. He gave detailed stories at each major architectural building we visited. I learned much more about the Polish Resistance and the restoration of the Old Town post-World War II. He also explained how Poland was ruled in Medieval Times too.
We marvelled at the beautiful buildings and the pride taken to restore all aspects of the town.
We received great tips from our guide, and we used them to plan activities. For example, we took advantage of the free museum entrance days.
Museum of Technology
We chose the Museum of Technology because it was in the famous Palace of Culture building and the entrance was free that day! It highlighted technology innovations from the past. It was interesting to see many different inventions. Polish inventors were highlighted in the displays. Some of the descriptions were in English, and there were some interactive displays. We spent about an hour with the displays.
Live Music Midnight Music Concert
We discovered a free concert in the mezzanine of a food hall that showcased two duets. The first couple performed a collection of classical music with a harpsichord and flute. The second duet played the accordion and violin. They performed classic and folk songs. We used a Facebook group to discover free and nearby events while we were in the city.
Warsaw University Library
The roof of the Warsaw University Library is a lovely green park that we visited one afternoon. It was a relaxing space, with restaurants and cafes nearby. It was a pleasant neighbourhood to walk around.
Villanova Palace
On our last day, we took a Bolt cab ride out to the historical summer residence of King Jan 111. It is now a museum, and it was filled with Polish students on their end-of-year field trips. Although it was busy, we were able to see many parts of the Palace. The grounds are stunning! We enjoyed walking down to the water, checking out the Orangerie and the manicured gardens.
I found my favourite sculpture in the garden! Polish artworks were confiscated and moved during the Nazi occupation. One hallway displays empty frames as a stark reminder that many have not been returned to the Palace.
Warsaw Dining Options
Eating In
Since we had our own kitchen for this stay, we bought groceries for breakfasts and a few lunches to eat at home. It was nice to eat a simple breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and yogurt. There were many cheeses and meats to sample for lunches. The local produce store was convenient because we could buy one tomato, a small amount of fresh strawberries and 2 bananas instead of the standard larger quantities. We enjoyed a chicken dinner made at home with the fresh ingredients from the local butcher shop.
We ventured out to a few dining establishments during our visit.
Bar Mleczny (Milk Bars)
Milk Bars are an institution in Poland. We visited the Bar Bambino and Jakby Luksusowo Mleczny Bar to experience locally prepared traditional Polish food. The food is simple, quick and cheap. The milk bars are a traditional way to serve residents. Today, the establishments are subsidized to ensure that local cuisine is served at a reasonable price.
Ordering in a milk bar can be challenging. There were English descriptions on the board, yet despite several attempts, we never received what we thought we were getting. We got close a few times. We know that it was due to our lack of Polish, not the service!
Ordering at a milk bar goes like this:
- Find your selection on the menu board
- Give order to cashier, pay and receive a pager
- Find a place to sit
- Pick up order when pager vibrates from the serving window and collect cutlery
- Eat
- Return all plates and cutlery to the return window (another hole in the wall)
- It is very much a cafeteria/canteen set up.
My favourite foods were cabbage rolls, strawberry crepes and the sweet cheese pierogies. It was important to ask for each side separately so the chicken cutlet dinner included potatoes and beet salad, etc.
Read more about our Krakow Bar Mleczny experiences in this post
We also tried a few other places to eat. We enjoyed our Greek dinner at Mezza on our last evening. We relied more on Google reviews to select restaurants than TripAdvisor.
Want to search for more things to do? Use this Get Your Guide search engine to find more tours:
Our month-long journey continues…
Read about our journey so far…
I took my first flight at 6 months of age and I have continued to plan trips and travel to more than 60 countries. Now as a middle age traveler we have learned some travel hacks and budget saving ideas that we are happy to share. Follow our posts for ideas and tips to stretch your travel budget in your gogo years!
