Warsaw
Poland
A capital rebuilt from paintings after being deliberately flattened, with a Christmas market in the reconstructed old town and a Stalinist tower you can see from everywhere
Photos by Iwona Castiello d'Antonio, Jacek Kadaj, Jacek Kadaj and Kamil Gliwiński on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Poland
Late November to late December for the markets, and May to September for everything else — the markets are busiest at weekends and in the last fortnight before the holiday
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Jul
Where it is
52.23°N, 21.01°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Eat in a milk bar at least once
- Give the Rising Museum a half-day
- Go up the Palace of Culture for the one view without it in
- See POLIN, which is a serious museum
- Walk the rebuilt old town and read how it was done
Warsaw travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Poland
Good valueZłoty, and cards are taken almost everywhere — Poland is close to cashless. The Christmas market stalls are the one place that still wants notes. Never use the Euronet machines or the “we accept euro” boards; they are the worst rate in the country.
ATMs & cards
Use PKO BP, Santander, mBank or ING machines. The Euronet machines, which are everywhere tourists are, charge a fee and offer a conversion that costs several per cent. Decline it, always.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- the machines beside the Christmas markets
Use these instead
- PKO BP
- Santander
- mBank
- ING
Decline the conversion. Draw before the market rather than at it: the independent machines cluster where the stalls are, and a good many stalls still want cash.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Poland
Very safeVery comfortable, and much safer than its reputation abroad suggests. The usual advice applies around the central station at night. Only use taxi apps; the taxis waiting outside the station and the old town have a long history of overcharging visitors.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the central station surroundings late at night — the one part of the centre that empties and feels it
- taxis hailed outside the station or the old town — a long history of fares several times the app price
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Poland visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Poland
Good and affordableRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for forest areas in the east and north-east
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment. Private clinics are inexpensive and much faster than the public queue for anything non-urgent.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodPierogi, żurek, pączki doughnuts on the Thursday before Lent; milk bars, which are subsidised canteens from the communist period and still the cheapest honest lunch in Europe; and at the market, grzaniec and oscypek.
Nightlife
Spread across quarters rather than one strip: Pawilony’s huts, the riverside in summer, and Praga across the water.
- Pawilony on Nowy Świat — a courtyard of small bars, and the easiest start
- Praga — across the river, where the city’s newer places are
Closing: Around 04:00.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- FREE NOWWorks here
- From the airport
- Kraków airport to the old town 50–70 zł; Warsaw Chopin to the centre 40–60 zł
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a street taxi, and far cheaper than one waiting outside a station.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Warsaw — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Getting online
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Poland, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Polish
- HelloDzień dobryjen DOH-bri
- PleaseProszęPRO-sheh
- Thank youDziękujęjen-KOO-yeh
- Yes / NoTak / Nietak / nyeh
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePrzepraszampsheh-PRA-sham
- How much is it?Ile to kosztuje?EE-leh to kosh-TOO-yeh
- The bill, pleaseRachunek, proszęra-HOO-nek
- Cheers!Na zdrowie!na ZDRO-vyeh
Religion
Catholic
One of the most observant countries in Europe, and it shows: churches are full, roadside shrines are everywhere, and religious holidays close everything. Dress modestly in churches.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Say dzień dobry on entering shops
- Accept hospitality — refusing food or vodka repeatedly can offend
- Give flowers in odd numbers, and never chrysanthemums, which are for graves
- Dress respectfully at churches and memorial sites
Don't
- Do not say "Polish concentration camps" — they were German camps in occupied Poland, and the phrasing causes real offence
- Do not treat Auschwitz-Birkenau as a sightseeing stop; dress and behave as at a cemetery
- Do not mix vodka or drink it slowly in company; it is taken neat and together
- Do not be loud in churches, which remain in active use
Where to stay in Warsaw
No Holistay rentals in Warsaw yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Warsaw on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Warsaw Chopin WAW
20 minfrom the airport· 10 km as the crow flies
20 min by train to Warszawa Śródmieście.
Also worth pricing: Warsaw Modlin WMI — an hour out, and where the budget airlines land.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
