Things To Do in Warsaw

The Rebuilt Old Town

Warsaw's Old Town was flattened in 1944 and rebuilt so faithfully from paintings and photographs that UNESCO listed it. The two-hour guided walking tour covers the Castle Square, the Market Square with its mermaid, the Barbican and the New Town, and it is the most booked activity in the city. The Royal Route version continues down Krakowskie Przedmieście past the university and the Presidential Palace.

WWII and the Uprising

Warsaw's twentieth century is the reason many visitors come. The World War Two walking tour spans the whole 1939 to 1945 period, from the September siege to the Ghetto and the 1944 Uprising, and the Palace of Culture tour shows the Stalin-era skyscraper that came afterward. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is the city's best museum, and the timed ticket skips the weekend line; its core exhibition takes about three hours.

Chopin and the River

Chopin grew up in Warsaw, and the candlelit concerts in the Old Town are nightly, an hour long and the highest-rated evening in the city. The Vistula cruise aboard a traditional galar boat runs under the Old Town walls to the National Stadium and back in about an hour, and the view of the skyline is best from the water at sunset.

Vodka and Views

The Polish Vodka Museum in the old Koneser distillery in Praga explains the spirit's 500 years with a tasting of three at the end. For the skyline, Highline Warsaw on the 49th floor of the Varso tower is the newest observation deck, with a rooftop bar and the Palace of Culture framed below.

Getting Around

Warsaw is spread out; the Old Town, the Palace of Culture and the POLIN museum are each a short tram or metro ride apart. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for the walking tours, and most offer free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.