Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River
roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian
Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1,700,536, with a metropolitan
area of approximately 3,350,000. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi),
with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area — Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th largest city in the European Union.
Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and
the Warsaw Uprising.It is often said that Warsaw bears some resemblance to the mythical Phoenix. Having
been completely destroyed, the city somehow managed to lift itself from the ashes. In the
aftermath of the 1944 Uprising against the Nazis , Warsaw was obliterated with 9 out of
every 10 buildings crumbled in ruins. At the end of World War II (1939-45) it was virtually
uninhabited, yet with a tremendous reconstruction effort, most of the city was rebuilt as
early as the 1950s.
Warsaw's all about change now. You wouldn't recognize the city if you last saw it ten years ago or so. In the next ten years, it'll be a completely different place again. Off the beaten path, now is the time to see some of the Warsaw's peculiarities before they disappear forever.
Warsaw has four seasons, although, it may, at times, seem like it has two seasons –
winter and summer. The summers are cool to warm with temperatures varying from the
low-50's (Fahrenheit) to mid-70's (Fahrenheit). Temperatures in the fall can vary wildly.
One day, you may experience sub-freezing temperatures and the next day you could
experience temperatures in the 60's (Fahrenheit).
Winter in Warsaw can be incredibly cold. Be sure to bring warm clothing, coats, scarves,
and gloves. The average high in January is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
PLACE TO VISIT
Warsaw's Old Town - is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeze Gdanskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions. The heart of the area is the Old Town Market Place, with its restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding streets feature medieval architecture such as the city walls, barbican and St. John's Cathedral.
St. John's Cathedral - located in Warsaw's Old Town, is one of two cathedrals in the Polish capital. St. John's stands immediately adjacent to Warsaw's Jesuit Church, and is one of the oldest churches in the city and the main church of the Warsaw arch- diocese. St. John's Cathedral is one of Poland's national pantheons.
The Royal Castle - in Warsaw is the royal palace and official residence of the Polish monarchs , located at the Plac Zamkowy, at the entrance to the Old Town.
The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland
were located there from the 16th century until the Partitions of Poland. In the 19th century,
after the collapse of the November Uprising, it was used as an administrative center by
the czar. During the First World War it was the residence of the German military governor,
and from 1920 to 1922, the residence of head of state.
Zygmunt's Column or Sigismund's Column - erected in 1644, is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks and one of the oldest secular monuments in northern Europe. The column and statue commemorate King Zygmunt III Waza, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital from Kraków to Warsaw.
Erected between 1643 and 1644, the column was constructed on the orders of Zygmunt's
son and successor, King Wladyslaw IV. It was designed by the Italian-born architect
Constantino Tencalla and the sculptor Clemente Molli, and cast by Daniel Tym.
Presidential Palace - in Warsaw, Poland, is the elegant classicist latest version of
a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmiescie site since 1643. Over the
years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace
was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and
advocates of Poland's May 3rd Constitution, Europe's first modern codified national
constitution, and the world's second after the U.S. Constitution.
University of Warsaw - is the largest university in Poland, ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement as the second best Polish university among the world top 500 in 2006.
Ulica Nowy Swiat - is one of the main historic thoroughfares of Warsaw. It comprises part of the Royal Route (Trakt królewski) that runs from Warsaw's Royal Castle and Old Town south to King Jan III Sobieski's 17th-century royal residence at Wilanów.
The Saxon Garden - is a 15.5 hectare public garden in Warsaw's Downtown
(Sródmiescie), facing the Pilsudski Square and also the oldest public park in Warsaw.
Founded in the late 17th century, it was opened to the public in 1727 as one of the first
publicly accessible parks in the world.
Lazienki Park - is the largest park in Warsaw, occupying 76 hectares of the city
center. The park lies in Warsaw's Downtown (Sródmiescie), on Ujazdów Avenue (Aleje
Ujazdowskie), on the "Royal Route" linking the Royal Castle with Wilanów to the south.
Just to its north, on the other side of Agrykola Street, Lazienki Park borders on Ujazdów
Castle.
Powazki Cemetery - is the oldest and most famous cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, and is situated in the western part of the city. It contains a mausoleum with memorials to many of the greats in Polish history, including many interred since 1925 along the "Avenue of the Meritorious" (Aleja Zasluzonych, est. 1925). It has also a very large military section for the graves of those who fought and died for their country since the early 19th century, including the large number of those involved in the ill-fated Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis during World War II, the Battle of Warsaw, and the September Campaign.
Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery - is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries
in Europe. Located on Warsaw's Okopowa street and abutting the Powazki Cemetery at
52°14'51?N, 20°58'29?E, the Jewish Cemetery was established in 1806 and occupies 33
hectares (83 acres) of land. The cemetery contains over 200,000 marked graves, as well
as mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto. Many of these graves and crypts are
overgrown, having been abandoned after the Nazi invasion of Poland and subsequent
Holocaust. Although the cemetery was closed down during World War II, after the war it
was reopened and a small portion of it remains active, serving Warsaw's small remaining
Jewish population.
Warsaw Ghetto - was the largest of the Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany in Warsaw, capital of Poland in the General Government during the German Occupation in World War II. Between 1941 and 1943, starvation, disease and deportations to concentration camps and extermination camps dropped the population of the ghetto from an estimated 450,000 to approximately 71,000. In 1943 the Warsaw Ghetto was the scene of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the first urban mass rebellion against the Nazi occupation of Europe.
Zoliborz - is one of the northern boroughs of the city of Warsaw. It is located directly to
the north of the City Centre, on the left bank of the Vistula river. It has approximately 50,000
inhabitants and is one of the smallest boroughs of Warsaw. It is also considered one of
the most prestigious of Warsaw's neighborhoods.
Cytadela - is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar
Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster
imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.
Wilanów Palace - Wilanów in Warsaw is, together with its park and other buildings,
one of the most precious monuments of Polish national culture.
Palace of Culture and Science - in Warsaw is the tallest building in Poland, the seventh tallest building in the European Union, and the world's 187th tallest building at 237 metres (778 ft). The building was originally known as the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury i Nauki imienia Józefa Stalina), but in the wake of destalinization the dedication was revoked; Stalin's name was removed from the interior lobby and one of the building's sculptures.
Stadion Dziesieciolecia - which used to be the biggest open-air market in Europe and the Plac Konstytucji with its monumental Social realism architecture.
Saxon Palace - had originally been a private palace of the Morsztyn family (Palac
Morsztynów), then had been purchased and enlarged by the first of Poland's two Saxon
kings, August II (reigned in Poland 1697-1706 and 1709-1733).
In the early 19th century, the Saxon Palace housed a school in which Frederick Chopin's
father taught French, living with his family on the palace grounds. The Palace was
remodeled in 1842.
Brühl Palace - otherwise known as Sandomierski Palace standing at Pilsudski Square. It was a large palace and one of the most beautiful rococo buildings in pre-World War II Warsaw.
Ulica Kubusia Puchatka - probably the only street in the world named after
Winnie-the-Pooh and located in the very centre of a metropolis.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport is located in the area of Okecie in Wlochy,
some 10 km south of the center point of the city. For many years the airport used to be
called just Okecie, but this reportedly caused confusion and it was renamed.
There are three terminals: Terminal 1 is the "default" terminal; Terminal 2 is the newly-
built terminal which handles all arrivals and some departures jointly with Terminal 1; the
Etiuda Terminal (check-in counters E1-E8) is used by budget airlines and for charters.
Although they are only some 500m apart, it's best to know from which terminal you will be
departing. As all arrivals are handled in Terminal 2, Etiuda Terminal only deals with
departing passengers and has a few basic facilities.
For those traveling on international flights, you’ll need to pass through a passport control
station before going through security. As of the end of March 2008, you do not need a
passport for countries that are part of the Schengen Agreement, though you do need
some proof of ID. Getting through security isn’t much of hassle, but the queues, while they
may be small, will likely take a fair amount of time, because there are only a few
screening points.
Before passing through security in Terminal 1, buy your duty free items, newspapers, and
food/drinks because there are no shops or restaurants in the boarding area. The Etiuda
Terminal has two shops and a small snack stand for those waiting on their flights.
By train - Warsaw has three stations for long-distance trains:
Dworzec Centralny or Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central) ul. Emilii Plater
Dworzec Wschodni or Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East) between ul. Kijowska and ul.
Lubelska (on the right bank)
Dworzec Zachodni or Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) Al. Jerozolimskie near Rondo
Zeslanców Syberyjskich
Unless you really know what you're doing, the best option is Dworzec Centralny
(Warszawa Centralna) station, as it has best connections with all the places in the city. All
long-distance trains pass through this station and all stop there. It is the only long-
distance station underground, so you will know when to get out. It isn't the last station on
the route!
Trains running eastwards start at Warszawa Zachodnia, stop at Warszawa Centralna and
then at Warszawa Wschodnia, while trains heading westwards make the same trip in the
opposite direction (except that they not always stop at Warszawa Zachodnia). The same is
true for arriving trains and tourists often find it confusing that the main train station
(Warszawa Centralna) is not the last station on the route.
The Berlin-Warszawa Express runs from Berlin to Warsaw most days quite cheaply, and
students get discounts as well. It's a 6 hour trip but fairly comfortable if you can avoid the
bathrooms. Schedules and tickets are available on Intercity's website .
If your train is without reservation, you may get a better seat (or any seat at all in certain
trains during peak season only) if you enter the train on its initial station.
By car - Unlike most European capitals, Warsaw has no real bypass, so all transit
traffic is routed through the city streets. The following streets, which constitute a circle with
the radius of some 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre, can be considered an ersatz
ringroad: Trasa Torunska-Trasa Armii Krajowej-al. Prymasa Tysiaclecia-Al. Jerozolimskie-
ul. Lopuszanska-ul. Hynka-ul. Sasanki-ul. Marynarska-ul. Rzymowskiego-ul. Dolinka
Sluzewiecka-ul. Sikorskiego-al. Witosa-Trasa Siekierkowska-ul. Marsa-ul. Zolnierska.
Four European "E-roads" lead to Warsaw: E30 (A2), E77 (7),??E67 (A8), and E372 (17).
The E-numbers are usually displayed on signs but it is best to know the national road
numbers too, which are the numbers in parentheses.
By bus - Regional and long-distance bus connections in Poland are traditionally
called PKS. Once it was a legitimate abbreviation for the state-owned monopoly. Now,
however, bus routes are operated by a bunch of completely independent companies,
some of which had simply chosen to retain the old PKS as a part of their name. In
Warsaw, there's PKS Warszawa but PKSes from various other cities also operate.
