Warsaw with friends

Every meet-up starts with one question: where? A good meeting point is one the whole group knows and can find easily. Below are eight of them in Warsaw, from the Old Town (Stare Miasto) to Praga and Wola. They’re places that last: squares, parks, market halls and old factories, not bars and cafés that might be gone in a year. Each one comes with its district, how to get there and a website with up-to-date information. You’ll find ideas for an evening, a weekend and a rainy day in the guides at the bottom of the page.

Where to meet

Pałac Kultury i Nauki

Śródmieście · getting there: metro Centrum · website

The Palace of Culture and Science can be seen from half the city, so “by the Palace” is an address your whole group will understand. It stands at plac Defilad 1, and Centrum metro station is on the same square. On the 30th floor, 114 metres up, there’s a viewing terrace, so meeting there can turn straight into part of the outing. Still, “by the Palace” covers a lot of ground. In the plan, put something specific, such as the main entrance on the Marszałkowska side.

Plac Zamkowy and Kolumna Zygmunta

Śródmieście · getting there: tram, stop Stare Miasto; bus, stop Plac Zamkowy · website

The city’s tourism portal, go2warsaw.pl, describes Kolumna Zygmunta (Sigismund’s Column) as a landmark where Warsaw locals often arrange to meet. The square, plac Zamkowy (Castle Square), is in the Old Town, in the Śródmieście district, so once you’ve met up you can set off on a walk straight away. If someone in the group is in Warsaw for the first time, this is the place to pick: they’ll find “the column” without directions, and the name of the square is all the travel advice they need.

Bulwary Wiślane

Śródmieście (some stretches in Żoliborz) · getting there: metro Centrum Nauki Kopernik · website

Bulwary Wiślane, the promenade along the left bank of the Vistula, is made up of several stretches with their own names, including Flotylli Wiślanej, Grzymały-Siedleckiego, Pattona and Karskiego. The pavilions have bars and cafés, with the most of them open in spring and summer. There are stone benches too, so you don’t have to pick a place straight away. It’s a long walkway: easy to find each other on, then you can stroll along the water and choose together where to sit. In the plan, give the name of the stretch or Centrum Nauki Kopernik metro station, which is right by the embankment.

Hala Koszyki

Śródmieście (Śródmieście Południowe) · getting there: metro Politechnika · website

This market and food hall at Koszykowa 63 has restaurants, shops and a supermarket under one roof. You can each eat something different and still sit together at one table. The weather doesn’t matter here, so it’s a safe choice when the plan comes together at a day’s notice. The hall’s website also lists upcoming events. Whoever gets there first grabs a table and lets the others know in the plan’s chat. It’s about an 8-minute walk from Politechnika metro station.

Fabryka Norblina

Wola (Mirów) · getting there: metro Rondo Daszyńskiego or Rondo ONZ; bus, stop Norblin · website

The old Norblin factory complex at Żelazna 51/53 has restaurants, cafés, Food Town, an organic bazaar, a boutique cinema and the factory museum. Its post-industrial courtyards give you somewhere to start the meet-up and somewhere to carry it on, without changing address. Some of the group can come for dinner and the rest join just for the film. In the plan, put a specific meeting point, such as Food Town. Save the cinema for the second half of the evening.

Centrum Praskie Koneser

Praga-Północ · getting there: metro Dworzec Wileński · website

The complex stands on the site of an old vodka distillery, between Ząbkowska, Nieporęcka, Białostocka and Markowska streets. Its brick courtyards hold restaurants, cafés and Muzeum Polskiej Wódki, the Polish Vodka Museum. With so many places in one spot, there’s no need to go anywhere else once you’ve met. Dworzec Wileński metro station runs under Targowa all the way to Białostocka, one of the streets the complex stands on. In the plan, put plac Konesera rather than just “Koneser”: it’s a clear meeting point.

Łazienki Królewskie

Śródmieście · getting there: bus, stop Łazienki Królewskie · website

Arrange to meet “by Chopin”, at the gate next to the Chopin Monument (Pomnik Chopina) on the Aleje Ujazdowskie side, and head off together for a walk round the royal park. There’s nothing to book and no need to plan the rest of the day. The museum in Łazienki also has exhibitions, so when the walk is over, the next part is ready and waiting. The Łazienki Królewskie bus stop is about 100 metres from that gate.

Pole Mokotowskie

Ochota / Śródmieście / Mokotów · getting there: metro Pole Mokotowskie · website

The park covers more than 74 hectares across three districts. It isn’t fenced, and aleja Niepodległości runs right through it. There’s plenty of grass and space, so it’s a good choice for a blanket, a picnic or a game when more people are coming. The park has rose beds too. Meet at Pole Mokotowskie metro station, where aleja Niepodległości meets Rakowiecka, and choose a spot for the blanket together.

How to get the group together

Post a plan in met and pin the place on the map, say plac Konesera or the Łazienki gate. Your friends see the plan, and whoever can make it is in. Every plan has its own chat, so you sort out the details right there, next to the plan.

Guides

• Warsaw in the eveningBy the Vistula, over food, with a view and on the move.
• Warsaw at the weekendParks, markets, museums and trips out of town.
• Warsaw when it rainsMuseums, food halls, cinemas, climbing walls and games.