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Warsaw

Travel Guide > Europe > Poland > Warsaw

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Quick Facts

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Coordinates
  • Latitude: 52.229676
  • Longitude: 21.012229

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Introduction

Warsaw Old Town side street

Warsaw Old Town side street

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On the banks of the River Vistula lies Poland's capital, Warsaw, a bustling metropolis with a population of close to 3 million. Warsaw's Old Town (Stare Miasto), a UNESCO World Heritage site, was rebuilt to perfection after being flattened in the Second World War. It serves as a somewhat eerie reminder among the noticeably more modern buildings in the rest of city. Warsaw is a rapidly changing city, with an upwardly mobile population.

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Neighbourhoods

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Sights and Activities

Museums and Galleries

  • The National Museum was founded in the 19th century to be primarily an art museum. There are over 780,000 pieces of art from several different periods of times and locations around the world.
  • Zachęta National Gallery of Art is one of the best art galleries in Warsaw. There are several amazing paintings and works of art housed in the museum that are worth seeing.
  • Centre for Contemporary Art
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • Polish Army Museum is one of the largest museums in Poland and has the largest collection of military objects found in Poland. It traces a thousand years of Polish military history from the 10th century to World War II.
  • Warsaw Uprising Museum is a museum dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The museum has several artifacts and items that belonged to the people that organized the uprising. It also tells the history of what led up to the uprising, what happened during the uprising and what happened afterwards. One of the main missions of the museum is to collect the personal histories of people involved in the uprising that are still alive.
  • Copper-Roof Palace is an 18th century palace that is now home to a nice collection of oriental carpets.
  • Fryderyk Chopin Museum located in the rebuilt Ostrogski Castle this is a very nice home and museum to visit.
  • Historical Museum of Warsaw
  • Polish History Museum was established in 2006 to help promote education and the study of Polish history. There are also several scholarships meant for foreigners interested in studying more about Polish history.
  • Museum of Independence
  • Museum of the History of Polish Jews traces the thousand year history of Jews in Poland using multimedia and interactive exhibits.
  • Museum of Sports and Tourism has collections of sports memorabilia ranging from uniforms to medals.

Other Sights and Activities

  • Royal Castle was the home to the Polish kings for many generations. The castle was completely destroyed by the Germans in World War II and was not reconstructed until the 1970s. Today the castle has been restored using much of the original stone and a nice place to visit.
  • Great Theater and Polish National Opera was built in 1833 and has been remodeled several times. During the battle of Warsaw in 1939 the building was completely destroyed except for the façade. It was rebuilt from 1945 to 1965. Today it houses many great performances every year.
  • Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Warsaw and very impressive.

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Events and Festivals

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Weather

Straddling the Vistula River Warsaw is located in the heart of the Masovian Plain giving the city an altitude of only 100 metres (330 feet). This gives the city a continental humid climate. In January the average temperature is -2 °C (just above zero during the day and around -4 °C at night) and during July it is 18 °C , however sometimes it can get up to 30 °C during the summer and average daytime temperatures are nice with around 23 °C from June to August. The yearly rainfall is around 680 mm (26.8 inch) with most of the rain falling during the months of June and July, though usually in the form of some heavy showers. Winters are driest, with some snow possible.

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Getting There

By Plane

Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW), formally Okęcie International Airport, is located in the Okęcie district of Warsaw and is the main international and domestic airport in Poland. The airport has connections to most European cities and few other cities outside of Europe with the the most common international flights being London, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam. Some other main cities served include Moscow, Rome, Dublin, Brussels, Tel Aviv, Reykjavik, Barcelona, Chicago, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, New York, Toronto and Lisbon. A few summer charter flights exist as well, mainly to destinations in southern Europe.
Buses 175 and 188 run all day from the city centre while bus N32 runs during the night for a reasonable price. There is also a train station under Terminal 2 in the airport that has connections to the Warszawa Śródmieście Station.

By Train

Warszawa Śródmieście Station is the main train station in the city centre. It is on the main west-east corridor between the Netherlands and Moscow. There are numerous domestic services as well as regular trains to Berlin and Minsk.

By Car

By Bus

There are many bus services throughout Poland, for example to Gdanks (7 hours) and Krakow (8 hours).

By Boat

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Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

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Eat

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Drink

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Sleep

Budget

PropertyAddressTypePopularity
Aramis Hotel3b, Mangalia Str.Hotel62
Atos Hotel1, Mangalia Str.Hotel83
B&B WarsawSêkociñska Street Nr 5 flat nr 4, first floor.Guesthouse83
Babka Tower SuitesAl.Jana Pawla II 80/D44 10th Floor-Section D,Reception-10th FloorHotel85
Boutique B&Bul. Smolna 14/7Guesthouse100
Castle Inn by Oki DokiSwietojanska 2, entrance from Plac Zamkowy WarsawHotel89
Dizzy Daisy Hostel Rivieraul. Waryńskiego 12Hostel75
Dizzy Daisy WarsawGornoslaska 14Hostel58
Dom Przy Rynku HostelRynek Nowego Miasta 4Hostel91
Garden VillaDolna 42Guesthouse80
Helvetia LuxyBartoszewicza 1C (reception only in Hostel Helvetia, see details)Guesthouse80
Hostel Green MazoviaNowogrodzka 46/6 StreetHostel72
Hostel HelvetiaSewerynów 7Hostel86
Hostel KanoniaJezuicka 2Hostel80
Hostel KrokodylCzapelska 24Hostel88
Hostel LemonJasna str. 22Hostel81
Hostel Sluzewiec36, Bokserska Str.Hostel64
Hostel TamkaTamka Str 30Hostel77
Hostel To-Tu8, Krasiczyñska Str.Hostel46
Jump Inn HostelProkuratorska Str. 2Hostel83
Nathan's Villa Hostel WarsawUl. Piekna 24/26 Building CHostel85
New World St. HostelNowy Swiat 27Hostel93
Niska StudioNiska Street No 17/2Apartment-
Oki Doki HostelPlac (Square) Dabrowskiego 3 Corner of Marszalkowska and SwietokrzyskaHostel88
Old Town ApartmentsRynek Starego Miasta 12/14 apt. 2Apartment92
Patron HotelAl.Dzieci Polskich 20Hotel-
Prus ApartamentsNiska 17/2 WarsawApartment60
Royal Route Residenceul. Nowy Œwiat 29/3 WarsawApartment97
Start Hotel Felix24, Omulewska Str.Hotel53
Start Hotel Portos3a, Mangalia Str.Hotel60
Twarda StudioTwarda Street 54 WarsawApartment-

Mid-Range

Upscale

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Work

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Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

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This is version 13. Last edited at 15:22 on Oct 31, 09 by Utrecht (+926). 39 articles link to this page.

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