CITY BREAK
IN WARSAW
Warsaw remains an undiscovered card for many people. We supposedly know that it is the capital, that there are skyscrapers, that there is a lot of traffic. Some people may know that Warsaw was significantly destryed during the IIWW. Surprisingly, tourists don’t know the history of the city.
Every year more and more tourists want to discover Poland and its capital. We think it is a good idea to plan a city break in the capital of Poland.
So how to plan a weekend in Warsaw? This article is for those who plan to simply wander around the city, although Warsaw with a guide is a much better idea!
How to spend weekend in Warsaw?
Let’s assume that we have Friday afternoon, all of Saturday and a half of Sunday at our disposal. It seems like there is a lot of time, but if we subtract the breaks necessary for coffee, lunch or just rest, we don’t have that much time at all. Below we present the Top 5 attractions worth seeing. Before sightseeing, it is worth reading at least a short guide to Warsaw. This will give us an idea of what we want to see. Warsaw is a capricious city and a guide can really help. Simply put – Warsaw tastes much better with a guide!
The Old Town and the Royal Route
We suggest starting your weekend in Warsaw with the Old Town and Krakowskie Przedmieście. After all, this is the oldest part of the city, still remembering the times of the deep Middle Ages. And although there is not much left of the original Gothic architecture after the storms of history, it is worth being attentive. Sometimes, somewhere in a completely unconventional place, we can come across interesting artifacts of the past, such as a fragment of the original wall on Jezuicka Street, or an original double Gothic portal on the Warsaw market square.
Incidentally, literally at every step we have quite good restaurants to choose from. So if we feel tired, we have a really wide choice of places to rest. We suggest leaving the Royal Castle for another occasion, although visiting the magnificent interiors is absolutely necessary. Nevertheless – a walk through the Old Town, Krakowskie Przedmieście and also visiting the castle – it may be too much for one afternoon.
Saturday: Lazienki Park and Wilanow Palace
We suggest reserving an entire Saturday to visit both parks and the palace interiors. The Royal Łazienki is not only a truly vast park, but also wonderful buildings: the Palace on the Isle, the Myślewicki Palace, the White House, the Old Orangery, the Cantonists’ Barracks, the Coach House… You can visit these buildings on your own, but we assure you that Warsaw with a tourist guide, a person with passion and historical knowledge, allows you to see more!
Equally important, both Łazienki and Wilanów fortunately avoided major destruction and today we can see largely original interiors. We suggest taking a look at the façade of the Palace on the Isle – you can still see traces of holes for explosive charges there! Fortunately, the building did not share the fate of the Royal Castle. For dinner, we suggest Wilanów, by the car park for tourists there are at least five good restaurants with different prices.
Sunday
On Sunday morning, we always recommend the Royal Castle. A weekend in Warsaw without visiting this place simply cannot be completed! It is an absolutely must-see place with a tragical and heroic history. The interiors have been reconstructed based on materials and photos, but also often fragments of the original equipment, which the castle employees risked their lives to save during World War II. The cherry on the cake will be the gallery of paintings with two original works by Rembrandt at the forefront.
What next? This is largely up to you. Personally, I always encourage you to visit the Old Powązki Cemetery, a place where the history of Poland over the last 250 years is focused. If you decide to do this, you should definitely think about finding a good guide. Warsaw with a guide will simply taste much better. Another good idea is the Warsaw Uprising Museum. If you are traveling with children, they will definitely be interested in the Copernicus Science Center. Lovers of history, both different and difficult, should be interested in the Polin Museum. And how many interesting places are still unmentioned!
On Sundays, we suggest having dinner a little further away from the Old Town, somewhere in the city centre. Even Mokotowska Street and the neighbouring streets have many really good restaurants where habitants of warsaw use to eat!
We hope that this short text will help you answer the question of what you would like to see in Warsaw during the weekend. We invite you to Warsaw! And we will remind you once again – Warsaw with a guide takes on an additional flavour!
If we managed to convince you, you can contact us here.
Autor: Jerzy Warchałowski, Magia Warszawy
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