FRIDAY
After landing, pick up a three-day Warsaw Card at the airport (£15 per person) for transport and entry to some museums, then hop on the 175 bus directly to the Old Town. Check in to the enchanting Castle Inn (ul Swietojanska 2, castleokidoki.pl, doubles from £56) located in one of the few historical buildings to survive the Second World War. Then head straight to the innovative exhibits at the Warsaw Rising Museum (ul Grzybowska 79). Viewing these will help you to understand Warsaw’s exterior brutality, with its charmingly chaotic mix of buildings and empty lots.
Enjoy a traditional dinner (£50 for two) at U Kucharzy on ul Ossolinskich, a restaurant hidden in the communist-era kitchen of a once-grand hotel. Stop off at 24-hour bistro Przekaski Zakaski (ul Krakowskie Przedmiescie 13), conveniently situated next door to U Kucharzy, for a warming vodka nightcap. Remember, the secret to keeping up with the Poles is to eat while you drink (two drinks £2, two plates £4) so order some traditional herring.
SATURDAY
For breakfast, stroll to stylish Cafe Kafka (ul Obozna 3, £7 for two) and watch dynamic Varsovians enjoying their disposable income. Then see Warsaw’s boomtown cityscape from the viewing platform at the Palace of Culture and Science (plac Defilad 1, pkin.pl). This skyscraper dominates the city and is a symbol of Stalinist oppression some Poles have grown to love – but others still loathe. Grab delicious nalesniki (crepes) for £1.25 each at Uniwersytecki (ul Krakowskie Przedmiescie 20/22), a milk bar on a postcard-perfect street, where a welder may offer to spike your tea with vodka. Continue people-watching along ul Nowy Swiat, then wander south of al Jerozolimskie until you reach grandiose pl Konstytucji, a model of socialist urban planning.
Time to give up the class struggle and have a late lunch at Restauracja Rózana (ul Chocimska 7, restauracjatradycja.pl) located in a villa formerly inhabited by the Greek Embassy. Your bourgeois meal for two will cost you around £44. Souvenir hunters can find hand-painted ceramics at the Boleslawiec store (ul Prosta 214). Teapots cost from £10.
Kick back at cool Cafe Kulturalna, on plac Defilad 1, with some raspberry syrup-flavoured beer or a few Szarlotka vodka and apple juice cocktails. This hipster outpost is perfect for observing Warsaw’s rising creative class. Two drinks cost £5.50.
SUNDAY
Your last chance to explore the narrow reconstructed streets in the Old and New Towns. Meander towards the river until you see the green copper façade of Warsaw University Library (buw.uw.edu.pl). Polish students come here to socialise on the lush rooftop garden. Stop for lunch at Antrakt (antraktcafe.waw.pl, £20 for two),
an antique-filled café next to Warsaw’s most elegant office building. Relax by the fountain inside the Sir Norman Forster-designed Metropolitan building opposite, before heading to the airport.
Total: £283
Cost does not include flights or shopping.
British Airways flies to Warsaw from London City Airport. Book a flight on ba.com now.
