Out of all my solo travels this year I wasn’t expecting Warsaw, Poland to be my favorite stop. My family is from Poland so I knew I’d feel a strong connection here, but I wasn’t prepared for my heart to feel outside of my body the entire time I was in this incredible city. The people, the history, the food, the museums, EVERYTHING here lit me up in a way that is hard to put into words. I will spend the rest of my life convincing people to visit Poland in hope that they have the same experience! The craziest part for me was seeing so many people that resembled my family members, especially my Grandparents, it was so wild. The majority of my time was spent in Old Town but I ventured out a couple of times. Here is my guide to 48 hours in Warsaw, Poland.
Where to Stay
I use Booking.com for most of my travels in Europe. I was excited to find Old Town Heart VII – The Barbican when I was searching for a great place to stay in Warsaw. Warsaw has grown so much in the last ten years that it was tough to decide what neighborhood to stay in. I ultimately landed on Old Town because I wanted everything to be in walking distance. Plus, I was staying by myself so I knew I wouldn’t be out at the jazz clubs late downtown (even though I desperately wanted to!) I decided I’d save downtown for when I go back with my husband someday. Old Town was the perfect neighborhood for me and this apartment was in such a great location.
This rental is the perfect size for two people and has a lot of amenities. I didn’t use the kitchen or washing machine but it’s there if you need it. The views from this rental were great and I stayed here for less than $75 a night. Here is a photo of the bedroom, the bed was really comfortable. I wore my Grandpa’s flannel the first day in Poland to pretend he was there with me.
This was the view out my bedroom window. This is a 16th century Barbican (the outer defense of a castle or walled city) that was almost completely destroyed during World War II. It’s a major tourist attraction so it was cool to see right outside my window!
The best part about the rental was the adorable neighborhood it was in. This was my view as I stepped out and I was surrounded by incredible restaurants, museums and landmarks.
Everything was so cute!
I truly can’t recommend this rental and location more. It was just steps from Old Town and everything I wanted to visit was under 30 minutes walking and most was less than 10! Here is the link again if you’re interested in booking it.
Polish Food Walking Tour with The Walking Parrot
My first adventure in Warsaw was collaborating with The Walking Parrot for their Polish Food Walking Tour. Depending on how you like to book your travel you can book through Airbnb Experiences or The Walking Parrot Website. I am going to give you a summary of the tour so you can learn a bit about it before you do it yourself without spoiling it. This 3.5 walking food tour is just $60 USD and so worth it! You stop at four local and authentic restaurants and get to try so many great Polish foods.
My favorites were the Zurek (a polish soup made with kielbasa sausages, bacon, potatoes, and boiled eggs served in a bread bowl), the pierogi (of course) and the golonka (ham hock or pork knuckle). We even tried some flavored vodka on our last stop. You also get to see some awesome views along the way.
Overall the food and tour were incredible, but the group on this tour is what made it! Everyone was so kind and fun!
We even decided to keep the party going and checked out a pub and then a few of us made our way to the Column Bar at the Bristol Hotel.
I am so glad I started my trip in Warsaw with this Polish Food Walking Tour. I got to meet some awesome people and it was the perfect introduction to seeing the city and learning more about the food and culture.
Brunch at Zapiecek
The next morning I took my time getting up as I knew I had a long day of exploring. I talked to the owners of my apartment (always a great idea to ask the locals) and found out there was great pierogi just steps from the apartment. I made my way to Zapiecek and tried their assortment of pierogi. You can either have them pan-fried or boiled and I loved that they had different varieties.
I tried their lentil and wild mushroom, potato and cheese, cabbage and wild mushroom, feta and spinach and ruthenian (cottage cheese and buckwheat.) I loved them all but my favorites were potato and cheese and cabbage and wild mushroom. There are a few scattered Zapiecek’s around Warsaw so if you have a chance I definitely recommend trying it out. Their menu is giant so you’ll have plenty of options.
Tour at Polish Vodka Museum
After brunch I made my way across the bridge for my next colloboration with The Polish Vodka Museum. It is located in the nineteenth-century building of the former Warszawska Wytwórnia Wódek Koneser vodka factory and it was the coolest museum I’ve ever been to. I recommend doing a tour here and there are many to choose from!
My tour guide, Marta, was incredible and taught me so much about the history of vodka and Poland. I loved how interactive this museum was and could have stayed here all day! At the end of the VIP tour I did, I had the chance to taste 4 Polish Vodkas and ask Marta any questions I had.
Marta had to run to another tour, but I had a chance to hang out at the bar in the museum and learn even more about the museum and Polish Vodka. The drinks here are delicious and the bartenders are awesome.
Dinner at Pasieka
After my experience at The Polish Vodka Museum I walked across the bridge and made my way back to my apartment. It was about a 40 minute walk, so on a nice day I recommend doing the walk, otherwise the Uber’s are extremely cheap and it’s just a 10 minute drive.
I wanted to try as many restaurants around my apartment as I could, so I decided to check out Pasieka for dinner. It’s an adorable restaurant with an awesome outdoor eating area.
My plan was to just eat Pierogi for 48 hours straight, but then I saw they had a potato pancake stuffed with goulash and
baked with cheese. You guys, this is one of my favorite meals I had on my trip to Europe. I need someone to start serving this in Michigan immediately. Soooooo good!
After dinner, I recommend checking out a jazz show. I didn’t feel safe going solo in a new city, but I heard they are incredible. I would check out Bardzo Bardzo as I heard great things about their shows.
Breakfast at 5 Ciastek
I keep thinking as I write this, “No, that was my favorite part of the trip!” and that’s when you know you had an awesome time. It was all so wonderful. But, I have to say, Cukiernia 5 Ciastek was a life changing visit for sure. I did so much research to find the best paczki (polish donut) and was thrilled to see some of the highest reviews were at a little bakery just a few minutes from my apartment. Make sure to get here early as they sell out fast and I am so glad I did because there was a long line all morning.
I have ate paczki’s my entire life and I have never tasted any this delicious. They had salty caramel, wild rose, black current and apricot and I almost ate all four they were so good! My favorites were wild rose and apricot. I ate them in the sunshine and smiled so big the entire time! This stop is an absolute must when you are in Warsaw.
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum
After I let my paczki’s digest a bit, I made my way to the The Fryderyk Chopin Museum. When I went to pay for my ticket, I learned that they have free admission on Wednesday’s so that was a great start. I had high expectations after The Polish Vodka Museum and was pleasantly surprised when this museum was awesome as well.
I spent about 2 hours here, but one could easily spend a half of a day here or even longer. It was interactive and it was so cool to listen to so many of his original pieces. They also have many of the piano’s he played on display.
I am a musician and my brother is a classically trained pianist so this museum really lit me up. With that being said, I don’t think you have to play music to find this museum awesome. The history alone is fun to learn about and the building and displays are absolutely beautiful.
Lunch at Barbakan Korkociag
Up until this point I had only tried the pan fried pierogi so I knew I had to try some boiled before I left. I made my way back to my sweet little neighborhood and tried another restaurant next to my apartment. Barbakan Korkociag was my least favorite out of the few I had in this neighborhood, but it was still tasty! They had some Polish wine that was nice to try and an extensive menu.
Although I learned I prefer my piergi pan-fried I’m really glad I tried them boiled as well. They were delicious here, I just felt the ones at Zapiecek were better quality.
Chopin Recital at Time For Chopin
This is an experience I almost skipped and am so glad I didn’t! Time for Chopin offers one hour piano recitals featuring outstanding polish pianists everyday at 6 pm. There is a short intermission where refreshments are included and the entire experience is a must when visiting Warsaw. I had the opportunity to see Katarzyna Husta and she blew me away.
The setting is really intimate (only about 20 seats) and it brought tears to my eyes.
I loved learning about Chopin all day at his museum and then hearing his music later that night. It was such a beautiful day filled with history and music.
Dinner at Podwale 25 Kompania Piwna
Everywhere I’ve mentioned is a must visit when you’re in Warsaw, but if I had to choose just one dinner spot it would be Podwale 25 Kompania Piwna. Another great perk of my apartment is that this awesome restaurant was right below it! Every night I stayed here, there was a line out the door and I learned it was for good reason. This restaurant has over 11,000 reviews on Google and has a 4.5 star rating. If you use Google often, you know how rare that really is!
The only Polish food I hadn’t had yet in Warsaw was golumpki and I was so excited to see they had it. This dish brought me right back to my Grandpa and Grandma’s kitchen and had me smiling the entire meal! It was the perfect way to end my time in Warsaw.
Ok, well there ya have it! Thanks so much for reading my guide to 48 hours in Warsaw, Poland. Have you ever been to Warsaw? What was your favorite stop? As you can imagine, I cried like a baby on my way to the airport. This city completely blew me away and I can’t wait to go back. Although I was sad to leave, I was excited to head to Vienna so keep an eye out for that guide coming soon. I will post it next week, and until then check out my other blog posts!
