Chopin Museum
Warsaw’s most lavish tribute to its favourite son is the achingly modern Chopin Museum, east of Krakowskie Przedmieście at ul. Okolnik 1 (w www.chopin.museum). With interactive handsets to guide visitors through exhibits on the musician’s life, it’s a must for Chopin enthusiasts, but only 100 people are allowed into the museum at a time so tickets must be reserved in advance.
Drinking and nightlife
The bar scene in Warsaw has really taken off over the last decade, and the city now genuinely provides a great night out that rivals Prague and needn’t blow your budget. Praga, across the river, is a formerly dangerous neighbourhood that now boasts a lively, bohemian bar scene – an interesting alternative to the more glitzy hangouts you’ll find downtown. Check out the English-language Warsaw Insider (available in most hotels; w www.warsawinsider.pl) for more information on nightlife and a monthly list of events.
The tipple most associated with Poland, vodka is actually in danger of being eclipsed in popularity by beer among young Poles, so it’s well worth seeking out the varieties you can’t find abroad before they disappear from Polish shops and bars completely. Traditionally served chilled and neat – although increasingly mixed with fruit juice –vodka can be clear or flavoured with anything from bison grass to mountain herbs to juniper berries or honey. There’s even been a revival of kosher vodkas, although whether their rabbinic stamps of approval are kosher themselves or just a marketing gimmick isn’t always obvious.
Entertainment
The city’s festivals enhance the celebratory vibe, especially the Warsaw “Summer Jazz Days” Festival, a series of outdoor concerts held throughout July and August.
Cinema Films are usually shown in their original language with Polish subtitles. Tickets 17–30zł.
Music Live bands are apt to appear in bars without any warning; W Oparach Absurdu and the Irish Pub are your best bets.
Jewish Ghetto and cemetery
West of the New and Old towns is the former ghetto area, in which an estimated 380,000 Jews – one-third of Warsaw’s total population – were crammed from 1939 onwards. By the war’s end, the ghetto had been razed to the ground, with only around three hundred Jews and just one synagogue, the Nożyk Synagogue at ul. Twarda 6, left. You can still get an idea of what Jewish Warsaw looked like on the miraculously untouched ul. Próźna.
Take tram #22 from Centralna Station to ul. Okopowa 49/51 to reach the vast, overgrown Jewish Cemetery (Cmentarz Zydowski; Mon–Thurs 10am–5pm, Fri 9am–1pm, Sun 11am–4pm, closed Sat; 8zł), one of the few still in use in Poland.