#2_Warsaw - Poland

103,35£ pp - 4 days 

Flights: 40.78£ pp
London STN 08:55 to Warsaw WMI 12.10
Warsaw WMI 18:00 to London STN 19:45

Accommodation: 62.57£ pp - 3 nights at Novotel Warszawa Centrum 4* hotel in Warsaw city centre 

Period: from 17/03/2016 to 20/03/2016

How we book it

The good thing of living in Europe is that different cultures and beauties are only a few hours away with a flight and to get there it could be really affordable as well.

After our first holiday together in Crete in summer 2015 and being back at our homes in Italy in February 2016, Chiara and I really wanted to have another trip together.

Once again, the budget for the holiday was not really high so we opted for a city-break.

We didn’t know exactly where to go and but we had an entire continent of options. 

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So we decided to use the function of Skyscanner “go everywhere” and see which destinations were the most convenient for the second week of March.

Our shortlist of the results comprehended Dublin Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Marseille.

The previous summer we were quite happy with our booking through Expedia and therefore we looked at the hotel+flight deals there to have an idea of the total prices for these destinations since the cost of the flight were similar.

The result was that either Amsterdam, Marseille and Copenhagen had a total cost of at least 180£pp. This one was only the starting price, therefore without selecting the hotel we wanted or convenient flight times. Dublin was more than 350€! 

Warsaw instead had deals for less than 100£pp with the flights at very convenient times for us.

We then looked for a nice hotel that was in a good position and with a good price where to spend three nights opting in the end for the Novotel Centrum.

The hotel is close to the airport bus station, close to the underground and, as per its name, in the city centre for a total price of just more than 100£pp including the flight...

Sold!

What we liked

Before we booked, we gathered information on what to see do. Being attracted especially by the old town we decided that Warsaw could worth a trip, especially at that price.

First impression: as soon as we arrived in the city, we were strike by Warsaw dynamic: from our hotel room we could see the Palace of Culture and Science and in the background the skyline of the modern skyscrapers; the brand new transportation going up and down in these typical communist style roads...

We looked forward to getting our backpacks and starting to explore the city.

The city and the sight-see: One of the things we liked in Warsaw was just wandering through the city streets admiring the old city part so well integrated with the modern one with lots of cafes and bars where to sip something warm in that cold weather.  

What you shouldn’t miss:

• Palac Kulturi i Nauki - Palace of Culture and Science: Massive building from the communist age with a really fascinating lighting during the night.

• Fotoplastikon Warszawski: art gallery

• The Economic Centre: it is the very modern part of the city but well integrated with the rest just nearby the central station.

• Swietokrzyska: one of the main street in the city centre with cafes and restaurants

• Nicolas Copernicus Monument

• Uniwersytet Warzawski – University of Warsaw

• Kosciol Swietego Krzyza- Holy Cross Church

• Palac Prezydencki – Presidential Palace

• The Old Town – UNESCO World Heritage and in particular:

• Zamek Krolewski w Warszawie – The Royal Castle in Warsaw

• Bazlika Archikatedrakna – Cathedral within the Old Town

• Barbakan Warszawski – the old town walls

• Nowy Swiat – one of the main roads of the city full of restaurants and cafes

• The Soho Factory – Very alternative area of the city a bit detached by the city centre with restaurants

• Lazienki Krolewskie – Lazienki Park: a very nice and well park a bit detached from the city centre with oriental features

• Palac na Wyspie – the Palace on the Isle within the Lazienki Park

• Centrum Nauki Kopernik – Copernicus Science Centre

• Biblioteka Uniwersytecka – Warsaw University Library

• Polin Muzeum Historii Zydow Polskich & Pomnik Bohaterow Getta – Museum of the History of Polish Jews & Ghetto Heroes Monument

Where to eat

Eating in Warsaw it’s generally cheap! You can eat in restaurants in the city centre for less than 20€ with drinks or have street food for much less. We definitely loved the puddings! Pierogi can’t be missed! And to drink…beer and vodka of course: a pint cost around 2€ and you can get 3 vodka shots for 1€!

Among the restaurants and cafes we tried we particular liked:

• Polka - Restaurant owned by Madga Gessler, Masterchef judge and an indiscussed authority for Polish cuisine : Lunch for less than 25€pp including drinks

• Podwale 25, Kompania Piwa - For meat eaters!: We had a meat platter of almost 2  Kg for around 20€pp including drinks

• Kawiarnia Kafka – Cool café for bookworms with a library

• Blikle patisserie - Traditional bakey - polish donuts with rose jam, absolutely to try!

Our tips

• Be flexible with your destination! Check through Sky Scanner where the cheapest flights go. Don’t rush with your booking and check also the price of the hotels for each of the cheap destinations.

• If you have one, book your trip with an American Express card since it has a complementary travel inconvenience insurance when you purchase a trip with it.

• Consider in your trip budget also how much would cost eating or drinking. Place like Warsaw could be really convenient for eating and drinking.

Additional costs

Airport connection from Modlin Airport to city centre via bus shuttle and from city centre to Modlin via train: under 7€

Transportation – we used busses trams and the underground all very cheap.

We hope that some of our experiences can be useful to someone and if you have other tips that you’d like to share please let us know leaving a comment!

Coming next: #3_Stonehenge & Salisbury

Ciao!

Chiara & Piero