The back story
Arts & Culture in Warsaw: the back story
Chopin’s city: the Chopin Museum and the summer concerts in Łazienki, the Grand Theatre – National Opera, the National Philharmonic, the National Museum, the new Museum of Modern Art and the Polish poster.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Marcin Białek · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsWarsaw is Chopin’s city. He grew up here, his heart rests in the Holy Cross Church, and the Fryderyk Chopin Museum on Okólnik tells his life. Each summer, Chopin concerts are played beneath his monument in Łazienki. The Grand Theatre – National Opera stands on Plac Teatralny, the National Philharmonic is the home of the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the National Museum, Zachęta, the Ujazdowski Castle and the new Museum of Modern Art on Plac Defilad cover art from the old masters to today.
Chopin
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum (Okólnik 1), the Holy Cross Church, Łazienki in summer, and his birthplace at Żelazowa Wola, west of the city.
Opera, concerts and theatre
The Grand Theatre – National Opera on Plac Teatralny, the National Philharmonic and the National Theatre.
Book the summer Chopin concerts in Łazienki and the opera early; the National Philharmonic sells out for big names.
The museums
The National Museum, the Museum of Warsaw, Zachęta, the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Neon Museum and the Poster Museum at Wilanów.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jorge Láscar from Australia · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsFilm
The Museum of Modern Art’s new 150-seat cinema, Kino Kultura and Iluzjon, the cinema of the National Film Archive; see our Warsaw on Film page.
The festivals
The Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Millennium Docs Against Gravity, the Night of Museums in May and the Chopin concerts in Łazienki (Warsaw Tourism Office).
Our advice: on a first visit, pair the Chopin Museum in the morning with a recital in the evening.
Why it's on our list
- Chopin
- Opera, concerts and theatre
- The museums
- Film
- The festivals
Location
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More in depth
The back storyGreen Warsaw: the back storyAlmost a quarter of Warsaw is green: royal gardens at Łazienki and Wilanów, the Saxon and Krasiński gardens, the Vistula boulevards, and a primeval forest at the city’s edge.
The back storyGetting around Warsaw: the back storyTwo metro lines, trams, buses and city bikes, the Central Station for trains across Poland and to Berlin, Prague and Vienna, and Warsaw Chopin Airport in the city.
The back storyEating in Warsaw: the back storyHere is how Warsaw eats: four MICHELIN stars, ten Bib Gourmands from Praga to Wola, the old Polish dining rooms, the historic cafés and the vodka bars.