I'm planning to visit Warsaw in the end of February
>What to visit?
>What should I expect?
>What about the people?
>What should I avoid?
General tips for a fellow /trv bro to Warsaw.
Warsawfag here
>What to visit?
You didn't state what you like (clubs, nature, museums, etc.)
>What should I expect?
I don't think there's anything really special about Warsaw. The only reason I would come here specifically is if you're interested in WW2 stuff. Old town isn't that great compared to Krakow, downtown Warsaw is depressing and gray in the Winter.
Some parts of Warsaw are nice and interesting to walk in and enjoy the architecture, albeit I wouldn't really choose February as a time to do that.
>What about the people?
Unfriendly people - You can be clearly holding a door for somebody and they will not even acknowledge you.
English is quite common and most people will be able to speak it.
>What should I avoid?
Groups of drunk football hooligans (pic related). They are anti-gay and anti-immigrants and can be aggressive if drunk. You probably won't have a problem with them, but it's worth keeping your eye out for big groups of them late at night.
I'm gonna second the vote for Krakow, the most underrated city in Europe in my opinion.
I lived in Warsaw for six months, though I am not Polish.
If you are coming to Poland for fun, I strongly recommend going to Wroclaw (my fave), Krakow or Gdansk instead of Warsaw.
During summer even Warsaw is okay, but winter is pretty brutal there or I guess everywhere in Poland. Weather changes can be insane when Spring rolls along.
To me Warsaw is just a big city. I didn't feel it has a soul and specific atmosphere like Krakow for instance. It's quite crowded, hecktic and folks are running around busy just like in other metropolises.
I found it suprisingly safe though. You might want to avoid the Praga area at night (the other side of the river), but there isn't much for tourists anyways.
>>1077237
>What to visit?
You are right. Mainly we would like to check out some museums and monuments. But 1 night we would like to have some beers.
>What should I expect?
Its not February. Its mainly in the start on March.
Thanks a lot, thou. Any other tip for my trip?
>>1077247
How close is Wroclaw, Krakow, Gdansk to Warsaw? Can we visit it like 1 day trip? Go in the morning and leave in the afternoon?
How difficult is the winter? Whats the average temperature in Celsius?
By the way, what about Praga? Am not planning to visit it, but whats wrong with it?
Thanks a lot.
>>1077290
Another Polandfag here
>Its not February. Its mainly in the start on March.
March is still ugly as shit and depressing. It only really starts to get nice in April.
>How close is Wroclaw, Krakow, Gdansk to Warsaw? Can we visit it like 1 day trip? Go in the morning and leave in the afternoon?
About 6 hours by bus. Not really viable to go back and forth in one day, or at least not very pleasant.
>How difficult is the winter? Whats the average temperature in Celsius?
The weather has been batshit crazy this year. In January we've had anything from -15 to +15. Early March you should probably expect temperatures in the single digits.
>By the way, what about Praga? Am not planning to visit it, but whats wrong with it?
It has a reputation for being a poor and dangerous place where it's easy to find trouble. I've heard stories that it's gotten a bit better recently though. But then again I'm not from Warsaw, so take it with a grain of salt.
>>1077338
We have bought the air tickets but we haven't arranged the room. Do you guys think we should go to krakow? We will stay with air bnb. Is the modlin airport that far from Krakow? Any train that goes direct there?
also should I take isothermal underwear clothes with me?
Thanks in advance
>>1077434
Well we have bough the tickets but we haven't arranged the room yet. Should we go to Kraków instead?
It's there any train that's goes direct from the modlin airport to Kraków?
Also does the people there speak English?
Should I bring with me my isothermal underwear (clothes).
>>1077434
>>1077436
Warsawfag here again. >>1077237
How much time and money do you have? It's really hard to advise anything with a limited set of information. There are express trains now called Pendolino in Poland that link Warsaw to the other large cities (Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław and some others I think) that will take you there in 3 hours. If you're a poorfag you'll have to take a 5-6 hour bus. I'd advise seeing Warsaw and Kraków - even if the latter is more touristy, it's still worth seeing Warsaw if you're in Poland.
>It's there any train that's goes direct from the modlin airport to Kraków?
I'm not sure (cba to check right now) but for sure there's a bus and train service to the center of Warsaw from where you can catch an express or normal train.
>Also does the people there speak English?
The old town in Kraków is a major tourist spot - it's going to be filled with young Poles going out with friends, tourists from abroad and people working there, all of which will speak English. You might have some trouble with old people, but you will be fine generally.
>Should I bring with me my isothermal underwear (clothes).
I don't really understand these questions - check the average weather for when you're deciding to come, check the temperatures for the last 3 years and decide if it's cold enough for you to pack them. I don't know if you're going to be walking around all day outside or whatever.
As for the museums in Warsaw, I'm not really that interested in history so it's hard for me to advise, check out TripAdvisor or something.
Praga has a bad rap for being unsafe, but this was pretty much 20 years ago. Besides, the only place worth seeing in Praga as a tourist is a safe area anyway. I forgot the name but there's a street that goes south from the National Stadium with a lot of cafes, restaurants and little shops.
This is what Warsaw looks like in the Winter
>>1077434
>>1077436
http://rozklad-pkp.pl/
Apparently, there's a train from Modlin to Kraków. I'm getting conflicted information though whether the train goes straight from the airport or you need to take a short shuttle to the town itself. You'll have to do some googling.
If you still haven't booked rooms, I'd say it's a good idea to make Kraków your main base since there's simply much more to do there. Don't skip Warsaw entirely though, especially since you're already there. It's still somewhat interesting historically and there's a sight or two. Łazienki and Wilanów palaces, "Old" Town, Palace of Culture and Science. Supposedly the new Uprising Museum is cool, though I haven't been there yet. Check out wikitravel for ideas.
>Also does the people there speak English?
The rule of thumb is to always ask the young. Old people weren't taught English in school, had limited contact with the anglophone world and usually can't speak it for shit. If you're having trouble communicating, just find someone in his 20s nearby to translate for you.
>Should I bring with me my isothermal underwear
Shit Anon, are you from the Middle East or what? Above zero temperatures aren't exactly harsh conditions.
As a tip, use jakdojade.pl to make using public transport easier.
Do people tip in Poland?
>>1077520
~10% of the bill is nice in a decent restaurant, but it's in no way a mandatory thing like in the states. Leaving no tip is fine if you're not particularly satisfied with the service. Also I've never heard of anyone tipping taxi drivers or any other professions, maybe with the exception of food deliverymen.
Avoid Klub Minus! It's a strip club, forget where it is at, but they will bring free rounds of vodka out and drug you and try to take all of your money. Next morning everyone in my group had our bank accounts locked after they attempted to take ridiculous charges on us.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g274856-d4374194-Reviews-Minus_Music_Club-Warsaw_Mazovia_Province_Central_Poland.html
>>1077540
A couple years ago we had a huge shitstorm when some guy ended up getting charged a fucking million by a Cocomo chain strip club and took it to court. The scam is still going strong since it's notoriously hard to prosecute - victims are usually too ashamed to report it and if they do they do it too late, club CCTV is pixelated to shit and placed in convenient locations and the drugs are stored elsewhere. All you can really do is get the fees waived through a civil law trial, but locking up the scammers is most of the time impossible since you can't prove who exactly is to blame.
Obviously foreigners are easy pickings since they're extremely unlikely to sue. Generally it's best to avoid strip clubs unless you're sure the place is legit and you have a non-drinker with you.
>>1077531
Thanks, mate
