Quick sightseeing in Warsaw

Dear all,

Some of you will be arriving to Poland on Friday night, which will give you some time on Saturday morning to visit our lovely capital city. Below is a short guide with all the necessary information, little maps and a walking tour option in one of my favourite parts of Warsaw (you would need to have a week to see it all!). As we do not want you to get lost, let’s stay in the centre and plan a trip that will at the same time lead you to the meeting point, from where our handsome, moustached driver will take you to Białystok.

1.     Check which hotel/hostel you are going to stay at. You should be able to grab a little map from there and ask the way to the Old Town – Stare Miasto, which is also where we will start our trip. In any problems you can always contact me as Ola will probably be too busy being beautiful.

My English number is (+44) 7583581457, and Polish (+48) 790018667.

2.     Let yourself wander through the little streets of the Old Town, you might want to grab a breakfast in one of little restaurants. Zapiecek (there are many, I marked only two on the map) is the most popular one, but there are many beautiful ones in there. However, bear in mind that they serve mostly heavy meals, including pierogi (traditional Polish ravioli-ish dish), and not everyone likes them for breakfast, especially fried and served with pork cracklings as a side dish (yummy). Although, if you are British, that would be exactly what your stomach might expect for breakfast ;)

Picture 1: You can had a nice walk anywhere you want from the street Podwale to Brzozowa (marked with arrows). It’s not as big as it seems!

3.     When you go a bit further inside the Old Town, into the Old Town Market Place, you will see a statue of mermaid with a sword – symbol of Warsaw. There is also a big Royal Castle. You might want to visit it inside. Remember that it’s quite big so it can take you a while! Castle tours are organised from 10AM on Saturdays, and cost PLN 22.00 (GBP 4.50). A guided tour in a foreign language costs PLN 110.00 (GBP 22.00), which might be a good idea if you come in a group. You can check it all here:

http://www.zamek-krolewski.pl/en/your-visit/tickets-and-reservations/admission-prices

4.     As you probably will not have too much time, a simple walk should be enough, so from the Old Town you should take the direction of the street Krakowskie Przedmieście. When walking along this street, you will pass many little pubs, bars (which are better hidden) and shops. There is also University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski) – my own lovely school :) and our President’s palace along the way. If you turn from the main road for a while, you will see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – there are always guards next to it. Go back to Krakowskie Przedmieście, and the street will smoothly change to ul. Nowy Świat. You need to walk (and admire) until you get to a massive palm tree. 

The tree is situated on Charles de Gaulle’s roundabout at Aleje Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenue) and was a vision of a Polish artist who wanted to create a bond between Israel (remember, Jerusalem Avenue) and Poland. As weird as it is, everyone loves the palm tree :)

5.     From here you need to turn left into Aleje Jerozolimskie. If you go straight, you will get to Metro Centrum (tube station) and you will see our lovely, beautiful and monumental Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science), originally known as Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science. It holds the very honourable 187^th place in the tallest world’s building competition :) It was a gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, after many debates the Poles decided to keep the building as a souvenir. Many don’t like it as it’s a symbol of Soviet domination, but it’s also a part of our history. Today there are 3288 rooms inside on 42 floors – cinemas, theatres, museums, offices, bookshops, nightclubs, a large conference hall and even a university!

It will be in front of this building that the bus will pick you up to take you to the best party in your lives – Ola and Leszek’s wedding! The trip will last for about 3 hours so take a book and don’t eat too much – the massive nosh-up is yet to come!

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:

-        You can use public transport, but do not forget to buy and validate your ticket! You can enter by any door (not like in London) and you need to buy bilet normalny (normal ticket, as opposed to not normal i.e. for students ;)).

-        Don’t cross the road on red light, even if it’s the middle of the night and you are alone. The Polish police only wait for it.

-        People usually talk English, so you can ask young people for the road if ever you feel lost :)

-        Any questions – let me know! 

P.S. If you need these small guidelines in a Word or PDF format please comment this post and Ola or myself will send it to you via e-mail. 

~ Asia, the lil' sister aka. Maid of Honour