World City Guide

Mini Guide of Warsaw

City Overview

Many people still have an image of Warsaw as a dull concrete jungle, a wasteland of Soviet-era housing with little appeal. The city does undoubtedly have its fair share of problems and whole swathes of its suburbs are indeed dominated by the less-than-imaginative creations of communist-era architects. But there is far more to one of Europe’s most underrated cities, with a string of things to see, an impressive cultural scene and an increasingly lively nightlife. Warsaw is a real survivor – the city’s current day existence is impressive in itself.

By the end of World War II, roughly 85% of the city lay in ruins and most of the population had been killed, deported or sent to concentration camps. More than a third of Warsaw’s pre-war population was Jewish, although there are hardly any traces of this heritage remaining, as the city’s prosperous Jewish community was decimated by the end of the war. Much of Warsaw’s historic centre was painstakingly recreated in the years after World War II, in a move by the communist authorities, which surprised the citizens of the city as it much as it did the West. Some churlish critics have dismissed the ‘new’ Old Town as being nothing but an unconvincing fake, although the loss of the original was hardly Warsaw’s fault and many of Europe’s old towns have undergone similar refurbishment and rebuilding. Somewhat ironically, many of today’s Old Town buildings are closer to the original architecture than they were before destruction, as the alterations of the intervening centuries were not incorporated in the reconstruction. The strikingly successful rebuilding of the Old Town was finally rewarded in 1980, when the entire complex earned its place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Situated in the Mazowieckie province, in east-central Poland, the city spans the Wisla (Vistula River) and all the main tourist sites are on the left bank, while the right bank contains the increasingly fashionable Praga district. The tourist epicentre of Warsaw is the ‘Royal Route’, which runs north–south from the New and Old Towns, past the fashionable shops of Nowy Swiat, the palaces that survived the war and the royal gardens of Lazienki Park, before reaching Wilanow Palace to the south of the city centre. The city also boasts many green spaces, with leafy parks where rowing boats cruise past outdoor cafs, during the summer, and free classical concerts attract crowds in a scene far removed from the dull Communist-era images of Warsaw. The nightlife scene today is equally surprising, with the city’s clued-up and increasingly well dressed youth flocking to the countless bars and clubs of a city that now buzzes after dark.

Warsaw is still very much Poland’s largest city and the nation’s economic, cultural and educational hub, a role that looks set to expand yet further when the country finally joins the European Union. The peak tourist season is from May to October, when the weather is most pleasant, although there will be some odd days when the temperature rises above 30C (86F). January and February are the coldest months and temperatures can drop as low as -30C (-22F).

Getting There By Air

Warsaw-Okecie im. Fryderyka Chopina International Airport (WAW)
Tel: (022) 650 4140, information or 3943, departures or 4220, arrivals.
Website: www.polish-airports.com

Poland’s main airport, located ten kilometres (six miles) south of the city centre, annually serves 3.5 million passengers on 60 regular routes worldwide. It is one of the most modern and well-equipped airports in Central and Eastern Europe, operating more than 60,000 flights a year. The domestic airport, located next to the international terminal, has connections to the largest cities in Poland – Gdansk, Cracow, Poznan, Szczecin, Wroclaw and Katowice.

Major airlines: LOT Polish Airlines (tel: (022) 630 5007 or 5757; website: www.lot.com) is the national carrier, with services to over 30 countries and domestic flights to other Polish cities. International carriers include Aeroflot, Air France, American Airlines, Alitalia, British Airways, Continental Ailrines, Delta Air Lines, Iberia, KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS and Qantas.

Approximate flight times to Warsaw: From London is 2 hours 25 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 40 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 10 minutes; from Toronto is 9 hours 25 minutes and from Sydney is 21 hours 45 minutes.

Airport facilities: The airport includes a transit hotel, tourist information centre, post office, bank/bureaux de change (kantors), duty-free shops, ATMs, bars, restaurants and car hire from Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz.

Business facilities: There are three airport Executive Lounges (tel: (022) 650 2761 or 2768) in the departures area. A VIP lounge is available for reservation (tel: (022) 650 4383), as is conference facilities and audiovisual equipment (tel: (022) 650 4151).

Arrival/departure tax: None.

Transport to the city: The Polski Express coach service (tel: (022) 620 0330; website: www.polskiexpress.pl) departs from platform 4, outside terminal 1, every 20 minutes (Sundays and public holidays every 45 minutes), 0450-2310, stopping at the major hotels and central railway station. Tickets cost Z6 and there is no baggage charge (journey time – 25 minutes). The airport’s tourist information point provides further information.

The local ZTM (tel: (022) 827 3747; e-mail: info@ztm.waw.pl; website: www.ztm.waw.pl) bus 175 departs from in front of the arrivals hall and passes through the city centre and near the Old Town, 0450-2310 daily (journey time – 30 minutes). Bus 188 goes to the right-bank (the eastern part) of Warsaw (Praga, Grochow, Goclaw). A night bus follows the same route, as far as the central railway station, every half hour (2247-0247). Ticket prices are the same as other ZTM buses – Z2.40 during the day and Z7.20 for night buses – the same fee applies to each piece of luggage. Pickpockets have been known to operate on these routes.

The Marriott Hotel offers a minibus service costing Z22 – there is no baggage charge. Taxis to the city centre cost approximately Z37-45 (journey time – 20 minutes). It is advisable for visitors to book an official taxi and to confirm the price before setting off. Taxis cost Z2 per kilometre and can be hired in the arrivals hall at the airport or by calling MPT Radio Taxi (tel: (022) 919).

Getting There By Water

Getting There By Road

Poland uses standard international traffic signs. Major routes have the prefix ‘E’ and motorways ‘A’. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 100-110kph (62-68mph) on main roads and 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas. Traffic drives on the right. Seatbelts must be worn. Vehicles should be equipped with a first-aid kit, fire extinguisher and warning triangle. Headlights must be on at all times from 1 October to 1 March. The legal maximum alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.02%.

The minimum driving age in Poland is 17. International Driving Permits and European and US national driving licences are accepted for the first six months in Poland. Drivers should carry their vehicle registration documents and Green Card insurance.

Information about road travel can be obtained at border crossings and from the Polish Motoring Association (PZM), ulica Kazimierzowska 66 (tel: (022) 849 9361; fax: (022) 849 1951; e-mail: pzm@wonet.com.pl).

Emergency breakdown service:
PZM 9637

Routes to the city: The main route to the city is the east–west E30, which connects Warsaw with Lodz, Poznan and Berlin to the west and the Belarus border to the east. The north–south E77 links Gdansk with Cracow, via Warsaw. The E67 is the route from the southwestern city of Wroclaw.

Approximate driving times to Warsaw: From Cracow – 5 hours 15 minutes; Gdansk – 5 hours 30 minutes; and Wroclaw – 5 hours 45 minutes.

Coach services: Dozens of licensed carriers, including Polski Express (tel: (022) 620 0330; website: www.polskiexpress.pl) and the state-owned PKS (tel: (022) 823 6394 or 9433) offer services to and from over 200 European destinations. The Central Booking Office is located at ulica Zurawia 4 (tel: (022) 630 0625 or 0669) and Warszawa Zachodnia (tel: (022) 822 4811) is the central bus station, located at aleja Jerozolimskie 144.

Getting There By Rail

Polish Railways, Polskie Koleje Panstwowe – PKP (tel: (022) 620 0361, for domestic enquiries or 620 4512, for international enquiries; website: www.pkp.com.pl), operates trains on the Polish rail network. Poland’s rail network continues to improve and services are increasingly comfortable and punctual, especially on the main routes to other Polish cities and destinations outside Poland. However, they are often very crowded and it is worth spending the 50% surcharge for a guaranteed first class seat. The main lines passing through Warsaw are the Moscow–Berlin and Gdansk–Ostrava routes. Tickets can be purchased at the station or through Orbis tourist offices.

Most international services arrive at Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central), aleja Jerozolimskie 54 (tel: (022) 524 4320), adjacent to the Centrum Metro station. This station attracts the dirty underbelly of Warsaw society and tourists should take care of their belongings at all times. Station facilities include tourist information, 24-hour left-luggage, post office, bureaux de change, ATMs, shops and snack bars. The other main stations are Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East), Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) and Warszawa Gdanska, which receives trains from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Rail services: EuroCity and InterCity trains from Cracow (journey time – 2 hours 40 minutes), Berlin (journey time – 6 hours 20 minutes) and Prague (journey time – 8 hours 50 minutes) arrive at Warsaw Central station. Care should be taken on some night train routes, where thieves have been known to operate.

Transport to the city centre: All railway stations are connected to the bus and tram network. Travellers who require taxis from Warsaw Central station are recommended to cross the street to the Marriott Hotel, to obtain one from there.

Getting Around

Public Transport
The Municipal Transport Board, ZTM (tel: (022) 827 3747, from 0700-1530; e-mail: info@ztm.waw.pl; website: www.ztm.waw.pl), operates the bus and tram network, connecting all parts of the city, as well as the miniature metro.

Buses and trams run 0500-2300. Night bus routes converge near Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central), aleja Jerozolimskie 54, half-hourly 2315-0445.

The one-line metro system runs every five to eight minutes 0500-2315, from the southern suburbs to the city centre. There currently are plans for a second line, with the necessary funding coming from German investors.

Tickets, valid for all modes of transport, must be purchased before boarding. They are available at the green Ruch kiosks, post offices, hotels and most restaurants. A single fare costs Z2.40. With every change of vehicle, a new ticket must be punched in the metal boxes inside the bus or tram, or before entering the platform on the underground. A full-price ticket must be punched for each large piece of luggage. The fare for night buses is Z7.20, which can be paid directly to the driver.

A one-day pass costs Z10 and is valid until midnight, while a one-week ticket costs Z36. A group ticket (two adults and three children) costs Z16, while a weekend ticket (for a group of up to five people) is valid from 0000 Friday to 2400 Sunday and costs Z28. These can be purchased from kiosks, at the City Transportation Office – in the concrete building on plac Unii Lubelskiej, or at ulica Senatorska 37 (entrance from Saski Garden) – between 0730-1500. Students up to the age of 26 are entitled – on production of an ISIC card – to reduced fares and children under four years travel free. Pickpockets operate on some routes – especially bus 175 from the airport – and valuables should be kept close at hand and out of sight at all times.

Taxis
Taxis are metered and can be hailed on the street, although fares are usually cheaper if the taxi is ordered by telephone. There are also a number of private firms. Payment can be made by credit card with MPT Radio Taxi (tel: (022) 919), Halo Taxi (tel: (022) 9623) and OK! Taxi (tel: (022) 9628). Other taxi firms include BT Taxi (tel: (022) 622 2222) and Nowa Taxi (tel: (022) 9687).

Travellers should agree a price before entering a taxi. The first kilometre generally costs Z3.60 and Z1.60 thereafter. Rates go up to Z2.40 between 2200 and 0600 and at weekends. Rates going out of the city centre Zone 1 are also higher. There is no baggage charge and tipping is usually around 10% of the fare. Overcharging is most likely to happen at the airport, central station, the Old Town or near one of the larger hotels. Non-affiliated taxis should be avoided – it is advisable for travellers to take a taxi with the telephone number displayed on the top and advertising on the side of the car.

Limousines
WCT Poland (tel: (022) 632 7464; website: www.wctpoland.waw.pl) has chauffeur-driven stretch limousines available 24-hours a day. One day (eight hours) of hire costs Z1000, plus Z100 for each additional hour. The Limousine Service (tel: (022) 635 3000, fax: (022) 635 7692, e-mail: windstartravel@limousineservice.pl; website: www.limousineservice.pl) offers Mercedes, people carriers and coaches. Rates start from Z90 per hour (including chauffeur) with a 50% surcharge between 2200 and 0600.

Driving in the City
In the past decade, traffic congestion in Warsaw has increased dramatically – the current index of over 400 cars per 1000 residents is higher than in Berlin. Many of the city’s drivers travel at high speeds and perform dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, which may trouble nervous visitors. The lack of a ring road means that traffic goes straight through the heart of the city, worsening congestion problems in the city centre. A variety of plans are underway but these are largely dependent on adequate investment. However, improvements have started to materialise. Plans are also underway to ease congestion with the building of additional bridges. Until matters improve, morning and evening rush hours (0630-0830 and 1430-1700), especially on the bridges that span the Vistula River, are best avoided – traffic is even heavy on Saturday. Most standard European rules, such as yellow-diamond priority routes, are in effect. At red lights, a small green arrow indicates that it is permissible to turn right, however, priority must be given to cross traffic. At intersections without lights, traffic must stop for pedestrians once they have begun to cross at zebra crossings.

Warsaw city authorities have introduced paid street parking and there are ambitious plans for the construction of nine underground car parks in the city centre. The standard rate is Z0.6 for 30 minutes, Z2 for one hour, Z4.60 for two hours and Z31.80 for a whole day. Warsaw is now the first European city where one can pay to park by using a mobile phone, although at present one must be a subscriber to the Idea mobile phone system.

Car Hire
Drivers must be at least 23 years old and have a valid driver’s licence and International Driving Permit. There is no mandatory insurance, although collision damage waiver is advised.

The major car hire providers in Warsaw are Avis (tel: (022) 630 7316; website: www.avis.com), Budget (tel: (022) 846 7310; website: www.budget.com) and Hertz (tel: (022) 621 0239 or (0800) 143 789; website: www.hertz.com). Prices range from Z300 – including Collision Damage Waiver and unlimited mileage – to more than Z1100 per day.

Bicycle Hire
Cycling is not a popular option in Warsaw and cyclists should take care while travelling in heavy traffic and at intersections, as this can be dangerous. Bikes can be hired from Bike Rental, ulica Ostrobramska 73 (tel: (022) 613 6525). Rates are approximately Z70 per day.

Business

Business Profile
Warsaw is the undisputed business and commercial hub of Poland and also a major regional player on the rapidly emerging business map of Central Europe. The halcyon days of spiralling growth and low unemployment, which followed the impressive shift from a Communist to a capitalist economy, however, are well and truly over for Poland and its capital. Unemployment is at an all-time high, with a national rate of 18.1% in February 2002 and a city rate of 13.6% in the same period. Nationally some analysts are predicting that the level may even break through the confidence sapping 20% mark by the end of 2002. The government’s reaction to the economic crisis has drawn much criticism, as state intervention in the economy and moves for greater regulation of foreign business interests have put off some foreign investors. Foreign capital currently owns 75% of the Polish banking sector’s combined equity – one of the highest levels in Europe – but the government’s intervention has so far only seemed to exacerbate the downturn. With economic indicators plunging, more visible signs of hard times are becoming evident, with a proliferation of street vendors springing up, even on some of the city’s most chic shopping streets.

The business climate in Warsaw is more heavily geared towards the service sector than it is in the rest of the country. Large international companies that are based in Warsaw include KPMG, Daewoo, General Motors, Nestl, Pepsico International, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble and Westinghouse. ING Group (banking, insurance and real estate) has a strong presence with its Zlote Tarasy (Golden Terraces) office service and entertainment centre, the headquarters of ING Group, with rented space for fashionable shops on aleja Ujazdowskie.

One benefit of the decline in industry has been a corresponding drop in the level of pollution in the city. Over 70% of the total working population (including retail) are employed in the thriving service industries. The biggest growth area in recent years has been in banking and finance. Tourism is also becoming increasingly important to the economy. The Warsaw Stock Exchange – considered by investors to be the most efficient in Central Europe – was moved from its location in the former Communist Party Headquarters to an ultra-modern building on ulica Ksiazeca, in 2000. Approximately 60 large-scale trade fairs and exhibitions, including over 30 international fairs, take place in Warsaw each year. The three leading events are the Computer Exhibition in January, the International Book Fair in May and the TT Warsaw Tour and Travel in September. Increased demand for doing business in Warsaw has led to plans for a modern large-scale Warsaw trade and exhibition centre to be built on the Millennium Plaza Centre, located at the corner of aleje Jerozolimskie and ulica Bitwy Warszawskiej. Construction for this ambitious project began in the year 2000 and the scheduled date of completion is 2003. Until the new venue is complete, events are held at the Palace of Culture and Science (the most prestigious and popular choice), the Mokotow Fair Centre on ulica Bokserska, the Torwar Sports Centre on ulica Lazienkowska, the Exhibition Fair Centre in Wolka Kosowska and occasionally buildings of the Physical Education Academy, the Warsaw University of Technology and hotels, such as the Victoria, Holiday Inn and Marriott. There are dozens of Internet cafs sprinkled around the city centre and Internet facilities are also available at most of Warsaw’s luxury hotels.

Business Etiquette
Letters of introduction are extremely useful for establishing contact with businesses in Poland. Presentations should be thoroughly prepared and, at a minimum, the executive summary should be translated. Decisions are often by committee, so negotiations may be protracted and a deal cannot be confirmed until all parties have signed.

Until familiarity has been established, a person’s title and surname should be used when addressing them. Handshaking is customary and business cards (preferably translated) should be exchanged with all participants at a meeting. The dress code is, on the whole, sober and conservative. Breakfast meetings are rare, despite the fact that the business day begins early, although business lunches and dinners are popular. Government offices are open 0830-1630. Traditionally, offices in major industries were open 0700-1500, however, many have adopted Western business hours (0830-1700). Some businesses may open on Saturday morning.

The end of Communism brought the careers of many Polish people to a premature end, as the older generation was thought to represent an outdated system and inflexible attitudes. Consequently, many of those holding high positions in Warsaw’s business world today are quite young. They are also more likely to speak English.

Poles love to stay up late, talking and drinking and dinner invitations are likely. The person who issues the invitation is generally the one who pays the bill. It is important for visitors to make sure that if giving a gift of flowers, there should always be an odd number.

Sightseeing

Sightseeing Overview
For many people, the very symbol of the city is the voluminous Palace of Culture and Science, which was gifted to Warsaw by Stalin. The viewing deck is now accessible via express lifts and this is the best venue for visitors to get acquainted with the layout of the city.

Sightseeing in Warsaw is generally concentrated on the left bank of the Vistula river. The UNESCO World Heritage Old Town is unmissable – quite literally, seeing as many of the city’s attractions and a whole host of cafs, bars and restaurants are located within its environs. The Old Town is both a physical and symbolic expression of the city’s spirit and determination to come back from the brink of annihilation at the end of World War II. Most visitors to Warsaw spend their first day strolling around the Old Town, where one can find the opulent and impressive Royal Castle, once home of the Polish kings. Outside the historic centre is Wilanow, a charming palace on a grand scale, which was modelled on Versailles.

Warsaw boasts a number of green lungs and Lazienki Park is one of the most relaxing, with its Palace on the Water and boating lake. The city is also home to an impressive array of cultural attractions, with a string of museums, including the National Museum, Chopin Museum and the haunting Pawiak Museum, which served as a cruel prison under the Nazis. Perhaps the most depressing and emotive testament to Warsaw’s past is the Jewish Ghetto, or lack of it – an area that gives away little of the history of what actually happened but still retains a sense of unspoken tragedy.

Tourist Information
Warszawskie Centrum Informacji Turystycznej (Warsaw Tourism Information Centre)
89 Krakowskie Przedmiescie
Tel: (022) 9431. Fax: (022) 629 0750.
E-mail: info@warsawtour.pl
Website: www.warsawtour.bptnet.pl
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-2000, Sat 0900-1700 and Sun 0900-1500 (May-Sep); Mon-Fri 0800-1800; Sat-Sun 0900-1500 (Oct-Apr).

There are also tourist information centres at the Okecie Airport arrivals hall, the Warsaw Central railway station, the Historical Museum in the Old Town and Warsaw West coach station. There is also a tourist information telephone service with English-speaking operators (tel: 9431).

Passes
There are currently no tourist passes available in Warsaw.

Key Attractions

Zamek Krolewski (Royal Castle)
Walking through the Royal Castle, one has to constantly remind oneself that most of it was reconstructed between 1971 and 1984, although the darker elements of the decor were actually salvaged from the ruins. The castle, located on a plateau overlooking the Vistula River, was built for the Dukes of Mazovia and expanded when King Zygmunt III Vasa moved the capital to Warsaw. From the early 17th until the late 18th century, this was the seat of the Polish kings. It subsequently housed the parliament and is now a museum displaying tapestries, period furniture, coffin portraits and collections of porcelain and other decorative arts. Work is underway to recreate the castle gardens, set on the slopes of the Vistula River, which were also badly scarred when the Nazis levelled the rest of the castle complex.

Plac Zamkovy 4 (ticket office situated at ulica Swietojanska 2)
Tel: (022) 657 2170 or 2338, ticket office. Fax: (022) 635 7260.
E-mail: zamek@zamek-krolewski.art.pl
Website: www.zamek-krolewski.art.pl
Transport: Tram 4, 13, 26 or 32; bus 125, 170 or 190.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1800, Sun and Mon 1100-1800 (Jul-Sep); Tues-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1100-1600 (Oct-Jun).
Admission: Z8 (permanent exhibits); Z14 (royal apartments); Z70 (English-speaking guide); free on Sun; concessions available.

Lazienki Park
In addition to a number of palaces, Lazienki Park contains the Chopin Monument – where the annual Chopin Festival is held each summer – and the Orangerie, set within extensive 18th-century gardens. Palac Lazienkowski (Palace on the Water) is best viewed from near the monument to Jan Sobiewski, on the bridge where ulica Agrykola crosses the water. Originally built in 1624, for King Zygmunt III Vasa, Zamek Ujazdowski (Ujazdowski Castle) now houses the Centre of Contemporary Art. The 1764 Palac Belweder (Belvedere Palace) was the residence of King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski and later of Poland’s 20th-century presidents. On warm summer days, rowing boats offer short cruises around the park’s lake. Cycling is banned in the park.

Ulica Agrykola 1
Tel: (022) 621 8212.
Transport: Bus 114, 116, 118, 151 or 195.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1500; park closes at sunset.
Admission: Free (park); Z10, free on Sat (Palace on the Water); Z5, free on Tues (Orangerie); Z4, free on Sat (Belvedere Palace); concessions available.

Wilanow Palace
In the mid-1600s, King Jan III Sobieski commissioned Augustyn Locci to build the Baroque palace and garden of Wilanow for his summer residence. Construction continued from 1677 until the king’s death in 1696. It remained popular with subsequent monarchs. Visitors can tour the interior and the gallery, which features portraits of famous Poles. Artistic handicrafts are on display in the Orangerie. Also here is the Muzeum Plaktau w Wilanowie (Poster Museum at Wilanow), the first of its kind in the world. Entrance to the palace requires a guide, for a group of one to 35 people, although the park is open to unaccompanied visitors. Restoration work, the speed and scale of which is determined by current funding levels, is ongoing but affects few visits.

Ulica St. Potockiego 1
Tel: (022) 842 8101.
E-mail: wilanowm@mercury.ci.uw.edu.pl
Website: www.wilanow-palac.art.pl
Transport: Bus 116, 130, 164 or 180.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed-Sat 0930-1400, Sun 0930-1800; park closes at sunset.
Admission: Z4 (park); Z115 (palace – with English-speaking guide), Z23 per person (palace – for a group of six or more people with English-speaking guide); free on Thurs (park, Orangerie and temporary exhibitions); concessions available.

Pawiak Prison
This eerie old prison symbolises the oppression that has haunted Varsovians over the last two centuries. Originally built in the 1830s, at the order of the ruling Czars, the prison incarcerated many victims of the Nazi reign of terror from 1939-1944, when it served as the largest political prison in Poland. A third of the estimated 100,000 detainees never made it out alive. The Nazis tried to dynamite the evidence of their crimes as they left but Pawiak is back as a museum and a testament to the city’s seemingly endless ability to suffer and survive.

Ulica Dzielna 24/26
Tel: (022) 831 9289. Fax: (022) 831 1317
Transport: Bus 1 and 8.
Opening hours: Wed 0900-1700, Thurs 0900-1600, Fri 1000-1700, Sat 0900-1600, Sun 1000-1600.
Admission: Free.

Narodowe (National Museum)
The National Museum’s impressive art collection dates from ancient times to the present day. Highlights include Jan Matejko’s monumental Battle of Grunwalkd, which celebrates the Polish victory over the Teutonic Knights in 1410, and a collection of Egyptian art, which is unique in Europe. Unusually, there are also galleries of Polish and European decorative arts. Frequent temporary exhibitions bring prized international works – from Andy Warhol to Caravaggio – to Warsaw.

Aleja Jerozolimskie 3
Tel: (022) 621 1031. Fax: (022) 622 8559
E-mail: muzeum@mnw.art.pl
Website: www.mnw.art.pl
Transport: Metro Centrum.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri 1000-1600, Thurs 1200-1700, Sat and Sun 1000-1700.
Admission: Z9; Z13 (temporary exhibitions); concessions available; free Sat.

Katedra sw. Jana (St John’s Cathedral)
St John’s claims to be the oldest church in Warsaw. Although a major church in the Mazovian Gothic style, completed in the 15th century, St John’s was only upgraded from a parish church to a cathedral in 1798. Destroyed during World War II, is has been reconstructed in its original style and features major Gothic art works by Wit Stwosz. The cathedral was used in 1764, for the coronation of the last Polish king (Stanislaw II) and for the swearing in of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) after the constitution of 1791. The covered footbridge connecting it to the Royal Palace was the result of a failed assassination attempt on King Zygmunt III.

Ulica Swietojanska 8.
Tel. (022) 831 0289.
Transport: North of the Royal Castle; tram 4, 13, 26 or 32; bus 125, 170 or 190.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1400-1800 (cathedral); daily 1000-1300 and 1500-1730 (crypt).
Admission: Free.

Getto Zydowskie (Jewish Ghetto)
What is markedly absent from Warsaw contributes as much to its history as anything that has been preserved or reconstructed. Pre-war Warsaw had a Jewish population second only to New York. After the Nazi invasion, some 400,000 Jews were rounded up and forced to stay in the Jewish ghetto. A three-metre-high (ten-foot) wall encircled the area, from the Palace of Culture and Science to the Umschlagplatz monument, corner of ulica Stawki and ulica Dzika. This stark monument, erected in the late 1980s, marks the place from where Jews were despatched by train to the Treblinka concentration camp, following the Ghetto Uprising of 19 April 1943. The centre of the ghetto is marked by the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, ulica L Zamenhofa, which was erected on a sea of ruins in 1948. Other memorials are the Monument of the Killed and Murdered in the East, ulica Muranowska, and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising Monument, plac Krasinskich. Only three sections of the actual ghetto wall remain.

Further information about the Jewish Ghetto is available at the Jewish Historical Institute Gallery, located on the site of the former Great Synagogue. The Institute has a permanent display of work by Jewish artists, as well as photographs and documents relating to the Jewish ghetto, a bookshop (with copies in English) on the Jews of Eastern Europe and archives at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation is located on the premises (entrance by appointment only). There are also plans for a brand new Jewish museum, which will be built on the site of the ghetto and funded by Jewish groups around the world.

Jewish Historical Institute and Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Genealogy Project
Ulica Tlomackie 3/5
Tel: (022) 827 9221. Fax: (022) 827 1843.
Website: www.jewishinstitute.org.pl
Transport: Bus 107, 111,166, 171, 180 or 512; tram 2, 4, 15. 18, 31 or 36.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 0900-1500, Sat and Sun by prior appointment only.
Admission: Free.

Further Distractions

Palac Kultury I Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science)
Varsovians are somewhat divided when it comes to this marvel of Socialist Realism, for decades (at 231 metres) the tallest and largest building in Poland and a reminder of Stalin’s ambitions – it was a gift from him to the city, in 1955. The viewing platform on the 30th floor gives a terrific view over Warsaw. What is reputed to be the world’s highest clock tower was added in 2001.

Ulica Emilii Plater
Tel: (022) 656 7136.
Transport: Tram 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 18, 22 or 35.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-2400.
Admission: Z15; Z20 after 2100 (including a drink); concessions available.

Frederic Chopin
Chopin only lived in Warsaw until he was 20 years old but there is a monument to him in Park Lazienki, where open-air recitals are held in the summer. Chopin’s Parlour, in his family’s former home at the Palac Czapski Krasinski, is open to the public, while Chopin’s heart is interred in a pillar at the Church of the Holy Cross (Kosciol Znalezienia Swietego Krzyna) next door. His body, however, lies in Pre Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. There is also the Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina, located in Ostrogski Castle, with exhibits on the different phases of his life and career.

Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina
Ulica Okolnik 1
Tel: (022) 827 5471.
Website: www.chopin.pl/zabytki/muzeum/muzeum-en.html
Transport: Bus 148, 150, 155 or 162.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat 1000-1400, Thurs 1200-1800.
Admission: Z7; concessions available.

Chopin’s Parlour
Ulica Krakowskie Przedmiescie 5
Tel: (022) 826 6251
Transport: Plac Krasinkisch, north of ulica Dugna at the end of ulica Middowa.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1400.
Admission: Free.

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
The Warsaw Tourist Office (tel: (022) 9431) has brochures and maps detailing the major tourist areas, useful for a self-guided tour. There are also helpful tourist-locator maps mounted at major intersections and in tourist areas.

Bus Tours
Mazurkas Travel (tel: (022) 635 6633, e-mail: euromic@mazurkas.com.pl; website: www.mazurkas.com.pl) and Polish Travel Quo Vadis (tel: (022) 652 1456; e-mail: ptqv@polishtravel.com.pl; website: www.polishtravel.com.pl) offer half-day tours of the Old Town and Royal Route, with stops at Wilanow Palace or the Royal Castle. The cost ranges from Z80-100. Pick up for both tours is from a variety of city hotels.

In summer, the tourist tramline (tel: (022) 827 3747) runs along a fixed circular route from Starynkiewicza Square on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Tickets can be purchased from the conductor for Z2.40. The recently instigated bus route 180 offers a cheap and pleasant sightseeing tour. Operating between Powazki Cemetary and Wilanow, the bus passes all the main monuments in Warsaw. The cost is the same as for a city transport ticket (see Public Transport in Getting Around).

Horse-drawn Tours
Visitors can take a trip around the Old Town in a horse-drawn hackney cab or dorozki. These are run by individuals, licensed by the city, and wait for passengers at the Old Town Square. The cost should be negotiated with the driver but will generally run to about Z50-80 for a one-hour ride.

Excursions

For a Half Day

Kampinoski Park: There is plenty to see and do in the countryside surrounding Warsaw – a little further afield are areas of forests, lakes and mountains. The Kampinoski Park (website: http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/pnp/kamp.htm), with walking trails and abundant wildlife, lies just to the northwest of the city and is easily accessible by PKS bus from Marymont station or Dworzec PKS, Warsaw's main bus station, al Jerozolimskie 144 (tel: (022) 9433). It is the largest park adjacent to a city of more than a million inhabitants. One of its major features is its inland sand dunes that contrast with the peat bogs. The park is open from dawn to dusk and admission is free.

Zelazowa Wola: Frederic Chopin was born here, 60km (37 miles) from the capital. A museum dedicated to his life and work is located in the manor house where he spent his first months. Polish Travel Quo Vadis (tel: (022) 652 1456; website: www.polishtravel.com.pl) offers a day trip for Z140, departing 0900 Saturday from the major hotels in Warsaw. This trip includes Nepokalanov, with its Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the typical Mazovian medieval village of Brochow, where Chopin’s parents were married. Mazurkas Travel (tel: (022) 635 6633 or 5182; website: www.mazurkas.com.pl) offers an equivalent service. Zelazowa Wola is located inside Kampinoski Park and can be reached by bus Dworzec PKS, Warsaw's main bus station, al Jerozolimskie 144 (tel: (022) 9433).

For a Whole Day

Torun: This walled, medieval town on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites is often called the Copernician Town, because it was the birthplace of Mikolaj Kopernik (Copernicus). It’s location on the banks of the Vistula River offers a popular place for people to promenade, leading to the ruins of the 13th-century Castle of the Teutonic Knights. Regular boat tours operate on the river in summer. The city’s former wealth is expressed in the impressive Town Hall and parts of the Church of St John – where Copernicus was baptised and later taught – which date from the 13th century. The Gothic townhouse where Copernicus was born is located at ulica Kopernika 17. Torun is also famous for its gingerbread, still baked in medieval moulds according to a traditional recipe. The city is 200km (124 miles) from Warsaw and is reachable by train from Warsaw Centralna (journey time 3 hours) or by Polski Express bus, which departs every hour from the bus stop near Warsaw Centralna (journey time – 3 hours 40 minutes). Further information is provided by Torun Tourist Information Centre, ulica Piekary 37/39, 87100 Torun (tel: (056) 621 0931; fax: (056) 621 0930; website: www.man.torun.pl).

Sport

Warsaw hosts a number of national and international sports competitions, including the WTA Tennis Competition and the Warsaw Marathon in May, the International Wrestling Contest in June, the Warsaw Judo Competition in November and the International Basketball Competition in December.

Football is popular – Legia Warszawa (website: www.legia.pl), Warsaw’s most favoured football team, in recent times, has played second fiddle to Wisla Cracow in the Polish first-division league, however, the team has enjoyed some success in UEFA competitions. The fan support sometimes translates into violence at Legia Stadium, ulica Lazienkowska. Their rivals, KP Polonia Warszawa (website: www.kppolonia.com.pl), play at the Polonia Warszawa Football Club Stadium, ulica Konwiktorska 6.

Besides the ticket offices at the grounds, tickets to sporting events can usually be purchased through ZASP box office, aleje Jerozolimskie 25 (tel: (022) 621 9383). Hotel concierges can usually assist in purchasing tickets.

Golf: Membership is not required and a round of golf costs from Z150 to Z320 (depending on the season and the day of the week) at the First Warsaw Golf & Country Club, ulica Rajszew 70, Jablonna (tel: (022) 782 4555; website: www.warsawgolf.pl). There is also a golf academy, a pro shop and organised tournaments. Membership is not required and visitors should expect to pay approximately Z10 per hour at the Mini-Golf Country Club, ulica Glowackiego 3/5, Konstancin-Jeziorna (tel: (022) 756 3159).

Health and fitness clubs: There are health and fitness clubs in many of the city’s hotels, including the Bristol, ulica Krakowskie Przedmiescie 42/44 (tel: (022) 625 2525), Sheraton, ulica B Prusa 2 (tel: (022) 657 6100; website: www.fitness.com.pl), and Marriott, aleja Jerozolimskie 65/69 (tel: (022) 630 5116). Day fees are around Z80-100.

Skating: The year 2000 saw the opening of the modernised Torwar II indoor rink, ulica Lazienkowska 6A (tel: (022) 621 4471), which costs Z8 for 90 minutes of skating. There is early evening skating at Tor Stegny, ulica Inspektowa 1 (tel: (022) 842 2768), where 90 minutes of skating costs Z5 weekdays and Z6 at weekends. Year-round skating of a different sort is available at the Jutrzenka roller-skating rink, located in the park on ulica Rozbrat, near ulica C Sniegocka, which is open daily 0900-2100.

Skiing: A year-round 230-metre-long ski slope – with t-bar and chair lifts, plus separate 70-metre beginners’ piste – opened at Szczesliwicki Park, ulica Drawska 22 (tel: (022) 823 8675) in 2000. One hour of skiing costs Z35 weekdays and Z40 weekends. The park is closed Monday.

Swimming: In addition to the major hotels, indoor swimming pools are located at Wodny Park, ulica Merliniego 4, Mokotow Hernykow (tel: (022) 646 1361), and Namyslowska, ulica Namyslowska 8, Nowa Praga (tel: (022) 619 8808). Admission prices range from Z7 to Z12 per hour. During summer, outdoor pools open at Kompleks Basenow, ulica Inflancka 8 (tel: (022) 831 9229), and Plaza nad Wisla, Vistula Beach, ulica Wal Miedzeszynski 407 (tel: (022) 617 7555). Admission prices vary between Z6 and Z8 per hour.

Tennis: Tennis courts are located at Srodmiejski Osrodek Sportowy (City Sports Centre), ulica Solec 71 (tel: (022) 621 6863), and at the Warszawianka Sports Club, ulica Merliniego 9, in Mokotow (tel: (022) 844 0717). Entrance prices per person, per hour range from Z15 to Z40.

Shopping

The political transformations of 1989 were quickly reflected in the hundreds of new shops that sprang up all over Warsaw. However, the current economic crisis has brought back the once ubiquitous street vendors with many locals now somewhat tellingly dividing their shopping sprees between the big stores and these illicit operators. The main shopping streets are the restored ulica Chmielna, elegant Nowy Swiat, ulica Marszalkowska and aleja Jerozolimskie. Out-of-town malls have become more popular in recent years, with large central stores that are worth visiting, including Galeria Centrum, ulica Marszalkowska 104, and the designer shopping oasis of the Reform Shopping Plaza, aleja Jerozolimskie.

Probably the best spot in Warsaw for souvenir hunting is in the Old Town, among the colourful faades and artists’ stalls. The Cepelia stores are also worth a visit for Polish handicrafts, such as lace, dolls, amber and silver jewellery and leather goods.

Europe’s largest flea market – in the Praga district next to the Poniatowskiego Bridge – runs the entire circumference of Dziesieciolecia Stadium (the former national stadium). The variety of goods on offer is enormous, ranging from air guns and fur coats to (illegal) CDs, leather goods and trinkets from the former Soviet Union. It is worth visiting for the experience as much as for the goods on sale. There are also delicious refreshments on sale in little covered booths. Petty crime is rampant at the market and has increased markedly since the start of the current economic crisis, so care should be taken with all possessions and ostentatious displays of wealth avoided. The market opens at approximately 0600 daily – for the best buys, it is advisable for bargain hunters to arrive early – and begins to wind down at noon.

Shopping hours vary considerably and many shops tend to open and close later than in Western European countries. Shops are generally open Monday to Friday 1000/1100-1800/2000 and Saturday 1000-1300/1600. In the past five years, 30 shopping centres and hypermarkets of all the major European chains have opened in Warsaw. Often open seven days a week, these are the best places to stock up on Polish staples – such as pickled herring, preserved meats and, last but not least, vodka. VAT is fixed at 22%. There are 5000 tax-free shopping outlets in Poland, with cash refunds given out at airports on presentation of the tax free documents, which can be obtained at participating outlets (website: www.globalrefund.com).

Culture

The cultural scene in Warsaw was already strong before the fall of Communism but has diversified and opened up considerably ever since, although some state financed performers have suffered. Although Warsaw would be hard pushed to match the artistic life of Cracow, the city nonetheless enjoys a lively cultural scene. There is a great sense of pride in Frederic Chopin in the Polish capital. Born in 1810, in nearby Zelazowa Wola, the musician moved shortly thereafter to Warsaw, where he remained until he left for Paris in 1830. The Grammy Award winner, Krzysztof Penderecki, had his debut during the Warsaw Autumn festival in 1959. Poland’s golden age, in terms of art and culture, undoubtedly was the Sarmatism (Polish Baroque) period from 1572 to 1764. The dress, sculpture and painting of the period reflect the lifestyle of the Polish nobility – familiar to most in the costume of the ‘Winged Hussars’. Warsaw has a number of world-class cultural institutions, including the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Theatre. The main cultural season runs from September to July, although there are often summer festivals featuring outdoor concerts held on the Old Town Square and in Warsaw’s parks.

The Warsaw Tourist Information and Promotion Bureau has a useful weekly and annual online calendar of cultural events (website: www.warsawtour.pl). The Warsaw Voice (in English) includes a weekly listing of events. In addition to the venues themselves, tickets can often be purchased at the ZASP box office, aleja Jerozolimskie 25 (tel: (022) 621 9383 or 9454), or at Empik Megastore, ulica Nowy Swiat 15/17 (tel: (022) 627 0650; website: www.empik.com).

Music: The main orchestra in Warsaw is the Filharmonia Narodowa (National Philharmonic), also called the Warsaw Philharmonic (tel: (022) 551 7111; fax: (022) 551 7200; website: www.filharmonia.pl), located opposite the Palace of Culture and Science, ulica Sienkieicza 10. The company includes both symphonic and chamber players, with separate entrances for each hall – ulica Sienkiewicza 10 (symphony concerts) and ulica Moniuszki 5 (chamber concerts). Teatr Narodowy (National Theatre), plac Teatralny 1 (tel: (022) 692 0604; fax: (022) 826 0423; website: www.narodowy.pol.pl and www.teatrwielki.pl), comprises the Teatr Wielki (Grand Theatre) and Opera Narodowa (National Opera) and has a tradition dating back to 1778. Opera and ballet performances run every evening, except for Monday, during the season (September-May). Warszawska Opera Kameralna (Warsaw Chamber Opera), aleja Solidarnosci 76B (tel: (022) 831 2240; website: www.wok.pol.pl), performs at a variety of venues throughout Warsaw.

Lighter music is offered at the popular Buffo Theatre, ulica Konopnickiej 6 (tel: (022) 625 4709), where anything from Elvis Presley to pre-war Polish movie songs and musicals are performed. Large-scale productions, such as Ada, are held in the 2000-seat Sala Moniuszki, in the National Theatre (see above), which has one of the largest stages in Europe. Prices for performances here are Z6 to Z90, or more.

Theatre: The-Warsaw Operetta (Roma Musical Theatre), ulica Nowogrodzka 49 (tel: (022) 628 8371), stages productions of Broadway-type hits, folk music theatre and some matinees for children. The Teatr Zydowski (Jewish Theatre), plac Grzybowski 12/16 (tel: (022) 620 6281; website: www.teatr-zydowski.art.pl), is a full-time Yiddish-language theatre company. The Globe Theatre Group (tel: (022) 620 4429) is Poland’s professional English-language theatre group.

Dance: Ballet performances are part of the National Theatre’s regular programme (see Music above).

Film: Kanal (1956), directed by Andrzej Wajda, is based on the resistance movement and the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, when people used the sewers under the city to bypass the restrictions placed on them by the Nazi occupiers. A more modern vision of Warsaw is in Krzystof Kieslowski’s Dekalog (1987) and Three Colours: White (1994).

There are more than a dozen cinemas in Warsaw, including Multikino, aleja Ken 60, and Ster Century Mokotow, ulica Woloska 12. Almost all films are shown in the original language with Polish subtitles. Tickets cost from Z12 to Z20, with concessions for students and children. Listings can be found under ‘Kino’ in Friday’s Gazeta Wyborcza and online (website: www.gazeta.pl). Arthouse and Polish-language films with English subtitles can be seen at the Rejs cinema, behind the Kultura cinema at Krakowskie Przedmiescie 21/23 (tel: (022) 826 3335), and the Muranow, ulica Gen. Andersa 1 (tel: (022) 831 0358).

Cultural events: Warsaw celebrates the end of winter on 21 March, with Topienie Marzanny, the drowning of an effigy of the witch Marzanna, in the Wisla River. Throughout summer and autumn, on Sunday afternoon, outdoor concerts in Lazienki Park, at the Chopin Monument, celebrate the city’s most famous composer. The Chopin Music Summer Concerts run from June to October. In honour of another famous composer, the city’s Mozart Festival, from mid-June to the end of July, has concerts at many venues throughout the city. On Slaska Noc Swietojanska (Midsummer's Eve), 23 June, wreathes with lit candles are floated on the Wisla River. There are also many concerts and the night ends with firework displays over the city. Warsaw Autumn, in the third and fourth weeks of September, is a celebration of contemporary classical music, with concerts held in venues throughout the city. Christmas festivities include a profusion of Christmas markets throughout the city and superb crches at many of the churches.

Literary Notes
Romanticism is evident in the works of Adam Mickiewicz, whose epic poem Pan Tadeusz (1834) is a masterpiece of Polish literature. Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski (Joseph Conrad) is another famous Warsaw-born writer, although he emigrated and wrote in English. Henryk Sienkiewicz won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1905, while Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont, who lived in Warsaw for a time, received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1924. His epic novel, The Peasants (1924), documents the life and rituals of a small peasant village in Poland. His grave may be visited in the Avenue of Merit – the resting place of Warsaw’s renowned literary and artistic figures – in the beautiful Old Powazki Cemetary, established in 1790. The poet Czeslaw Milosz lived in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation and Isaac Bashevis Singer spent his childhood and the start of his writing career in Warsaw. His recording of Polish-Jewish culture in his epic family chronicles earned him a Nobel Prize in 1978. Simha Rotem’s Memoirs of a Warsaw Ghetto Fighter (2002) provides a riveting account of the struggle to stay alive in wartime Warsaw.

Nightlife

Warsaw has always had something of a rough and ready reputation when it comes to its nightlife. There are still plenty of seedy dives, where foreigners are less than welcome and casual, drunken violence can still be a problem for visitors. However, the scene is constantly improving. New-style bars and club nights seem to be opening every other week and big name DJs are being persuaded to head east, further enhancing the club scene in the process. Warsaw’s nightlife tends to be spread out around the city, with plenty of nice venues opening up on the outskirts of the city. Nevertheless, the Old Town is always a safe bet for some good pubs.

There are no licensing hours and many bars and clubs stay open until the last guest leaves. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol is 18 years. A beer costs around Z4-6, while spirits can be anything from Z20 upwards. Admission to clubs tends to cost between Z10-40. A recent trend has seen door staff insisting that all coats and bags be left in club cloakrooms – for a fee of course.

The best source of information on cafs, pubs and clubs is Warsaw in Your Pocket (website: www.inyourpocket.com), an excellent magazine that is updated on a monthly basis by a savvy and irreverent writing team.

Bars: Warsaw offers everything from spit and sawdust drinking dens, right through to ultra hip lounge-style bars with a myriad of cocktails and live DJs. Browar Soma, ulica Foksal 19, is one of the city’s newer style bars. It boasts its own accomplished microbrewery and regular live DJs, which are lapped up by an appreciative and moneyed 20- and 30-something crowd. Sitting upstairs on one of the sofas surveying the scene below is a good way to take the pulse of Warsaw’s nightlife. The Prohibition era is bizarrely brought back to life in post-Communist Warsaw at Prohibicja, ulica Podwale 1. Contrary to the abstinence of 1920s America, alcohol flows freely in this lively bar, with the range of cocktails especially popular. Die-hard drinkers should head for student-filled Szpulka, plac Trzech Kryzy 18, where metaphysical conversations deteriorate over copious amounts of cheap beer. The ubiquitous Irish bar phenomenon has well and truly hit Warsaw but at least Morgans, ulica Okolnik 1, pours a decent pint of the black stuff, serves up hearty portions of pub food and has a bit of atmosphere.

Casinos: Warsaw’s casinos have a fairly strict dress code of jacket and tie and passports are required – over 18 years only. Many of the major hotels have some type of casino, including Casinos Poland, at the Marriott, aleja Jerozolimskie 65/69, and Orbis Casino, at the Victoria, ulica Krolewska 11. One of the more unusual locations for a casino is underneath the Palace of Culture and Science – the Queen’s Casino is reached from ulica Emilii Plater.

Clubs: Warsaw’s club scene ebbs and flows but is currently on the up with big name DJs attracted by good venues and appreciative crowds. The lowest common denominator crowd is catered for at Ground Zero, ulica Wspolna 62, which is packed at weekends and sweaty with it, as well as at Hybrydy, ulica Zlota 7/9, with its dance anthems and very young clientele. A welcome recent arrival is Underground Music Caf, ulica Marszalowska 126/134. With an intimate clubby feel, this is one of the city’s best venues, with a knowledgeable crowd to match. The house nights on Tuesdays are excellent, although the RnB nights on Wednesdays can get a bit rowdy.

Live music: Although rare, when big names do come to Warsaw, they play at Gwardia Stadium, ulica Raclawicka 13. The Jazz Club Rynek, situated on the Old Town Square, has regular performances. The Bristol Hotel’s Column Bar, ulica Krakowskie Przedmiescie 42/44, has jazz from 1900 on Friday night. The Empik Pub, beneath the Empik Megastore, on the corner of aleja Jerozolimskie and Novy Swiat, is a great little bar that draws a younger crowd to live band performances and impromptu jazz sessions. The Cotton Club Caf, ulica Jana Pawla II 52, with friendly English-speaking staff, cocktails and live jazz on Monday (standards), Wednesday (jam sessions) and Friday (themed evenings), is a popular venue. Jazz is also featured at Jazzgot Klub, ulica Armii Ludowej 26, and Tygmont, ulica Mazowiecka 6/8. Tygmont showcases new talent and experimental material and its slightly seedy, cellar bar ambience is the perfect venue for jazz. Fashionable venues for domestic rock and lesser-known foreign bands include nightclubs Stodola, ulica Batorego 10, and the vast Proxima, ulica Zwirki I Wigury 99A.

City Statistics

Location: Mazowieckie province, east-central Poland.
Country dialling code: 48.
Population: 1,615,000 (city); 2,200,000 (metropolitan area).
Ethnic mix: Majority Polish; minorities include German, Ukrainian, Belorusian and Lithuanian.
Religion: Majority Roman Catholic; Polish Orthodox and Protestant minorities.
Time zone: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin plugs are standard.
Average January temp: -5C (23F).
Average July temp: 19C (66F).
Annual Rainfall: 617mm (24.1 inches).
Annual Snowfall: Approximately 155mm (5.2 inches).

Special Events

International Computer Expo, trade fair, Jan, Palace of Culture and Science
Warsaw Theatre Meetings, Jan, various venues
‘Fat Thursday’, everyone purchases paczki (jelly-filled doughnut-like pastries) to achieve a better social standing or to absolve past sins, Feb, throughout the city
Warsaw Theatre Meetings, Mar, various venues
Shrovetide, the biggest Balls of pre-Lent carnival season, Mar, various venues
Topienie Marzanny (Drowning of Marzanna), celebrating the end of winter by drowning the witch, Marzanna, 21 Mar, Wisla River
Primn Aprilis (April Fools’ Day), 1 Apr, throughout the city
Niedziela Palmowa (Palm Sunday), blessing of floral bouquets and processions, late Mar/early Apr, throughout the city
Easter Sunday, dawn Mass and processions followed by an Easter breakfast, Easter Sunday, late Mar/early Apr, throughout the city
Labour Day, 1 May, throughout the city
Constitution Day, 3 May, throughout the city
Slaska Noc Swietojanska (Midsummer’s Eve), wreathes with candles on the Wisla River, ending with fireworks, 21 Jun, Wisla River
Chopin Music Summer Concerts, Jun-Oct, Sun 1200 and 1600, Lazienki Park, at the Chopin Monument
Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Jul-Sep, various venues
Anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, 1 Aug, throughout the city
Assumption of the Virgin Mary, pilgrimage to the Black Madonna, 15 Aug, Czestochowa
Warsaw Autumn, international contemporary music festival, Sep, various venues
Warsaw Autumn of Poetry, Oct, various venues
Warsaw Film Festival, throughout Oct, various cinemas
Jazz Jamboree Music Festival, throughout Oct, various venues
Warsaw Theatrical Encounters, Nov, various venues
All Saints’ Day, ‘Feast of the Dead’, 1 Nov, throughout the city, especially the cemeteries
Independence Day, 11 Nov, throughout the city
Independence Day Race, 11 Nov, throughout the city
Christmas Fairs, throughout Dec, especially plac Defilad, in front of the Palace of Culture and Science, and plac Zamkovy
Sylwester, New Year’s Eve celebrations, 31 Dec, throughout the city

Cost of Living

One-litre bottle of mineral water: Z2
33cl bottle of beer: Z3
Financial Times newspaper: Z10
36-exposure colour film: Z25
City-centre bus ticket: Z2.40
Adult football ticket: Z20-30
Three-course meal with wine/beer: Z70-80

1 Polish Zloty (Z1) = 0.17; US$0.32; C$0.40; A$0.42; 0.25
Currency conversion rates as of Feb 2005