Poland has always been a country that intrigued me, but I never imagined I would get the chance to visit. So, when my friend Kaya, who I hadn’t seen in four years, invited me to spend a weekend with her in Warsaw, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!
Reuniting with Kaya in the place of her family’s heritage was such a special experience as I saw the city through her eyes while we caught up on the time since we’d last seen each other. This trip turned out to be a full-circle moment in many ways, which I will share with you towards the end of the blog!
In this blog, I’ll take you through my 48 hours in Warsaw, Poland, and give you the best places to eat and things to do, vetted by my friend who has lived here for over a year.
To compliment my blog, Kaya has made a YouTube video showing everything we did throughout the weekend! She does a great job of providing local tips, and you’ll also be able to hear the correct pronunciation of all of the places we visited. Check out her vlog here!
Good to Know: Poland uses the Polish Zloty for their currency, which means that this country is super affordable to visit coming from the United States, Europe, or the United Kingdom. Generally, 1 Polish Zloty equals .25 U.S. Dollars, so if you want to find the price of something in U.S. Dollars, divide the price by 4.
My Itinerary at a Glance:
Day 1:
Arriving and Settling in Before Exploring
First Impressions of Warsaw
The Warsaw Rising Museum
Dinner at a Traditional Polish Milk Bar
Exploring Warsaw at Night
Day 2:
A Cozy Breakfast
Royal Łazienki Park
A Mid Afternoon Polish Sweet Treat
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Panoramic View of Warsaw in Old Town
Warming Up With Mulled Wine
Dinner at the Most Popular Polish Restaurant in Warsaw
Shots Bar!
Day 3:
Flying Back to Paris
Final Thoughts & My Full Circle Moment
Day 1 in Warsaw
Arriving in Warsaw
Once I arrived in the Warsaw Chopin Airport on Saturday, I took a quick 10 minute Uber to my friend’s apartment. Normally, I’d take whatever public transportation to my accommodations, but since it was around 1pm when I landed and the sun would set by 4pm, we didn’t have that much daylight ahead of us! Additionally, the currency in Poland makes everything so much cheaper for foreigners. My Uber ended up costing me only $10!
We first took some time for me to settle in at my friend’s apartment while she welcomed me with a comforting homemade lunch.
Before starting off on our first activity, the Warsaw Rising Museum, we heading into the city by bus to see the skyscrapers during the day light. I decided to buy a 48 hour metro pass since it was a convenient and affordable option as we’d be taking the bus to most places.
Cost: 23.75 zloty, or $6.00
First Impressions of Warsaw
I was really taking by away by the futuristic feel of the skyscrapers in the city. With Warsaw being such an old and historic time capsule, I wasn’t expecting the modernity yet whimsical feel with all of the curves and reflective glass. I could look at these buildings for hours!
When rebuilding the city after the war, Warsaw aimed to be the city with the most skyscrapers in all of Europe, showing their ambition to bounce back and become a booming economy, especially since they’ve joined the European Union in 2004. You can read more about the regrowth of the city in this article.
The Warsaw Rising Museum
We started off my tour of Warsaw at the top spot on my list of places to see, the Warsaw Rising Museum, or Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego in Polish. The Warsaw Rising Museum depicts important events of the uprising against Nazi Germany in 1944 and provides insights into daily life during the occupation.
The museum closed at 6pm, and since Sunday was supposed to be a sunny day we wanted to spend it outside, so we were able to squeeze the museum in before it closed. I would definitely recommend giving yourself at least 2 full hours in here because there is so much history to take in.
Cost: 30 zloty, or $7.61. Admission on Mondays is free!
Dinner at a Traditional Polish Milk Bar
After the museum, we were ready for dinner, so Kaya showed me one of her favorite spots for a traditional Polish family meal. This restaurant is called Polny Bar Mleczny, and is super unique because it has a cafeteria-like set up for ordering and picking up your food.
When you walk in, you order and pay at the counter to the left, then head to the back, grab a tray, and wait in line for your meal to come out. You can see them make every dish which is something I really enjoyed here!
I also loved how casual and family style this restaurant is. We saw big groups of friends who’d known each other for years all meeting up to enjoy a hot meal together, which was so wholesome and comforting.
Their menu here is completely in Polish, so I had Kaya help walk me through the the options. I’d been dying to have pierogis in Poland, so I naturally went with their traditional pierogis with grilled onions on top, with a side of chicken noodle soup, which is another classic Polish dish.
I was blown away by the comfort and flavors from this meal. From an unassuming restaurant, this spot really sticks to their roots with these classic Polish dishes.
Cost: 13.93 zloty, or $3.52
Exploring Warsaw at Night
After dinner, we spent time exploring the streets of Warsaw under the city lights at night. Even though it was late January when I visited, they still had many Christmas decorations up!
Warsaw at night during the winter has a very comforting vibe, as everyone is layered up in their winter coats, hats, and gloves. We walked passed a coffee shop with people warming up to a hot beverage which made me want to walk in and join!
For our sweet treat after dinner, we stopped at a chimney cake stand along the way. Chimney cakes are actually the oldest pastry recorded from Hungary! But you will find them throughout many Slavic countries. I had the chimney cake coated with cinnamon sugar, and it was so light and tasty!
Cost: 15.75 zloty, or $4.00 for the chimney cake
Day 2 in Warsaw
A Cozy Breakfast
We started off my second day in Poland with a delicious homemade breakfast by Kaya! She made us eggs and toast, and a comforting herbal tea to get us going. Then we took the bus into the city to start exploring!
Royal Łazienki Park (Royal Baths Park)
Our first stop of the day was at the Royal Baths Park, which is a large park where the famous pianist Frédéric Chopin used to hold concerts. This park is filled with locals going for runs, strolling, enjoying a coffee, or sitting and enjoying nature. I really loved seeing such a peaceful side of Warsaw!
Kaya says that this park is one of her favorite places to go during the summers here, as she will go on many picnics with friends or simply go for a walk to get some fresh air. Definitely add the Royal Baths Park to your itinerary!
Cost: cappuccino was 16 zloty, or $4.05
A Mid-Afternoon Polish Sweet Treat
On our way to see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (grob nieznanego zolnierza), we stopped at a bakery called Chaud Pain for a little sweet treat. I tried their drożdżówka, or “bun” in English, which is a classic Polish pastry with a cream cheese filling, topped with blueberries and powdered sugar. It was super tasty! This bakery was really cute and they seem to have a good variety of traditional Polish pastries.
Cost: roughly 14.80 zloty, or $3.74
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Chaud Pain was just a two minute walk from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Piłsudski Square, so it was super convenient to walk over right after and catch the Changing of the Guards for 3pm.
This historic site was created in 1925, and pays tribute to the history of Poland and the soldiers who have fought throughout the wars. It has even survived the destruction of the city during the Warsaw Uprising, and remains very monumental to the country.
Watching the changing of the guards is a great way to take in more of Poland’s culture and rich history. You can read more about the tomb and its’ significance here!
Cost: free!
Panoramic View of Old Town Warsaw
Just down the block from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we entered into Old Town Warsaw, which has been completely rebuilt since it was destroyed during World War II. The buildings were designed to reflect traditional Polish architecture, capturing the historical character of the city, even though they it was reconstructed in the years following the war.
To have a full 360 degree view of Warsaw, climb the Bell Tower at St. Anne’s Church, which is conveniently located right in Old Town. Even on the cloudy and wintery day that we had, we still were able to see all of Warsaw, including the river that runs through it!
Cost: 10 zloty, or $2.53
After taking in the views from the Bell Tower, we kept on and explored the smaller streets of Old Town Warsaw, and were able to still enjoy the Christmas decorations left up in the city. The city has such a warm and cozy feel, despite it being quite cold and windy. I really enjoyed the different style of architecture, compared to the skyscrapers we had seen the day before! For me, it felt like a completely different city.
They even still had the ice rink up and people were ice skating! On another day, this would have been the perfect activity, but we didn’t have the time as I was only there for a short period.
Warming Up With Mulled Wine at a Cozy Polish Restaurant
Since we were quite cold, we decided to stop at a small restaurant called Pod Jarzębiną for some mulled wine. I am a big lover of mulled wine, especially since France has their own version called vin chaud that I look forward to during the winters there!
The mulled wine came out piping hot, but was perfect to help warm up my frozen hands. I really enjoyed this restaurant because it felt very traditional, and slowly started to fill with locals. We didn’t try their food, but the dishes that other people ordered looked really good!
Cost: 20.75 zloty, or $5.25
Traditional Polish Dinner at Zapiecek
For dinner on my second night, Kaya really wanted me to try out Zapiecek because she says it’s the best spot for traditional Polish food in Warsaw, and it’s also the most popular!
She normally goes here for special occasions with friends, so I was super excited to be able to try it. We were prepared to wait in a long queue for a table, but we were lucky and got seated right as we walked in.
Everything on their menu looked amazing, so I was overwhelmed because I wanted to try it all. I was in between ordering pierogis and kielbasa because I absolutely love this Polish sausage, but ultimately I decided on something completely different.
I ordered their golasy (potato dumplings) with goulash, and it turned out to be heavenly! This meal was so comforting, and it really lived up to the high expectations Kaya gave it.
Kaya had ordered the potato pancakes with goulash, and that was also really good! Their portions here are incredible, so you definitely won’t be leaving hungry.
Cost: 40.50 zloty, or $10.23
Shots Bar!
After dinner, we strolled through the streets some more to enjoy how beautiful Warsaw is when lit up at night.
We made our last stop at Kaya’s favorite shots bar, glo, where you can get shots for 5 zloty each, or just $1.25! This is a great spot for drinks with friends or to pre-game before going dancing.
Day 3
Flying Back to Paris
The next morning, I flew out of the Warsaw Chopin Airport at 10am to make it back in time for working as an Au Pair at 4:30pm. This weekend completely flew by and I wish I had more time in Poland!
Final Thoughts & My Full Circle Moment
Warsaw completely took me by surprise with it’s futuristic feel given by the architecture, yet how you can still feel its’ rich history throughout. Kaya was an amazing tour guide, and it was so special to be able to reconnect four years after last seeing her in Arizona!
I would love to go back one day and see more of Warsaw, and also take the time to see other cities in Poland such as Kraków.
In the beginning of this blog, I mentioned how visiting my friend in Warsaw was a full circle moment in many ways. The first being the fact that Kaya and I had only hung out a few times during university my freshman year in 2020, because we got sent home early due to Covid. So that fact that we stayed connected and friends this whole time is amazing, and helps me believe I’m on the right path when sometimes I feel confused with my direction.
The second part of my full circle moment, was that this trip helped my mom reconnect with her Polish friend she visited here in Warsaw around 37 years ago. At the time, my mom had spent Christmas with her friend here in 1987 when Poland was still under communist control, and the city was still in a devastated state. I had FaceTimed my mom when I was on top of the Bell Tower at St. Anne’s Church and showed her what the city looks like today, rebuilt, and I could see the emotion filling up in her. It was a really special moment.
Additionally, we were able to reconnect with her friend’s daughter through WhatsApp, who put us in contact with her mother, my mom’s friend, and they were able to connect again after all of these years!
It was an amazing moment to experience for my mother, and really made me feel like I was in the right place. I never realized how special this trip would be for me.
Have you been to Warsaw or another part of Poland? What was your experience like? Leave a comment to share your thoughts!
Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss my next post!
Xx,
Carmela
