Warsaw is the capital city of Poland, rich with history and beautiful architecture. We got to explore the New Town, known for it’s modern, large skyscrapers. The Old Town, known for it’s colorful buildings, churches and cobblestone roads, though mostly rebuilt after WWII, takes you back many centuries. A popular attraction in Old Town is Market Square where you can spend hours going into the local shops and enjoy local cuisine.
Where We Stayed:
We had a 2 night stay at The Westin Warsaw, in a perfect location not too far from the main tourist attractions. Many people come to Warsaw to visit the Old Town, but staying in the Old Town itself can be expensive $$$. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the heart of the modern, New Town with a big city feel, yet still close to the historic Old Town. The hotel was beautiful and had a restaurant and bar for guests to dine at. Our room had a great view of the skyscrapers.
Adventure:
Old Town
While staying in the new part of Warsaw, it was hard to expect what the old part of town would look like. The Old Town was only about a 20 minute walk from our hotel, so we were able to experience both the old and new parts of Warsaw. We strolled through the city streets and took a shortcut through a park to get to Old Town. Lauren was blown away and quickly taking pictures of the cobblestone streets and beautiful colored buildings. Everywhere you walked was the perfect picture spot! Filled with restaurants, churches, shops and bars, we found ourselves spending much of the day in Old Town. Market Square was a beautiful place to take in all of the culture in Warsaw. Our favorite part was exploring the wall built to protect the old part of town. When walking along the wall, there were many great views of the city to see.
Lazienki Park
Poland is known for it’s beautiful gardens and many people in Poland keep a nice garden at their homes. After visiting Poland, Lauren finally understood why Miro is so proud of the garden he has grown at home in New Jersey! Knowing the importance of gardens in Poland, we wanted to check out a local park in Warsaw, Lazienki Park. The property was transformed by Poland’s King Stanisław August into palaces, parks and gardens. The park holds special events celebrating music, art and culture. We enjoyed walking around the beautiful gardens, observing the wildlife (lots of peacocks and squirrels) and taking in all of the architecture.
Culture & Food:
Old Town
Pierogi, pierogi, pierogi… every day! We have tried making traditional pierogi from scratch at home, and we both felt like they came out very good. But, nothing compares to having them in Poland! We had pierogi for lunch in Old Town at Zapiecek Polskie Pierogarnie. They were fantastic – light, but filling. We also enjoyed sipping on a common Polish beer, Tyskie which paired nicely with the pierogi. For excellent pierogi, check out this small, local spot in Old Town.
We also stumbled across a brewery while walking around the side streets in Warsaw. We were pleasantly surprised to see this. Since Miro hasn’t been to Poland in the past 5 years, he was not aware of how craft beer has taken off in Poland. We both were happy to hear that the craze of craft breweries exists in Poland too! We checked out Maryensztadt Craft Beer & Food with the main focus of tasting the beer, which was excellent. There was a wide variety of beer styles to choose from to appeal to many different palates.
New Town
There were several restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. Our favorite was Folk Gospoda (a 5 minute walk) which served traditional Polish cuisine. The ambiance of the restaurant felt European with the wait staff dressed up in traditional Polish Folk attire and rustic wooden decor. We had a stuffed potato pancake (new for both of us – absolutely delicious) and of course, pierogi. There were many locals here, so that means it is good, right? We would highly recommend this restaurant. It was a great way to end our time in Warsaw!
Find out about what we did in and around the next city we traveled to in Poland, Rzeszów.