Visit Warsaw

Praga Poludnie

3 miles from downtown

What a difference a few years make. Perched across the river, the edgy Praga district has long been uncharted territory for many left-bank Varsovians. Not anymore. Creative hubs and outré bars around Mińska Street make it Warsaw’s hottest ticket. Head to the “beach” for beer and bonfires, then grind till sunrise at Temat Rzeka Nightclub.

Places to stay from $6 a night

Wola

1.3 miles from downtown

Wola has been through a lot. Dour apartment blocks and office buildings paper over the cracks. Yet beneath your feet, remnants of old ghetto walls hint at a traumatic past. Learn about Warsaw’s resurrection after WWII at the powerful Warsaw Uprising Museum, or taste history with a communist-themed lunch at Under the Red Hog restaurant.

Places to stay from $7 a night

Ursynow

5.7 miles from downtown

Oddly enough, Ursynów is known as ‘Warsaw’s bedroom’. This residential area par excellence is crammed with modern housing, where young professionals hit the hay after a day behind their desks. At weekends joggers and pram-pushers descend on Kabaty Forest, and chaps in flat caps bet on horses at the Służewiec Racetrack.

Places to stay from $25 a night

Bielany

4.4 miles from downtown

Bielany is one of Warsaw’s greenest districts. Most of the apartment blocks and pre-war semis are camouflaged behind foliage, and Las Bielański Park offers an escape from city clamour. Pack your picnic hamper and head to Las Młociński for an al fresco feast, or sample monastic life at the 17th-century hermitage hidden in the greenery.

Places to stay from $18 a night

Ochota

1.7 miles from downtown

Ochota’s residents are usually in a hurry. During the week, most scurry towards the city centre to work, which makes the weekend the best time to join Ochota’s perpetual motion. Zoom around the go-kart track in Blue City Mall, watch out for whizzing frisbees in Szczęśliwicki Park, or take to the luge and dry ski slope for some downhill fun.

Places to stay from $14 a night

Praga Pólnoc

2.2 miles from downtown

Is Warsaw the new Berlin? Creative types are breathing new life into Praga Północ, with vibrant art spaces sprouting up ten a penny in the factories and crumbling warehouses. See the industrial-inspired sculptures in the old Koneser vodka distillery, or wander down Ząbkowska Street – an area that teems with offbeat watering holes.

Places to stay from $7 a night