MUSEUMS
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Located on the former site of the Warsaw Ghetto in the Muranów district, the POLIN museum celebrates the history and heritage of the Jewish community in Poland. Designed by Finnish architect Rainer Mahlamäki, the modern glass, copper and concrete building houses a 43,000 sq ft permanent exhibition space with multimedia displays including reconstructed parts of historical Jewish synagogues, an interactive 3D model of Kracow and its Jewish neighbourhood of Kazimierz and a Holocaust gallery.
Warsaw Rising Museum
The Warsaw Rising Museum commemorates the 1944 Warsaw Uprising (in which over 150,000 civilians were killed). A multi-level interactive exhibition features everything from photographs, recordings and videos revealing everyday life before, during and after the uprising, to a replica of the Liberator B-24J bomber used by the Allies for relief flights.
National Museum in Warsaw
One of the oldest museums in Poland, the National Museum is famous for its vast art collection including over 830,000 works dating from antiquity to the present. It’s a great place to get to know Polish art from the likes of Matejko, Witkacy and Wilhelm Sasnal and admire international masters such as Botticelli, Rembrandt and Ingres.
Copernicus Science Centre
Directly overlooking the Vistula River, the Copernicus Science Centre is a great venue for both kids and adults. Seven permanent exhibitions (including Humans and the Environment, Robotic Theatre and Lightzone) allow visitors to take part in scientific experiments and play with objects on display.
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum is devoted to the life and work of the prominent Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. From Chopin’s own lock of hair and personal letters, to the piano he played during the last two years of his life, the museum showcases over 5,000 objects spread over four floors.
Neon Museum, Warsaw
Also located east of the Wisła River, in the hip Soho Factory area (home of the city’s creative businesses), the Neon Museum’s collection includes over 60 neon signs from the Cold War era. Some of them are adorning the exterior walls of the complex and can be seen lit up after dark.
MARKETS
Giełda Staroci na Kole
This flea market offers a large, often eccentric variety of products, from all over the world. Military accessories, porcelain, paintings, furniture, clocks, carpets, cameras, and others. Some of them are historical and bear a lot of cultural value, whilst at the same time maintaining a reasonable price. You can easily bargain, too. Koło Bazar is open at the weekend.
Targ Śniadaniowy
Called ‘breakfast market’, this place is particularly focused on the social part of the first meal of the day, not just the food products. Similarly to BioBazar, it also offers healthy and ecological gastronomic choices. The market is only open on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on the location, which makes it the perfect weekend shopping and meeting place all at once. Targ Śniadaniowy has five different locations around the city, in the most interesting areas.
BioBazar
As you can infer from its name, BioBazar offers various kinds of healthy, often organic, food and cooking accessories. The market mainly focuses on products such as meat, fish and cheese, but also sells vegetables, fruit, pastries, cakes, and cosmetics. The market also has space to sit down for a proper late breakfast or lunch.
Bazar Różyckiego
The Różycki bazaar, which is the oldest market in the city and dates back to 1901, during World War II and communism times this market provided people with much-needed ammunition and medical equipment. Interestingly enough, it is located on ‘Market Street’ in the hip Praga quarter. Today, the 300 sellers at Bazar Różyckiego offer various products such as clothes, food and different accessories.
Targowisko Banacha & Hala Banacha
The two conjoined markets, one outdoor and one indoor, together constitute the biggest market in the whole of Warsaw. Legend has it that it is as old as the rule of prince Trojden the I (14th century). Its modern version has been around since the beginning of the last century and was mainly set up to sell fruits and vegetables.
PARKS
Ogród Saski
The historical Saski Garden, the oldest park in Warsaw, constitutes a part of an outdoors Baroque architectural project initiated by the Polish king August II the Strong. During the whole of 18th century it played an important cultural and social role in the monarchy. The park was further developed in the 19th century by British architect James Savage, and nowadays charms its visitors with its wonderful flower beds and Baroque monuments.
Pole Mokotowskie
This park, known to all as Pole Mokotowskie, is actually named the Józef Piłsudski Park after an important figure in Poland’s struggle to become an independent country at the beginning of the last century. At that time, it was used as a small airport and then for horse racing. Located between three central quarters of the city, it attracts a large number of Warsaw’s locals and tourists, offering many attractions such as walking, biking and roller-skating paths, lakes, fountains and tiny islands.
Royal Łazienki Park
The Royal Łazienki Park is the biggest and most beautiful park in the city, and one that bears the most significance. It was designed in the 17th century in the Baroque style and is home to a number of palaces (such as the Palace on the Water), an amphitheater, and several orangeries.
Park Skaryszewski
This spacious park is located in the south part of Warsaw’s Praga quarter and dates back to 1905. You will find in it a number of worthwhile cultural and social attractions, such as a lake with canoes, horse riding opportunities, and an interesting old forest stand. The local amphitheater hosts various events during the spring and summer periods, and the park’s central monument commemorates a famous Polish classical composer and political activist, Ignacy Jan Paderewski.
Park Szczęśliwicki
This park is located in the Ochota quarter of Warsaw, nearby the very city center. It was created in the middle of the 20th century. Park Szczęśliwicki is dominated by a number of bike paths, playgrounds and ponds. Another unusual attraction is the ski slope, open all year long, and a place to play beach ball near the pond.
