Download pdf version of the Warsaw city info
Dear Guests,
Here are some basic information that may be useful during your stay in Warsaw. You will find more under the provided links. We especially recommend the official city’s tourist information site where everything is up to date:
https://warsawtour.pl/en/main-page/ (English)
https://warsawtour.pl/de/hauptseite/ (German)
You will find many inspirations there, both for the main and the less known attractions.
ARRIVAL
By plane
From the Chopin Airport (WAW), there is a direct bus, 175, to the city center. It has stops near several large hotels and also next to the Staszic Palace (stop “Uniwersytet”) where most of the conference will take place. Most of the day, the bus goes every 20 minutes. It is easy to find the stop – there are direction lines on the floor in the arrivals part of the airport. If you want to get an Uber, please note that the designated spots are on the level of departures.
From the Modlin Airport (WMI) which is outside of Warsaw, there is a combination of bus and shuttle train by the local railway company Koleje Mazowieckie – you will find details here: https://www.mazowieckie.com.pl/en/airport-ticket-special-offer
Go to the station Warszawa Centralna (see below).
By train
You will most likely arrive to the Central Station (Warszawa Centralna = Dworzec Centralny). There are two buses that go to the Staszic Palace directly, 128 and 175. Please go to the stop that is on the other side of the street Aleje Jerozolimskie (near Marriott Hotel) and take the bus direction “Plac Piłsudskiego” to the stop “Uniwersytet”. Getting out of the Central Station can be tricky, but there is a visual system directing to bus and tram stops.
The distance from the Central Station to the conference venue is walkable, but quite long and not convenient with luggage.
Taxi
The recommended taxi company for Chopin Airport is ELE taxi. Some other large companies are MPT, Sawa, Ekotaxi, iTaxi. Uber and Bolt also an option in Warsaw. Please take care, both at the airport and near the Central Station, to enter only vehicles that are correctly marked as Warsaw certified taxis (with TAXI, Uber or Bolt signs on the hood, licence number on door + city coat of arms), parked in designated taxi areas.
By car
It is best to use the GPS function on your phone + Google Maps or a similar map. Please note that the streets Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat are open only for public transport and taxis. The Old Town is fully a pedestrian area. The city centre had paid parking places. We cannot arrange a parking space.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Buses, trams and metro are relatively inexpensive in Warsaw. You will find all the details here: https://www.wtp.waw.pl/en/
A very good website to check how to move around with public transport is https://jakdojade.pl/warszawa/trasa/ (the language can be switched to English). It also exists as the useful app Jakdojade (Android and iOS). If you enable GPS on your phone, you will get suggestions about the nearest stops and connections for your route.
You will probably only need the following kinds of tickets out of the complicated tariff:
- 20-minute tickets for 3.40 zł (you can change the means of transport as needed within 20 minutes);
- 1-time tickets for 4.40 zł which are valid either 75 minutes (when changing means of transport) or to the last stop on the journey. This is the one you should buy when taking the bus from the airport.
Tickets can be purchased at newsagents and in special vending machines (with English instructions) that are on most of the stops, and in all buses and trams (with payments mostly by card). Tickets bought beforehand must be validated after you enter the vehicle. Tickets bought on board are pre-validated in most cases (so don’t buy extra tickets for later). In the metro, you need to have a ticket in advance to pass the tourniquet entrance (or to validate it after you use a lift to the platform). The tickets are the same for all transportation means.
There are also 24h tickets (15 zł) and 72h tickets (36 zł within city), but keep in mind that a lot of the attractions, including the Old Town, are a short walk from the conference venue, so you will need those longer-term tickets only if you plan to move a lot around Warsaw.
STASZIC PALACE (Pałac Staszica) – seat of IMOC PAS and main conference venue
The Staszic Palace is located on Nowy Świat street, its characteristic dome is easy to recognize, there is a statue of Copernicus just in front of it. The nearest bus stops are Uniwersytet and Nowy Świat. The nearby metro station is Nowy Świat – Uniwersytet.
The Staszic Palace is home to many institutions within the Polish Academy of Sciences. There will be markings leading to the conference rooms.
SIGHTSEEING
Nearby attractions
Nowy Świat street is part of the Royal Route, which starts at the Old Town and has many monumental buildings, attractions, restaurants and shops. Here is just a small selection:
Less than 500 m from the Staszic Palace:
- Warsaw University campus (nice and green, open to all);
- Saint Cross church (Kościół Świętego Krzyża, the urn with Chopin’s heart is there);
- Chopin Museum (interactive! regular concerts).
About 600 m:
- Ethnographic Museum (airy and colourful);
- Zachęta (one of the main contemporary art galleries in Warsaw, temporary exhibitions).
The Old Town is about 1 km from the Staszic Palace – it is a nice walk along the Krakowskie Przedmieście street, passing by the Presidential Palace, historical churches and the monument of the poet Adam Mickiewicz. Apart from the many monumental buildings to visit in the Old Town proper, such as the Royal Castle or the Arch-cathedral with its crypts, it is worthwhile to take a stroll on its small, cobbled streets. The Old Town Market Square is busy and colourful, with the copy of one of the most beautiful Sirens of Warsaw. The original is in the Warsaw Museum close by on the square, which we also recommend visiting.
Attractions further away:
- Polin Museum (Museum of the History of Polish Jews) – award-winning, extremely interactive, bear in mind that the permanent exhibition is very time-consuming to visit;
Just a walk outside?
- Łazienki Park with the Chopin’s monument, free entrance to the park, paid entrance to historical buildings; the Botanical Garden (small fee to enter) is close by;
- the boulevards on the Vistula – renovated, with various restaurants (including on boats), the most known of the Sirens (near Świętokrzyski Bridge), and a view on the natural right bank of the river; on your way there, you may pass the Library of the Warsaw University which has a pleasant garden on its roof;
- go further than the Old Town – pass the Barbican to the so-called New Town which is also an ancient part of the city, with one of the oldest churches;
- close to Old and New Town, in the direction of the river, is a small park with multimedia-display fountains (after dark);
- you can also take the Royal Route in the direction opposite to the Old Town, pass the Warsaw Palm and go as far as the mentioned Łazienki Park, seeing many historical buildings on your way.
Tourist information points are in the Palace of Culture and Sciences (Pl. Defilad 1, entrance from the side of E. Plater street) and in the agency WCIT on Royal Castle Place (no. 1/13).
There is a card for accessing many museums and other attractions – the Warsaw Pass. We recommend it only if you wish to visit Warsaw before or after the conference, or if you like intense visiting. The cost of entry to 1-2 museums is less than the 24h option of the card, sometimes considerably.
Feel free to ask us for directions if you have any questions or would like to see anything specific – Warsaw has a bit of everything. Dinosaurs? Contemporary art? Religious objects? Sport venues? Trains? Some specific type of architecture? Music? We will find it for you ?
* We will organise the visiting of Wilanów Palace, National Museum and the Royal Castle (optional) for you.
HOTELS
Warsaw has a rich hotel base and there is something for every budget. Booking.com is a good option to check the distances on the map, compare the prices and make secure reservations. There is also a large offer of apartments, including in the Old Town and the Royal Route, and some may be less expensive than hotel rooms, especially when travelling with friends. While they may be an attraction themselves, many of these are in historical buildings without lifts or facilities for persons with reduced mobility, so please make sure the rented space is in accordance with your needs. Note that the Royal Route is a touristic hub and the hotels there will be more expensive than elsewhere in Warsaw. It may be also a bit noisy because of the nightlife.
Here is just a small selection of hotels that are close to the Staszic Palace:
- Hotel Gromada (3 stars) is about 5 minutes’ walk from the Staszic Palace;
- the boutique Teatro Hotel (4 stars) is in a building opposite;
- the less expensive Hotel Mazowiecki (1 star) is less than 500 away (there are night clubs in the vicinity);
- Bonapartments offer +20 apartments, it is between the Staszic Palace and the Palace of Culture;
- Hotel Chmielna is a short walk away, in the direction of the National Museum. There are several hostels in the same area and some offer individual rooms;
- eMKa Hostel despite its name is a 2 stars hotel offering less expensive individual rooms.
There are many, many other options, including several large hotel chains near the Central Station. Booking in advance will assure you more choice.
RESTAURANTS & FOOD
There are many restaurants in the vicinity of the Staszic Palace, from milky bars and pizzerias to fine dining, with various types of cuisine. The nearest is the nice Kopernik café-bistro located in the building, just right of the entrance.
Here are just some tested suggestions among the possibilities. There is a cluster of restaurants very close on Oboźna street:
- Falla – Middle-Eastern, with particularly good falafels and hummus, vegetarian/vegan;
- Bottega Napoli – Italian;
- Hesu – Korean;
- Basil&Lime – Thai;
- Kafefajka – this one is specialized in sheesha, if you want to feel like in Egypt ?
Just next to these (Oboźna st. 11) there is the Pizzeria Nonna with one of the best Neapolitan pizzas in Warsaw. A decent chain of Polish cuisine restaurants is Zapiecek.
There are also close by places to accommodate special food requirements, such as vegan/vegetarian dishes (apart from Falla also Ambasada restaurant on Foksal street, Vege Kitchen on Chmielna); gluten-free (La Cantina, BEZ Bakery, Mommo Pizza).
For those with a sweet tooth, there are two righteously famous places that are conveniently near – the A. Blikle café specialized in pastries (Nowy Świat street) and the E. Wedel Chocolate-Drinking café, with impressive, elegant interiors (Szpitalna street).
Groceries
Practically all shops and museums accept payments by card.
Doing regular shopping may be less expensive and easier outside the very touristic Royal Route, but there are still some options. Across the street from the Staszic Palace, there is a small supermarket with inexpensive products “Biedronka” (next to the more visible Tchibo shop). The same building houses the drugstore Rossmann and one of the several Carrefour Express shops that are nearby.
There are several bakeries between the palace and the De Gaulle’s Rondo, for a normally-priced and typically Polish bread and baked goods you can go to Galeria Wypieków Lubaszka (they also serve coffee).
SAFETY
Warsaw is generally safe. The buses and trams you will be using are between tourist spots, so please use basic precautions against pick-pocketing, especially in the crowds.
The emergency number in Poland is 112 (redirecting to needed services).
The rules concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are changing, we will send you the current information closer to your arrival.