Warsaw, the classic and the new

The rebuilt Old Town

Warsaw’s Old Town was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt so faithfully that it is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Start on Castle Square, by the Royal Castle and Sigismund’s Column, walk up to the Old Town Market Place and its Mermaid, and out through the Barbican into the New Town.

The Old Town & New Town →

The Royal Route and the palaces

From the castle the Royal Route runs south along Krakowskie Przedmieście, past the grand hotels, the University and the Holy Cross Church, and along Nowy Świat to Łazienki, the summer residence of the last king, and on to Wilanów, the palace of King Jan III Sobieski. Bus 180 follows it all the way.

The Royal Route →

Chopin’s city

Warsaw wears its Chopin proudly: his heart in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church, his museum on Okólnik, recitals at weekends, and in summer the Chopin Concerts in Royal Łazienki, played in the open air beside his monument. The Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera and the National Philharmonic carry the music through the year.

Arts & Culture in Warsaw →

At the table: pierogi and stars

The Warsaw table is generous: żurek, sour rye soup, often served in a bread bowl; pierogi; herring with a glass of vodka; and, for afters, a pączek or a slice of wuzetka. At the top, four Warsaw restaurants hold One MICHELIN Star in the 2026 guide: NUTA, Rozbrat 20, hub.praga and Alon Omakase.

Warsaw Cuisine →   The best restaurants in Warsaw →

Across the river

Praga, on the right bank, kept many of its pre-war tenements. Today it has Koneser, the old vodka distillery with the Polish Vodka Museum, hub.praga’s star, the zoo and the Żabiński Villa, and the streets where scenes of The Pianist were filmed.

Praga →

The new Warsaw

Beside the Palace of Culture and Science, the Varso Tower now rises to 310 metres with its spire, the tallest building in the EU, and Highline Warsaw looks down from the 53rd floor. Across Plac Defilad, the Museum of Modern Art opened its new building, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, in 2024, and the Polish History Museum is preparing its permanent exhibition in the Citadel for 2027.

New openings and projects →

Berlin, Kraków and beyond by train

Warszawa Centralna, in the heart of the city, is the gateway to the rest of Poland and beyond: PKP Intercity runs trains to Kraków and Łódź and on to neighbouring capitals; check intercity.pl for timetables.

Kraków from Warsaw →   ULTIMATE Berlin →   ULTIMATE Rail Journeys →

The city on screen

Warsaw has played itself and its own past on screen: Praga’s Mała and Stalowa streets in The Pianist, Krasiński Square and Muranów in A Real Pain, and Krakowskie Przedmieście and Łazienki in the new adaptations of The Doll (Warsaw Tourism Office). See our page Warsaw on film.

Warsaw on film →

Questions and answers