Holy Cross Basilica
The Holy Cross Basilica is a Baroque church on Krakowskie Przedmiescie (the Royal Route) that holds the urn containing Chopin's heart, sealed into a pillar on the left side of the nave. Free to enter.
City in Poland
Warsaw
13 things to see
Warsaw is one of Europe’s most affordable capitals, and its biggest draw costs nothing: the UNESCO-listed Old Town, fully rebuilt after the war, is free to wander, including the Market Square with its Mermaid monument, the Barbican, and the Royal Castle’s exterior. Most major museums each have one free admission day a week, so a little planning lets you see the headliners without paying: the National Museum, the Royal Castle interiors, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and the Warsaw Uprising Museum all run weekly free days. The sprawling Royal Łazienki park is free to walk any day, and in summer the Vistula riverbank turns into free city beaches and a string of casual bars. Most memorial and WWII-history sites are free as well, though the weight of that history is real and worth taking slowly. Shoulder seasons in late spring and early autumn keep the weather mild and accommodation cheaper than the summer peak, and Warsaw pairs naturally with budget rail trips to Krakow and Gdansk.
What to see
Things to do in Warsaw
What each one costs, where the cost is known.
Lazienki Park
Lazienki Park is Warsaw's most beautiful green space, a formal garden with a palace on the water, peacocks on the lawns, and free Chopin concerts at the monument every Sunday in summer. Free.
Nowy Swiat Street
Nowy Swiat (New World Street) is Warsaw's most elegant boulevard, running from the Royal Route to the Constitution Square roundabout. Free to walk.
Palace of Culture and Science
The Palace of Culture and Science is Warsaw's tallest building, a Soviet-era skyscraper gifted by Stalin in the 1950s. Locals have a complicated relationship with it.
POLIN Museum
The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is housed in a striking modern building on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The permanent exhibition traces a thousand years of Jewish life in Poland.
Praga District
Praga is the district on the east bank of the Vistula, historically rougher than the center but now emerging as Warsaw's most interesting creative neighborhood. Free to walk.
Royal Castle Warsaw
The Royal Castle in Castle Square was the official residence of Polish monarchs, destroyed in World War II and rebuilt from photographs, paintings, and salvaged materials. Entry is paid (free on Wednesdays).
Saxon Garden
The Saxon Garden (Ogrod Saski) is Warsaw's oldest public park, a formal garden in the city center with a baroque fountain, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (with an eternal flame and a changing of the guard ceremony, free), and shaded paths. Free.
University Library Rooftop Garden
The University of Warsaw Library has one of the largest rooftop gardens in Europe, open to the public for free. The two-level garden sits on top of the modern library building near the Vistula, with streams, ponds, climbing plants, and views over the Old Town and the river.
Vistula Boulevards
The Vistula Boulevards are a renovated riverside promenade on the west bank of the Vistula, stretching from the Old Town south to the Copernicus Science Centre area. Free.
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw's Old Town was completely rebuilt after being levelled in the Second World War, a reconstruction so faithful that UNESCO granted it World Heritage status for the act of rebuilding itself. Free to walk.
Warsaw Rising Museum
The Warsaw Rising Museum documents the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation, the 63-day battle that resulted in the near-total destruction of the city. Entry is paid at a modest price (free on certain days).
Wilanow Palace Gardens
The gardens of Wilanow Palace are a baroque and English-style park south of the city center. The gardens are free to enter (the palace interior is paid).
On foot
Walks and free tours in Warsaw
Tip-based tours and self-guided routes, which is usually the cheapest orientation there is.
Warsaw Free Tour
The SANDEMANs Free Tour of Warsaw covers the rebuilt Old Town, the Royal Route, and the communist-era Palace of Culture. Budget travelers use it to understand a city whose history is written in its architecture.
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