we are going end of may and would like to know what its like also

Hi both of you, please see my review of the Polonia Palace hotel in the hotel report section of this site.....Warsaw is a lovely city, it doesn't quite have the charm of Krakow but is good for a city break. The Polonia Palace is opposite the Palace of Culture, Palac Kultury....it is worth going to the hotel to sample the food, esp the romantic candlelit dinner, you will not be disappointed! We also ate in the Old Market Sq and that area in general is well worth exploring. Another must is a walk through the Lazienki Park and also a visit to the small Palace there....the grounds are beautiful. A trip out of Warsaw ia Zelazowa Wola, where Chopin was born.....if you have a lool and the http://www.inyourpocket.com and http://www.warsawlife.com guides in the internet, you will come across loads of useful info. Transport is great, 24 hr transport tickets are available and you can use them on buses and trams, they are very cheap, 7zl for one ticket which is just over a £1.00!

just back from warsaw, had a lovely time, nice city, still prefer prague though, prices not as cheap as we expected, we stayed in the main areas and beer was about 1.80 a litre, steak meals around £10 in the old town, prices in most restaurants dont include vegetables or potatoes, so once you have added these onto to your meal the price increases a lot which we didnt expect.

the main problem was the airport its hell, the queue we waited in for nearly an hour to check in was for, rome, brussels ,paris and london so you can imagine the size of the queue absolute chaos, people trying to jump queues, then the paris flight was going first so the attendant was running around finding late travellers dragging them to front of queue so lots of pushing and shoving, then check in didnt take your luggage ,tickets on flights had no seats to everyone was running to get seats next to each other grr, we had to take our cases to a screening area to xray them,more queues, after all this chaos, most people got body searched then onto waiting area no seats or duty free shop, whole experience was horrendous and stressful, so be warned, no duty free on our flight either which was a pain as we wanted to buy some and didnt realise this was the case

Hi,thanks for your reviews.Ellie_meg was it the main airport you were flying from or the one Ryanair use? because from previous experiences Ryanair always use airports miles away to keep costs down but thankfully this time we are using BA so hopefully shouldn't be to bad,once again thank you,cheers Mark

Mark, Easyjet/BA fly into the only Warsaw airport there is....BA flights go to the Terminal 1 building which has better facilities and a duty free shop. The low cost airlines fly to the "Etuida" terminal which is a lot smaller with less facilities but we had no problem getting our luggage etc and it seemed pretty quiet, we flew in last July at the height of the season!
Apparently, Warsaw airport is expanding and they are building a second, proper terminal at the moment.

we flew with whizzair, taxi dropped us off at airport but when we got into airport we were told had to go to another terminal downstairs, we did this and then were told the terminal was about 5 mins walk away, it was horrendous and has put me off going back to poland, total unorganised chaos, then to have no seats for over an hour or duty free shops either was a reall downer. they need to get this sorted having to stand in a queue for 4 flights over an hour was total madness, all nationalities pushing and shoving and then to be given no seat numbers just sit where you like, we had a load of stag men on our flight drunk ,shouting, singing etc im amazed they were allowed on the flight, the whole experience of airport and flight was horrendous.

warsaw was lovely but sadly this put a dampner on the end of the holiday and i wouldnt go back unless i was guaranteed not to go through that hell again,

every evening there was entertainment in the old town centre, fire eaters, muscians etc which was lovely. we went in to palace there,lovely rooms, we visited the new war museum which was interesting but unfortunately we didnt have enough time to have a proper look,its free on sundays, there is a lovely park area that was fab with lots of things to see in this park, we had ride on a gondola that was nice. it was a lovely place shame airport spoilt it, im sure you will have a lovely holiday

Hi all ! We went to Warsaw last October for my husband's 50th and had a fantastic time. Yes the Etuda terminal is a bit chaotic and basic but Warsaw is only just becoming a popular tourist destination. It certainly wouldn't put me off going there again. I do agree Warsaw was more expensive than I was led to believe.

Hi.Me and the Mrs have booked to go to Warsaw
in September for a long weekend break.We were
just wondering if anyone else has been and could
give us any good tips?Any information would be
appreciated.Any thing we should see,price of things,
useful tips?We also haven't book a hotel as yet,any
ideas on a 4 star hotel?
Thanks for your time.

Merged with existing topic.

luci

Hi We stayed at the Raddisson and had an excellent deal through http://www.hotelspoland.com. It had swimming pool, sauna etc. It's central and does a great breakfast. Take comfy shoes as you'll do a lot of walking on cobbles. Things to see - Lazienski Park, Polish military museum,the Jewish cemetry,Willanow Park,a ride on the pleasure boat on the River Vistula, the Royal castle to name but a few. Take a good guide as the english is quite poor. We found the Eyewitness Travel Guide really good. One tip, when you go to the airport for the return journey, make sure that you have either eaten or take something to eat with you as the airport is pathetic. Nearly forgot - don't get a taxi from outside the terminal where you land, they are extortionate. Walk up directly in front of you to the main terminal and there are loads of registered taxis waiting there.

Hi have booked 4nights in Warsaw next week,staying at the Raddisson any tips on
transport from airport,also what kind of weather can we expect.
thanks ann

Hi I think a taxi cost us around a tenner. I don't know about public transport. I know there was a bus and tram stop just up the road from the hotel, but we couldn't work out the timetables. There are very few signs in English. Anything else I can help with pm me.

Just returned from our 4night break in Warsaw flew from Cardiff on BMI BABY good flight
both ways no delays!!!
Taxi around £10 into the city,stayed at the Raddisson SAS right in the centre excellent
hotel great rooms ,comfy beds and super breakfast so much to choose from,staff polite
and very helpful.
We were lucky with weather so able to do a lot of walking,walked through Lazienski Park
to the old town ,where we could sit out side in the sun for drinks with lovely music playing.
Day trip to AUSCHWITZ we did this on our own [tour very expensive] caught the 08:05
train to Kracow [3 hrs ]then booked afternoon tour to Auschwitz and Birkenhau Camps,saved
around £300 buy doing it on our own,train back to Warsaw at 20:05 arrived 23:20 a long day
but worth it.
Next morning walked to the Uprising Museum, around 15mins from our hotel,this a must see if in
Warsaw very interesting admission about £1
Had one shopping afternoon at the new Arkardia the largest mall in Europe ,lots of stores the same
as UK but also good quality Polish shops .
ann

Glad you had a nice time. Warsaw isn't everyone's cup of tea but we enjoyed it.

Thanks Helen,as you say not for everyone, but glad we did it, the 4 days were quite
enough,and the day out to Kracow[Auschwitz]was a bonus for us as did not think it
was so easy to do on our own,think we may try Gadansk next for a break,
ann

We stayed in Krakow for 4 days at the beginning of December, and thoroughly enjoyed. We did the concentration camp trips from there and we also went to the Salt mines - fantastic

Hi everyone,
I am from Warsaw and I'd like to recommend the best places to visit (of course it depends what You like)
But let me make a list (the order doesnt mean anything)
1. Old Town (actually not really old - 50 years old... You know the history..)
2. Palace of Culture (loved and hated. I think it's a symbol of warsaw, we want it or not - it is! Go to viewing terrace on top)
3. Łazienki Park (in my opinion one of the most beautiful parks in Europe)
4. Warsaw University Campus (it's worth to enter the gate when passing)
5. Praga district (cross the river from Old Town by tram and discover real old Warsaw)
6. Warsaw Uprising Muzeum (new, very intetresting museum - shows why the city looks like it looks)
7. Prozna Street (very little known Warsaw attraction - the only fully survived sreet of Jewish Ghetto - different world in a middle of the city - highly recommended - just near Swietokrzyska Metro station)
8. Wilanów Palace (great palace with beautiful gardens - just outside the city)
9. Saski Park and Tomb of Unknown Soldier (very nice, old park and the tomb with hourly guard change)
10. Mariensztat - small, very beautifull district just near the Old Town (go downstairs to the river near St. Anna Church)

Thats my top 10. Hope It will be helpful!

We have just returned from a marvellous 5 day trip to Warsaw. We stayed in an apartment located just of the old market place with a wonderful view of the river. This was rented from a company called Old-Town Apartments.

You can buy a one-day pass for 9Zl which will give you unlimited access to the buses, trams and the metro. You can use this to ride on the double-deck tourist bus (no. 100) which takes you all over town, with the full trip lasting 90 minutes.

We found a marvellous walking tour (for €10) which takes place at 6pm most evenings. Just present yourself outside the Bristol Hotel and contact the guide who you will standing next to a small banner. Our tour was supposed to last one-and-a-half hours but actually lasted an hour longer.The girl who conducted it was very knowledgeable. The theme of the walk was Frederic Chopin and she took us to all the places in the inner town associated with this great composer. In addition she showed us some hidden gems. This included former a Turkish bath which is now a shop and restaurant but which retains all the tiles and other features dating back nearly a hundred years. She also took us to the new university library which has a garden on its roof, complete with small stream. You walk up the side of the curved roof to reach it.

I was last in Warsaw in 1973. Then it was full of empty shops and Russian soldiers. Now the place is teeming with sushi bars and trendy boutiques. And the changes don't end there. Poland is co-host of Euro 2012 and a lot of development is planned. This includes a new stadium to replace the one which now hosts the "Russian"market, two new bridges across the river and a second metro line. Even tired old Praga will be getting a face-lift.

So, if you want to see Warsaw before it changes too much. Go in the next couple of years.