Warsaw

Population: 1 700 000

Distance from Katowice: 274 km

• The best way from Katowice-Warsaw is by train/car. The fastest is by plane but you need to count 2 hours in the airport. Warsaw has 2 major airports If you chose the train, there is a direct train from Katowice train station to Warsaw (central station). However, if you chose the car, the road is simply – just straight, taking high-way A1 then express road S8.

How to get there: 

• By air: Warsaw has 2 airports with flights from major European cities. The biggest and the one in city center is Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). The second is Warsaw-Modlin, 35 km from Warsaw City center (WMI).
• By train: Big train station so trains from different locations including European cities (Berlin, Vienna, Praque)are also arriving.
• By car: Highways in Poland are good, so either driving or by bus there are fair lot of connections.

What’s so special about the city: Varsaw, one city, two faces. Although Warsaw is one of the most rapidly developing European cities, with great potential and extraordinary energy, its inhabitants often refer to its history and are very skilful in combining tradition with modernity. By exploring the city you will have the opportunity to get to know both faces of the city, interpenetrating almost at every step in a surprising and unique way.

When you tour a historic city center you’re normally out for genuine, untouched architecture and monuments.

But after Warsaw’s experiences in the 20th century, the magic of this quarter is in the detailed and faithful reconstruction carried out up to 1962. After almost nine-tenths of the city was wiped out, the Old Town’s rebirth was an incredible feat that has earned it Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Status.

When Poland’s capital moved from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596 the square beside the castle became the cornerstone of the largest Empire in Renaissance Europe.

The man who brought about this switch was Sigismund III Vasa, who is commemorated by a bronze statue atop an 8.5-metre column.

This was first raised in 1644, but was toppled by the Germans in 1944 and its original red marble was replaced with granite.

There are still fragments of the marble column by the castle walls.

Some events that shook Poland have taken place here, like a bloody riot during the period of Martial Law in 1982, a massacre by the Russians during an uprising in 1861 and a speech by Bill Clinton welcoming Poland into NATO in 1997. Whether it’s a rally or concert there’s often something going on at Castle Square in summer

The former Royal Route stretches from Zamkowy Square to Trzech Krzyży Square. Must-see sights on the Route include St. Anne’s Church (and the view from the church tower), the Polonia House (once the Museum of Industry and Trade, where Maria Skłodowska-Curie worked), the Radziwiłł Palace (the current residence of the President of Poland), the Warsaw University campus with Kazimierzowski Palace, Czapski Palace (Academy of Fine Arts) and elegant stores and restaurants on Nowy Świat Street — an extension of Krakowskie Przedmieście Street.

Whatever your opinion on this enormous building, it is practically ever-present in Warsaw.

At 237 metres the Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Poland, and on its 42 floors are four theatres, a multi-screen cinema, two museums, the 3,000-seater Congress Hall, government offices, academic institutions and private companies.

Taking cues from Art Deco skyscrapers and Polish Historicism, this immense Stalinist complex was a ‘gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland’ in 1955, and that’s just one of the reasons it evokes mixed feelings.

If an international event is taking place in Warsaw there’s a good chance it will go down at the Congress Hall, while there’s an observation terrace on the 30th floor open 10:00-20:00 for the ultimate panorama of the city.

One of the most beautiful palace and garden complexes in Europe. It includes numerous historical monuments and a park in a formerly wild forest.
Łazienki is a museum, a place for cultural, scientific and entertainment events and a great place for a walk. For 50 years, free piano concerts have been held here on summer weekends next to the famous monument of F. Chopin. Crowds of tourists and local classical music lovers gather here

The palace at the southern end of the Royal Route came through the Second World War without a scratch.

So Wilanów Palace is a rare glimpse of the majesty of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before Poland was annexed by Prussia and Russia in the late-18th century.

This palace was intended as a summer escape for King Jan III Sobieski towards the end of the 17th century, and has all the hallmarks of Baroque palace architecture, including a parterre with two terraces boasting topiaries, broderie and statues symbolising love.

The exterior is laden with medallions, busts, statues and other Baroque ornamentation, while interior decor abounds with stuccowork, striking trompe-l’œil frescoes and chinoiserie.

High points are the sumptuous White Hall, traced by mirrors, the King’s Library, the King’s Bedroom and the North Gallery, flanked by statues and with magnificent ceiling frescoes.

The Centre was opened in November 2010 and is one of the most modern attractions of its kind in Europe. It aims to arouse curiosity, assist in independent cognition of the world and inspire dialogue on scientific issues.
Visitors are enchanted by hundreds of attractions, which include an earthquake simulator and a magic carpet.
A garden on the Centre’s roof provides observation decks with beautiful panoramas. Next to the Centre there is also an art gallery, a climbing wall and a park with art exhibits.

Watch this movie before going (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3765326/ ) available in Netflix – would give you a very good context of the historical events.

This is one of the most visited places in Warsaw. It was opened on the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. A multimedia exhibition, packed with images and sounds, presents the everyday struggles of Warsaw’s citizens before and during the Uprising, the horror of occupation and the post-war Communist terror.

One of the museum’s main attractions is a replica of a B-24J Liberator bomber.

The museum cinema plays a 3D movie entitled “The City of Ruins” — a simulation of a Liberator flying over the ruins of Warsaw in 1945.
Near the museum is the Freedom Park and its Memorial Wall, which features the names of more than 10,000 insurgents who lost their lives in the battle.