2 days in Warsaw

Day by day

1. Day 1: Old Town Market Square and Royal Castle

   Old Town Market Square, Royal Castle, Castle Square and Sigismund's Column and Museum of Warsaw, then Palace of Culture and Science in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Old Town Market Square

      Painted townhouses surround the statue of the Warsaw Mermaid, the city's symbol, and café terraces fill the square in summer.

   2. Late morning

      Royal Castle

      Highlights include the Great Assembly Hall, the Canaletto Room with Bellotto's views of Warsaw and two paintings by Rembrandt.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Pierogi

      Milk bars, pierogi restaurants around the Old Town and Nowy Świat, and food halls such as Hala Koszyki.

   4. Afternoon

      Castle Square and Sigismund's Column

      Steps on the eastern side look down towards the Vistula.

   5. Late afternoon

      Museum of Warsaw

      Spread across eleven townhouses on the Old Town Market Square, the museum tells the city's history through thousands of objects, from souvenirs to shop signs, and includes a short film on the rebuilding of the Old Town and a viewing terrace over the square.

   6. Evening

      Palace of Culture and Science

      Go up at dusk to see the city lights come on; there is a saying that it is the best view in Warsaw because you can't see the Palace.

2. Day 2: Royal Route: Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat and Łazienki Park

   Royal Route: Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat, Łazienki Park, National Museum in Warsaw and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then Praga and the Koneser Centre in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Royal Route: Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat

      It continues as Nowy Świat, lined with cafés, towards Łazienki Park and Wilanów.

   2. Late morning

      Łazienki Park

      Peacocks and red squirrels roam the paths, and on summer Sundays free piano recitals are given beside the Chopin Monument.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Pyzy

      Traditionally sold from jars at Bazar Różyckiego in Praga, and at Polish restaurants and milk bars.

   4. Afternoon

      National Museum in Warsaw

      Poland's main art museum displays Jan Matejko's enormous Battle of Grunwald, a strong collection of Polish painting and the Faras Gallery of early Christian wall paintings rescued from a Nubian cathedral in Sudan before the Aswan Dam flooded the site.

   5. Late afternoon

      Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

      Behind it, the Saxon Garden is Warsaw's oldest public park.

   6. Evening

      Praga and the Koneser Centre

      Book a Polish Vodka Museum tour for the late afternoon, then stay in Praga for dinner and drinks.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Muranów): Allow at least three hours for the core exhibition and take the audio guide; it is long and rewarding.
• Swap in Warsaw Rising Museum (Wola): Arrive early to avoid school groups, and climb the observation tower at the end for a view over Wola.
• Swap in Copernicus Science Centre (Powiśle): Plan a whole morning or afternoon, and add a planetarium show if you have time.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 14–19 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7.7 hours in December to 16.7 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Metro. Line M1 runs north–south through the centre and line M2 east–west across the river to Praga; they cross at Świętokrzyska.

More or fewer days

• One day in Warsaw
• 3 days in Warsaw

Questions travellers ask