Warsaw/Śródmieście

Śródmieście is the central district of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It hosts the most tourist attractions, cultural institutions, and restaurants, and is the hub of the city's nightlife. Most visitors to Warsaw will visit the area, if not spend most of their time there, as it also offers extensive accommodation choice. Today's city centre is a mixture of brand-new, 21st-century development and remains and reconstructions of historic heritage. The oldest parts of Śródmieście, the Old and New Town of Warsaw have a separate guide on Wikivoyage.

By rail
Almost all long-distance trains to Warsaw arrive at, the central train station and the transportation hub for the city. Most local suburban trains mostly arrive at, linked via an underground passageway to Warszawa Centralna. Some trains, however, use the northern, somewhat remote station. Local trains travelling eastwards from Warszawa Śródmieście also stop at, which is also a good place to start exploring the district.

By subway
M1 – from Mokotów, the last subway before entering Śródmieście is Pole Mokotowskie. The first stop in Śródmieście from this direction is Politechnika. The last northern stop in Żoliborz before entering Śródmieście is Plac Wilsona. The first stop in Śródmieście from this direction is Dworzec Gdański.

M2 – Rondo ONZ station is located on Śródmieście's western border with Wola and Centrum Nauki Kopernik station is the last one before the metro crosses the Vistula river into Praga

Świętokrzyska is the interchange station between M1 and M2.

From the Warsaw Chopin Airport
To get to Śródmieście from Chopin Airport, you can take a local train, a bus or a taxi to get to Śródmieście.

The local trains depart from the terminus station right under the terminal – the S3 SKM and the green-yellow-white Koleje Mazowieckie (KML) trains stop at Warszawa Centralna, while the S2 SKM stops at Warszawa Śródmieście and Warszawa Powiśle. SKM trains depart every 15 minutes (S2 alternating with S3), and around 30 minutes to get to Warszawa Centralna or Warszawa Śródmieście.

The bus line linking the airport with Śródmieście is 175. It is very useful for tourists arriving in Warsaw, as it stops by many tourist attractions and hotels. The fare is no different from any other bus line in Warsaw. Bus 175 departs every 20-30 minutes, depending on time of day, between 04:00 and 23:00. The journey takes around 25 minutes to Warszawa Centralna and around 40 minutes from the airport to the other terminus at Plac Piłsudskiego.

The taxi to Śródmieście should set you back 30-50 zł, depending on your destination and time of day, which also affect travelling time. Despite Warsaw repeatedly topping traffic congestion rankings, the traffic jams rarely affect the route to the airport, but you can get stuck in one inside Śródmieście. Outside of rush hours, you should be able to get to Śródmieście within 15 minutes by taxi.

Get around
Śródmieście is a relatively small district. The entire width of Śródmieście could be walked in roughly 25-35 minutes. The length of the district, however, would take approximately an hour or so of non-stop and brisk walking. The district's geographical location and size makes it the easiest district to get around. Being home to many well-known businesses, governmental institutions, universities, and the center of a tourist's universe means that public transportation is well built up in the district.

By foot
Considering that the strict city center is a flat area whose sides measure only some 2 km, it is a good idea to take a stroll through it. There are two streets that serve the purpose of a promenade, ''ul. Chmielna, which is fully pedestrianized and ul. Nowy Świat'', which is closed to traffic on summer weekends.

If you start your walk from Metro Centrum (this is a popular place where people arrange to meet one another), you can get to the other side of ''ul. Marszałkowska'' through the underpass. The round building adjacent to the intersection is called the Rotunda. It is a bank branch and the pavement in front of it is another popular meeting place. Going along the ''ul. Marszałkowska you'll pass some department stores and after 500 m or so, turn right into ul. Chmielna''. At the end of it, turn left into ''ul. Nowy Świat'' and go straight ahead. This street, which then changes into Krakowskie Przedmieście, will lead you to Castle Square and the Old Town.

By car

 * Main streets parallel to Vistula: Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie and Wybrzeże Gdańskie – more often referred to as Wisłostrada, ul. Solec, ul. Marszałkowska, al. Niepodległości–ul. Chałubińskiego–al. Jana Pawła II, ul. Raszyńska
 * Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: al. Armii Ludowej – more often referred to as Trasa Łazienkowska, Aleje Jerozolimskie, ul. Tamka–ul. Świętokrzyska–ul. Prosta, al. Solidarności, ul. Słomińskiego

By bus
Dworzec Centralny is also a big bus terminus. The stops are named either ''Dw. Centralny or Emilii Plater'' (the street which runs in front of the train station), but they are next to each other.

By tram
There are main tram stretches

-north south direction:
 * 1) Aleja Jana Pawła II-ul. Chałubińskiego-Aleje Niepodległości
 * 2) ul. Marszałkowska

-east west direction:
 * 1) Aleja Solidarności
 * 2) Aleje Jerozolimskie

You can use as well smaller routes between main stretches. For more details use tram map on ZTM site
 * https://ztm.waw.pl

By metro
Within Śródmieście, there are eight subway stations that more-or-less cut through the midsection of the district from north to south and west to east. These are Dworzec Gdański (at the district's northern border with Żoliborz), Ratusz Arsenał (at Plac Bankowy, beside Warsaw City Hall), Świętokrzyska (at the intersection of ul. Marszałkowska and ul. Świętokrzyska, interchange station between M1 and M2 lines), Centrum (at Rondo Dmowskiego, the intersection of ul. Marszałkowska and Aleje Jerozolimskie), Politechnika (located near the Technical University, close to southern border with Mokotów), Rondo ONZ (intersection of ul. Świętokrzyska and Aleja Jana Pawła II, on western border with Wola), Nowy Świat - Uniwersytet (intersection of ul. Świętokrzyska and ul. Nowy Świat - historical Trakt Królewski - Royal Route) and Centrum Nauki Kopernik (close to amusement facility with the same name, close Wisła river shores and to eastern border with Praga Północ)

Main streets and squares

 * Krakowskie Przedmieście - extending southwards from the Old Town towards Kraków, it was along this street that Warsaw started expanding once it became the capital city. Reconstructed to retain a 19th-century charm, it has a collection of historic buildings along it.
 * Nowy Świat - a further southward extension of Krakowskie Przedmieście, this has been one of Warsaw's most important streets for the past few centuries. Reconstruction limited building height to three storys and kept them all in 18th-century style, providing for a cozy home for cafés, restaurants and shops.
 * Aleje Ujazdowskie - a classic tree-lined avenue, perhaps most reminiscent of how Warsaw was before World War II. A number of embassies, government institutions and parks are situated along it.
 * Marszałkowska - parallel to Krakowskie, Nowy Świat and Ujazdowskie is this modern wide thoroughfare, whose sides are lined with monumental buildings from the 1950s onwards, and a small selection of reconstructed historic monuments.
 * Plac Trzech Krzyży - named after the three crosses - one atop the church and two on pillars - it has a long history and an ever-changing identity. In the 21st century, it became known as an intersection of "the place they never close" and some of the most upscale retail and dining zones of the city.
 * Plac Konstytucji/MDM - a part of Warsaw created by 1950s Stalin-era socialist city planners, in a style echoing 1930s Moscow. Chandelier-shaped streetlamps and monuments to the working class now look on a busy meeting place in the southern end of Śródmieście.
 * Plac Zbawiciela - one of the few remainders of the Saxon city planning, the roundabout radiates streets in a star-like fashion and has become a focal point for nightlife and all things trendy.
 * Plac Bankowy - named after the building of Bank Polski, now used as an art gallery, the large open square is most known for hosting the city hall and being a major transportation interchange. Its disjointed appearance mixing reconstructed historic monuments and modern buildings is a testament to the changes in the Warsaw's structure after the Second World War.

Parks




Other




Off-the-beaten-path shops
Neat little shops can be found all over Warsaw, especially for those who are looking for a shopping extravaganza in Warsaw other than snobby upscale shopping malls, where the experience becomes lost.

In Śródmieście, and the Centrum area, in fact, there are several streets that see fewer tourists, but have interesting boutiques of all sorts. These same streets boast some of the best and most intimate restaurants and cafés. Plac Trzech Krzyży is an excellent starting point. The streets that branch out from the square are host to numerous of such shops and restaurants. Ul. Bracka, ul. Nowogrodzka, ul. Żurawia, ul. Krucza, ul. Mokotowska, and ul. Hoża would all be great streets to start wandering up and down. As you progress down ul. Hoża, drawing closer to ul. Marszałkowska, the shops will likely become of less interest, but the closer you remain to Pl. Trzech Krzyży the more boutique shops you'll find.

Around the metro station Centrum

 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King
 * And there are 3 stores of Kebab King

Mid-Range




Splurge