With kids · Warsaw · Poland
Warsaw with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
Quick answer
Warsaw is a good city for families, with one of Europe's best science centres, big parks full of squirrels and peacocks, a zoo, playgrounds along the river and summer fountain shows. Public transport is modern and pushchair-friendly, though the main museums on war history suit older children best. Top picks: Copernicus Science Centre, Łazienki Park and Warsaw Zoo. Families usually base themselves in Powiśle.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Powiśle
- Rainy-day options
- 1
Best things to do with kids
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Museum · Powiśle
1.Copernicus Science Centre
One of Europe's largest interactive science centres, on the bank of the Vistula, with hundreds of hands-on exhibits on physics, the human body and nature, a planetarium and a robot theatre. Adults enjoy it as much as children.
Plan a whole morning or afternoon, and add a planetarium show if you have time.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets sell out at weekends and during school holidays; book online in advance.
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Active
Park · Śródmieście
2.Łazienki Park
Warsaw's most beautiful park was the summer residence of the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, whose Palace on the Isle stands in a lake. Peacocks and red squirrels roam the paths, and on summer Sundays free piano recitals are given beside the Chopin Monument.
Bring a picnic on a summer Sunday and sit on the grass by the Chopin Monument for the free open-air recital.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Couples
Zoo · Praga
3.Warsaw Zoo
A large zoo on the Praga side of the river, home to elephants, hippos and big cats among many other species. In its grounds, the villa of zookeepers Jan and Antonina Żabiński, who hid Jews during the war, is open as a memorial museum.
Visit the Żabiński Villa during your visit; the story of the zookeepers was told in the book The Zookeeper's Wife.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
- History
Waterfront · Powiśle
4.Vistula boulevards
The riverside promenade below the Old Town and Powiśle has seasonal bars, deck chairs, playgrounds and cycle paths, while the wilder east bank has sandy beaches. Near the Old Town, the Multimedia Fountain Park stages water, light and music shows on summer weekend evenings.
On a summer weekend, catch the fountain show, then walk south along the boulevards to the bars near Powiśle.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- After dark
- Couples
- Kids
Landmark · Old Town and New Town
5.Old Town Market Square
Warsaw's central square was almost completely destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s using old photographs, drawings and Bernardo Bellotto's 18th-century paintings. Painted townhouses surround the statue of the Warsaw Mermaid, the city's symbol, and café terraces fill the square in summer.
Visit the Museum of Warsaw on the square first; its film and exhibits make the rebuilding much more meaningful.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- After dark
Viewpoint · Śródmieście
6.Palace of Culture and Science
A 1950s 'gift' from the Soviet Union, this 237-metre socialist-realist tower still dominates the skyline and houses theatres, cinemas and museums. A lift climbs to the 30th-floor viewing terrace, about 114 metres up, with views over the old and new city.
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.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Views
- Architecture
- After dark
Museum · Old Town and New Town
7.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.
Head up to the viewing terrace at the end for a view over the Market Square's rooftops.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Views
Rainy-day ideas
- Copernicus Science Centre — Plan a whole morning or afternoon, and add a planetarium show if you have time.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for food lovers, nightlife, families and couples
Powiśle
Between the Royal Route and the Vistula, Powiśle has the University Library roof garden, the Copernicus Science Centre, the Chopin Museum and the riverside boulevards, plus a busy café and bar scene around Warszawa Powiśle station and the Elektrownia Powiśle food hall in a former power plant.
- Good
- River and science centre on the doorstep; Good food and bars; Walk to the Royal Route
- Watch out
- Steep streets up to Nowy Świat; Fewer large hotels
- Nearby
- Copernicus Science Centre, University of Warsaw Library, Chopin Museum, Vistula boulevards
Family travel tips
- Book Copernicus Science Centre tickets in advance for weekends and holidays.
- Bring nuts or seeds for the red squirrels in Łazienki Park, where children can feed them by hand.
- Metro stations have lifts, and trams and buses are mostly low-floor, which makes pushchairs easy.
- The Warsaw Rising Museum and POLIN are better suited to older children and teenagers.
- On summer weekend evenings, the Multimedia Fountain Park show near the Old Town is a free family outing.
Day trips for families
- Kampinos National Park (About 45 minutes by car or bus) — A forest of pine woods, marshes and inland sand dunes on the city's north-western edge, with marked hiking and cycling trails and wartime memorial cemeteries.
- Toruń (About 2.5–3 hours by train) — Copernicus's birthplace is a UNESCO-listed Gothic brick town on the Vistula, famous for its gingerbread, which you can learn to bake at a gingerbread museum.
- Malbork Castle (About 2.5–3 hours by train) — The largest brick castle in the world, built by the Teutonic Knights from the 13th century, rises above the River Nogat.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–June and September. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Warsaw good for kids?
Warsaw is a good city for families, with one of Europe's best science centres, big parks full of squirrels and peacocks, a zoo, playgrounds along the river and summer fountain shows. Public transport is modern and pushchair-friendly, though the main museums on war history suit older children best.
+What can kids do in Warsaw?
Copernicus Science Centre, Łazienki Park, Warsaw Zoo, Vistula boulevards and Old Town Market Square.
+Where should families stay in Warsaw?
Powiśle: Riverside district of cafés, the Copernicus Science Centre and a converted power station.