When do you ever hear “I want to visit Warsaw with my family!” That was not a sentence I thought I would ever utter. But after spending a week with my family there this summer, I can say it’s a wonderful place to spend with families. There you will find plenty of museums for history lovers and science lovers alike. Parks at every corner to let the little ones run around allowing for you to stop and take a break. You really get a mix of (rebuilt) old and new as you explore this city that was leveled and remade. But what you really get a feel for is the amazing tenacity of the polish people. Check out why Warsaw should be on your list when exploring Europe.
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that allows me to earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only link to products I would or have used myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. You can read the full disclaimer here.
Why to Go with your Family
I will be honest. The reason we went to Warsaw was because that was where I bought tickets to see Taylor Swift (Go ahead and check out that article if you’re interested) and my husband said he had never been to Poland. But once there, we discovered that Warsaw is an amazing and surprisingly modern city, something you do not see as much of in Europe. Warsaw was basically leveled during World War II and rebuilt by the USSR post war. The communists rebuilt Warsaw to be “the perfect communist community” and had a blank canvas to do it. What was created was a surprising, beautiful city that has lots of green space, and a mix of residential and commercial making it a pleasant, walkable city. Post communism, there have been an explosion of modern, glass skyscrapers and new business and commerce that never existed during The Cold War. In Warsaw you can learn history, visit amazing museums, have a traditional cheap milk bar meal for lunch and a contemporary meal for dinner right down the street. You can stay in an apartment with a playground in the courtyard, a lovely park nearby, and still be 10-to-15-minute walk from a major attraction that you want to visit. It is a city of surprises and allows for any kind of vacation you want as a family.
How Much Time to Spend
- Long Weekend – If you’re away only for a long weekend, you can hit up the highlights of Warsaw and get a good feel of the city and its vibes.
- Week – If you stay a week, you can hit up more of the fun and interesting museums, do more activities, and take it all at a slower pace.
How to Get to Warsaw
- Flying – Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is an international airport serviced by all the major international carriers, as well as European low-cost airlines.
- Train – Warsaw has three stations. Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central), is the central train station in the middle of the city, near the Palace of Culture and Science. This is where most international trains will stop. There are also stops at Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East), further out in the city, and Warszawa Zachodnia (Main) Station (which ironically, is not actually the main station). You can get to anywhere in the city from any of these stations, but most of your options will be from Warszawa Centralna.
- Car – Warsaw is, surprisingly, a car-friendly city, there are a lot of parking and parking lots around the city. Because it was rebuilt with the idea of cars and traffic, most of the streets are wide and do not have the tight, old street issues you have in other older European cities. However, if you are driving, check with your accommodations on the parking situation.
What to Do
Museums – Warsaw has a plethora of museums to visit. From history, to science, from hands on, to passive, there is something for all who are interested, and all age ranges.
- Chopin Museum – This is a small museum that covers the life of Frédéric Chopin, who was raised in Warsaw, and literally left his heart there after death. There is a children’s room, interactive exhibits about his life, and an area to listen to his music while reading about it and his thought process. My favorite part was the free piano performances of his works by renowned pianists every day, so it’s worth it just for the concert.
- The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum – Maria Curie was born in Warsaw and is the most famous person to be born and raised in the city. Her childhood home is now a museum dedicated to her life. There is an excellent audio tour included in your admission that walks you through the exhibits and learning about her life. For the science nerds in your family, this is a must do and takes no more than an hour.
- Copernicus Science Centre – If you’ve followed us for some time, you know we love interactive science museums, and that is exactly what you get at the Copernicus Science Centre. My kids spent a long time exploring the AI exhibit. (which I admit still freaks me out, but I am trying try be open minded). There’s even an AI robot that can answer questions in both Polish and English. But the best part was on the second floor where there were a number of hands-on exhibits where you got to try different things. We easily spent about two hours here and had to force the kids out.
- POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews – The POLIN Museum covers the 1000+ year history of the Jewish people in Poland. The tickets come with an audio tour, and we as a family collectively agreed that it was the best audio tour we listened to in our entire European trip. The audio guide is location based, so it starts when you are in the room and covers specifically where you are. The museum guides you through the history, from the Jewish migrants who came and made Poland their home, through the industrial revolution and how the Jewish people helped Poland grow, through the difficult history of World War II and its ramifications, and what happened post war and in communist Poland. The information shared is appropriate for most age ranges. There were never any images that were overly graphic, and I think it helped give the kids a good introduction of what was happening during the Holocaust in Europe without it being violent and in their face. Younger kids may have a little more trouble understanding the ramifications of what they are hearing about. However, there is not a lot that is out and breakable, and there are a lot of exhibits and buttons for them to touch which can help them stay engaged.
- Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and Gardens – This is a more passive museum for those that are interested in art, antique furniture, and Polish history. This is the summer estate of King Jan III, a past king of Poland. The home has been turned into a beautiful museum with art and furniture from that time. We chose to purchase the audio tour so we could understand what we were looking at. The tour is definitely geared more towards adults and it not as engaging to young children. That being said, the gardens are included with the tickets and are worth exploring. It is a great place to let little legs run around, take a walk along the river or in the flower garden, or pack a picnic lunch.
- Palace of Culture and Science – While there are museums and exhibits in the Palace of Culture and Science, this is not why you should go. You should go so you can get to the top of the building and see a 360-degree view of Warsaw. It is a pretty observation, and they have paid binoculars and ice cream at the top to engage the littles.
Outdoor Spaces – Warsaw was created as an ideal Communist city, and as such, has a lot of green spaces all around the city. There are plenty of parks to spend time in and playgrounds to give the little ones a place to wear themselves out. However, there are two places I want to highlight.
- Warsaw University Library Garden – The library of the Warsaw University Library has a beautiful garden that goes up onto the roof of the building. There are paved paths, bridges overlooking the library, greenery, and flowers, and generally a peaceful environment. It was a beautiful to walk and get some fresh air, especially after just landing and with jet lag.
- Warsaw Old Town – Ok, so this is not a park, but it is really a nice place to walk. Warsaw was devastated in World War II. One of the efforts of the people of Warsaw was to rebuild some of its old town. It is a mostly car-free area, and you can enjoy the activities in the Rynek Starego Miasta plaza. You can walk in the alleys and explore the shops and little restaurants. You can also have fun pretending you are in the middle of the Barbican fortress. It’s a nice place to walk around and feel a bit of what Warsaw was like before the war.
Tours & Classes
- Walking Tour – If you know me, you know I love a good walking tour. We found the Orange Umbrella Free Walking Tour. It is a pay as you see fit (Usually 10 euros per person). We did the Best of Warsaw Tour which took us from Castle Square to the Royal Route, and then ended at the Palace of Culture. Very informative, engaging for the kids, and gave us a ton of history we didn’t know about Poland and Warsaw!
- Cooking Class – We love to do food tours and cooking tours. We did not really find a food tour we were interested in, but we were excited to use GetYourGuide to visit Pierogi & More and learn how to make the famous Polish delicacy. Everyone gets to be hands on, making the dough, making the fillings, learning how to make the unique shapes, and finally, eating them all around the table with some Polish Spirits. It was so much fun and a delicious way to learn more about the famous Polish food.
- River Cruise – The Vistula River runs through Warsaw. You can take a 30-minute cruise on the water in a traditional folk boat. We used Wiślana Przygoda and booked through GetYourGuide. It was a beautiful and relaxing ride, and a nice way to see the city.
Where to Eat
Warsaw is a modern city and so you can find all types of food and modern contemporary restaurants here. But, thanks to the communist history, there are also a lot of cheap eats of traditional food all over the city. You need to make sure to visit a Milk Bar, where you can get affordable Polish food, cafeteria style for an extremely reasonable price. Here are a few of our favorites.
- Contemporary Food – The Folks – This was where we ate the first day and had the most amazing risotto and duck. They also have pizzas and pasta, and good soups.
- Food Hall – Elektrownia Powiśle – The shopping mall has a modern food hall that has enough restaurants to fill all desires here. You can get pizzas, Calabasas, Thai food, Vietnamese, French fries, beer, cocktails, you name it! There is plenty of seating inside, but they also have a great seating area outside.
- Pierogies – Gościniec Polskie Pierogi – This traditional Polish restaurant serves a number of amazing Pierogies either boiled or fried. You can even order a selection, so you’re not married to one type. Mushroom was my favorite.
- Milk Bar – Wegetariański Bar Mleczny – My daughter and I found this milk bar when we were back in town for the Taylor Swift Concert. It had amazing perogies and potato pancakes. I also got a great corn soup one day. We drank our weight in Kompt, had perogies left over, and we only spent about $15 for the two of us to eat and roll out of there.
- Pastries – Galeria Wypieków Lubaszka – This bakery was right outside our Airbnb the first time we were in Poland so we’re definitely biased. However, they have the best flakey pastries and we would be able to get them every morning.
Where to Stay
Warsaw is pretty well connected by bus and light rail, so as long as you are on the west side of the river, and east of the Warsaw Main Station, you should be able to get around easily with public transit and walking.
We choose as a family to stay in an Airbnb during our weeklong stay, right near the Copernicus Science center. We found it comfortable, but I would note that air conditioning is not usually available (we had one but it was only in the living room). Poland is prepared for the cold, but not the heat of summer. Take that into consideration when looking for accommodations if traveling during the busy summer season.
During our weekend for the Taylor Swift concert, we stayed at the Mercure Warszawa Grand. It was right in central Warsaw, walking distance to the Palace of Culture and Science, Shopping, plenty of great cheap food, and the light rail. It had a comfortable room and the hotel went all-out for the concert goers with a friendship bracelet making station, and a photo area to take pictures before the concert. The rooms do not have a fridge or microwave that we are used to in the US, so that is important to note. But it is safe, comfortable, clean, and they have air conditioning (Can you tell that this is important to me?).
How to Get Around
Warsaw, outside of old town, is laid out in a grid and is fairly easy to navigate. Public transit is plentiful, though sometimes does not connect as you would expect so if you have a connection, it will often be faster to walk.
- Bus/Light Rail – Warszawski Transport Publiczny has busses and light rail that cross the city. There are machines outside some stops, and in every bus where you can buy passes. They all take credit cards, and it is fairly easy to figure out what to buy. Just note, it can be a bit difficult when the bus is moving and crowded.
- Walking – The city is well laid out and very walkable. There are a few hills, but nothing like Lisbon or San Francisco. We walked from PGE Narodowy to the Mercure Warszawa Grand at 11 PM at night. It took 30 minutes, was flat, and we felt safe the entire time.
- Ride Share – We used the FreeNow App to do ride share in the city. You can call a taxi, pay on the app, and are not surprised by the price. It was easy to download, use, and call.
- Car – There were a lot of parking lots around the city. We found that a lot of people actually did drive around the city without much issue. We did not rent a car, but almost all the Airbnbs I looked at offered parking.
What to Bring
- Comfortable Shoes for Walking – As I mentioned, Warsaw is a walkable city. Due to the need to make connections on busses, we often just walked from place to place, and ended up walking several miles a day. I did the whole trip in my Bob’s Slip-on Skechers with memory foam. My entire family loves Skechers Go Walk Sneakers.
- Selfie Stick/Tripod – I am always nervous about handing my phone to a stranger to take our family picture. I have found that the selfie stick, while annoying, can get the whole family in with a nice background in the distance. But I have really liked this Self-Stick/Tripod, that allows you to set up your phone with a tripod so you can take pictures from a distance with a Bluetooth remote, and it does not feel as intrusive as a selfie stick.
- A Good Day Bag – You need a bag that will carry all the essentials for the day (hand sanitizer, your phone and wallet, snacks, etc.) I used the Pincnel backpack. A few days into the trip, my shoulder injury started to act up, but my oldest had no issues carrying the bag for the family.
- Bug Spray and Itch Relief– Living in California, we forget about the annoyances of gnats and mosquitos. But they love my daughter. Warsaw has a number of green spaces, which means they have a number of gnats and bugs. She was bitten up within the first day. I like to use family friendly ones like Off Family. I should have also carried our Benadryl Itch Stick for temporary relief in our bag.
Other Important Tips
- The Warsaw Pass is not worth it unless you are very efficient with your time. Many museums have a free day which saves money. I bought the pass when I had had little sleep and did not do the math. To really make it worth it, you need to see 3-5 places a day. And we just did not have that energy or desire.
- Do not take out a lot of cash – Most places take credit cards these days, even the Milk Bars. Tour Guides have PayPal and Venmo. Poland using the Polish złoty, not the Euro, so it is really only useful in Poland. We maybe took out the equivalent of $50 from the ATM, and I still brought złoty home.
- Download Google Translate – Those who work in tourism will likely speak English. But get out of that main area, and you will find it harder to find those who do. Those who are working in the little mini mart on the corner, or in a milk bar outside the main area, will only speak Polish. Many of the Milk Bar menus will only be in Polish. Google Translate will help you navigate these areas.
Warsaw was a pleasant surprise. Not only was it filled with history (that I loved) but there was a great modern vibe to the city that we all enjoyed. But what I really loved was meeting the people and understanding the Polish culture. The tenacity of a people who never let invasions get the best of them truly show in the culture, the food, and the sights. My daughter and I happened to be there on the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, the ill-fated rebellion of the Warsaw people against the Nazi invaders in World War II. The city was leveled. The people and leaders were punished. But the city rose from the ashes, rebuilt, and continues to do it to this day. That is a city worth spending time in.
Edited by SKS
* Starred Photos taken by Atma Photography