- Warsaw
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Poland
This great locally produced city guide has listings and independent reviews for hundreds of places to eat. You can get the guide locally in print, or for free in PDF at the inyourpocket.com website.
A great hostel in Warsaw - a truly unique place. It felt like being immersed in another century. The whole hostel welcomes you with an elegant atmosphere from the late 19th century. Imagine rooms with wooden beds, little lamps and photographs – everything is arranged and decorated with a lot of love. Enjoy discovering historical interior design. My personal favourites were the crochet tea-cloths!
On the other hand I didn’t miss any modern comforts - I had a modern bathroom and was checking my mail every night. Placed in the heart of the city, very near to the medieval Market square, it is also ideally located.
Wodkowica 5 street
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/poland/wroclaw/19817/
The Nozyk Synagogue is the only synagogue in Warsaw that survived the war. It is located in an area of Warsaw that was originally inside the Little Ghetto in 1940, but was later outside the Ghetto after it was made smaller, following deportations.
Out of thousands of synagogues in Poland, there are only about 245 remaining. All of the unique wooden synagogues were destroyed, although some 17th century wooden Catholic churches remain to this day. The Nozyk synagogue was named for the man who founded it in 1900, Zalman ben Menasze Nozyk, and his wife Rywka bat Mosze (some guidebooks say it was founded in 1902).
Today services are held here every Friday night and every Saturday. Inside, you will see the interior of a moderately wealthy synagogue from turn-of-the-century Warsaw, with the cabinet containing the Torah scrolls and the bema (or pulpit) in the nave. The upper galleries are set aside for women.
6 Twarda St, Warschau 00-104, Polen
Tel.: 48-22-620 3496
This is a really good place for a walk or a relaxing afternoon with a book. And it's not only because of its bookish atmosphere. It's so much more than a university library. The building has a garden on the roof with some exotic plants and a small waterfall as well as many benches where you can sit and read in the sun. From a small balcony in one of the garden's corners, there is a view on the Vistula River and some of its bridges. Since the building is partly made of glass, the roof is a perfect place to watch students as they rush up and down the stairs.
It's by the Vistula River within a walking distance from the Old Town in Warsaw. Dobra 68/70, 00-312 Warszawa
If you can be bothered hiking out of Warsaw, this huge botanical gardens is nothing as grand as Kew, but is beautiful all the same. Magnificent magnolia collection in early spring (March/April if I remember rightly), but is well worth the trek at any time between early spring to late autumn.
www.ogrod-powsin.pl/index_a.html
Apparently the 139 goes from the city centre (but annoyingly the website does not say from where exactly!).
If you have a full day free, you can take the southbound metro to Kabaty, get out at the last stop and enter Kabaty Forest (behind the ubiquitous Tesco!). Follow the signs in the forest to Powsin (it is about a 30-45 min walk through the forest), or ask the polite Varsovians if you get lost.
You can get the bus back into town if you are pooped.
This is more compact than the amazing main botanical garden in Powsin (just outside of Warsaw, and well worth a visit, too!). Located near the centre of town, it has lots of interesting nooks and crannies to investigate, and is beautifully laid out in most places. Great for an afternoon stroll away from the crowds in Lazienki Park next door. The greenhouses are open to the public in the summer, and are well worth visiting, too.
Al. Ujazdowski,
If you are walking south from the town along Al. Ujazdowski, it is on your left-hand side, just before the first entrance to Lazienki Park.
Meaning, 'Between Us' in English, this cafe bar is a hidden gem in the hustle and bustle of central Warsaw. Full of local arty types, this is a mixed bar (meaning gay and straight friendly - OK, just friendly!) that appeals to folk of all ages and nationalities. It really gives visitors an insight into the cool and prosperous side of Poland. Lush.
ul Bracka, Warsaw
(just behind the 'Smyk' toy store on Al. Jerozolimskie (on the left hand side if you are walking to the river from Central Station).
www.miedzynamicafe.com/
Much of the world is appalled by the British warm beer, but the Poles take it a step - or should that be a degree? - further. Served like a hot whiskey with added sugar, lemon and cloves, it sounds odd but is a great antidote to those soggy-shoed, chapped-lip, Polish winter days.
Location: All good pubs in winter, but Stacja Rynek Pub does a fine one.
Bizarre. As you stroll along the swanky Nowy Swiat toward trendy Foksal Street, look through an archway and you’ll spy an oversized garden shed. Located in a back alley right in the heart of Warsaw’s swishest nightlife district, serving strong Polish beer and a great atmosphere late into the night, this bar is delightfully out of step with its surroundings. For those who like their socialising on the downbeat side.
Location: Through an archway off Nowy Swiat, near the turn into Ulica Foksal.
Bunker chic, or a hipster’s fallout shelter perhaps, this underground pub on the Old Town Square tries hard but still manages to be very cool. The funky décor and beats, the lack of natural light, the strong alcohol, all combine to make you feel like you have entered another dimension.
Location: Old Town Square, at the south-west end, downstairs.
Fascinating place that feels like a throwback to the Iron Curtain days, with fur-coat wearing, sharp-eyed merchants selling everything from gas masks and old Soviet coins to bootlegged pornographic DVDs. There is also plenty of, ahem, knock-down vodka and cigarettes on offer, but not to the naked eye. And whatever you do, don’t try to take any photographs. Stalin may be long dead, but paranoia is still alive and well in certain parts of his old domain.
Location: Stadion Dziesięciolecia.
Getting there: Number 12 tram from Srodmiescie Station.
In a city where even the “Old Town” dates back only about 30 years, it’s no surprise that the fairly unremarkable house and grounds at Wilanow should be singled out by Warsaw tourism bods as for special praise. It is a pleasant area for a stroll, both inside and out, but take a bus to get there. It’s not really worth an overpriced taxi ride to see it.
Getting there: Lots of buses go from Nowy Swiat or the Central Station.
I took a short walk from the bustling Old Town down to Mariensztat Square and found the Barylka Pub, Warsaw's oldest I was told. A good selection of local beers and nice food served by friendly English speaking staff. Very popular with locals, it's a lovely place to sit outside in the square and relax. I came back a second time to enjoy a free concert on a Thursday evening and had a very enjoyable evening - inexpensive, friendly and recommended. Nice change from the modern over-hyped cafes that proliferate
It's a pub, you don't need a reservation - just go to 5-7 Garbarska St, Mariensztat, and look for 'Pub pod Barylka';
tel: (22) 826 62 39
Prohibicja is ideally placed on Podwale not far from the Royal Castle and Old Town.
In keeping with its name the restaurant has a mock up of a still above the bar downstairs and the white washed walls are pock marked with fake bullet holes. A suitably theatrical design for somewhere that is owned by four Polish actors.
The menu has both Polish and American influences - including dishes such as Spare Ribs with French Fries and Pike/Perch with Mashed Potatoes, Spinach and Caper Sauce - the food is simple but well cooked and tasty, the service excellent, friendly and efficient.
Podwale 1
www.prohibicja.com.pl
Cafe Blikle on Nowy Swiat is a wonderfully, traditional cafe. The interior is smart with wood panelling, green walls, a big copper coffee pot and interesting curved lights.
The atmosphere is a mixture of conversation and contemplation, a good place to catch up with friends, debate and discuss but also somewhere to catch up with oneself, sit idly and read or simply watch people come and go.
The fare on offer includes a selection of teas, coffees (including liqueur coffees such as Honey Coffee with Krupnik and Cream and Cafe Bourbon with rum and cream) and other drinks, hot meals, snacks and a delicious tempting array of pastries and cakes (Chocolate Torte, Sweet Custard Slice with Flaky Pastry) which will set your mouth watering.
Nowy Swiat 33
St. John’s Cathedral was originally built in the 14th Century and is Warsaw's oldest church.
The last King of Poland, Stanislaw August Poniatowski was both crowned and buried here and the crypt is also the resting place for a number of political and public figures.
The cathedral, like much of Warsaw's Old Town, was destroyed during the latter stages of the 2nd World War. It was rebuilt with a gothic facade and the interior contains some beautiful side chapels, memorials and intricately carved choir stalls, copies of the ones commisioned by Jan III Sobieski in the 17th Century.
On an outer wall is a track from the radio-contolled tank that took part in the destruction of the cathedral during the Warsaw uprising.
ul. Kanonia 2/Swietojanska 8
A towering glass structure in the Wola district of Warsaw. It is a beautiful symbol of how Warsaw is becoming a thriving, cosmopolitan capital city to rival Berlin or Moscow. A futuristic building for a new Poland.
Ul. Chlodna 51, Wola;
tel: 22 528 22 22;
www.wtt.pl
This is the tallest skyscraper in central Europe and is the symbol of Warsaw. It was built as a “proof of friendship” of Russia to the Polish people. It is one of Poland's most modern buildings. Inside are art galleries, theatres and shops.
Plac Defilad 1, in the very centre of Warsaw, next to Centrum metro station;
www.pkin.pl
The idea of Polish traditional food is not exactly enough to get the palate racing, but these dumplings are superbly tasty and come with a choice of sauces each as deliciously fattening as the last. A good place to try them is in a little Pierogeria just off the square in the Old Town. Windows steamed up from conversation and hot dumplings, hang up your coat on a hook and sit down for a treat.
Location: Half a block from the Old Town Square, heading north.
Address: 14 Oraz ul. Krzkywe Kolo 30.
Cheap and cheerful, if not exactly charming. Great location and nice rooms, this hostel stands out simply by being such in a city dominated by pricey hotels. The staff are friendly, but Oki-Doki perhaps takes its unique status for granted, often requiring guests to change rooms. But it really is just 10 minutes’ walk from the Old Town, less to the Palace of Culture and Science, and its in-house bar is good craic till the wee hours.
Plac Dabrowskiego 3, Corner of Marszalkowska and Swietokrzyska;
Getting there: Taxi from the airport costs about 30 Z/;
tel: 48 22 826 5112;
okidoki@okidoki.pl;
www.okidoki.pl
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