~5h layover in WAW - time for an excursion?
 

I'm doing a mini-RTW on *A. One of my legs has us arriving in Warsaw at 10:40 AM, departing at 4:30 PM, both on LOT. Is it feasible to head into the city centre for lunch and a little browsing, or should we stick to the airport? My main concern is getting back through security in time! We're traveling in J if that makes a difference.

J makes zero difference - except for lounge access on departure - and its not a place to spend 6 hours in.

The train takes 20 minutes into Central station from the airport. You certainly have time for a wonder and food.

WAW is a small airport, it will take a couple minutes to get thru security.

Yes, it is. Take the train into Dworzec Centralny (Warszawa Centralna), then take the bus to the Stare Miasto (Old Town), which can be done in a couple of hours.

Not sure how long the lines are right now at WAW, but be aware that they can get quite long during certain times of the day. If you're rushing to catch your flight though, people will normally let you cut through if you ask. (This happened to me in July, and I was the last passenger to board my flight to AMS from WAW on KLM.)

I agree. Use your time in Warsaw. In addition to the train, I found the city bus 175 to the central station runs more often is is as fast as the train. It stops right outside the baggage claim.

Walking along the river is a lovely way to relax between flights and get a unique perspective on the city.

Same thing for me. About six hours. Let's say I take the bus, walk around a bit and have lunch. How many zlotys will I need, and how soon before my flight should I start back to WAW. LOT INTL in J already checked in and with BP. US passport.

You won't need a lot. Buy a one-day pass for 15 zł, which is good on all public transport, plus the airport trains (both the SKM [red] and KM [green] trains). Depending on where you go and what you eat, lunch will set you back about 20-40 zł. 50-70 zł should be fine.

To use the time in the best way:
- I'd suggest taking a cab to the city center (~50PLN/15USD) - ask the driver to drop you off at "Domy Centrum" (Shopping mall at the junction of Al. Jerozolimskie and Marszalkowska str)
- Walk along "Chmielna" and turn right into "Nowy Swiat", continue straight into "Krakowskie Przedmiescie" and enter Old Town
- as everywhere in the World city center is a trap for tourists when it comes to food. Safe choice (however not entirely Polish stuff) is "Cafe Bistro".
- take (licensed!!!) taxi back to the airport (30 mins max, ~50PLN/15USD)
- use "biz class" security line (to the very right when entering the terminal)

You need 100-150PLN for taxis, credit card for lunch and you will spend relaxing 4hs in town.

enjoy!
mfk

At the very least he should try Zapiecek. :D

Thanks, everyone, for the advise. I'm confused by the smiley after Zapiecek, is this some inside joke??

One more question about the bus situation. Looking at the ZTM page, it looks like for going to Stare Miasto the easiest thing is to just take the 175 and to stay on it until Uniwersytet. From there the route planner says to change to the 518 to Pl. Zamkowy, but since that trip scheduled to last 1 minute I think I could better just walk from Uniwersytet.

For the return trip it suggests getting the 175 at Pl. Zamowy - apparently the 175 stops there on the return to the airport but not on the inbound journey.

It also looks like there are automated ticket machines at the airport. All looks pretty easy to me.

hey,

Zapiecek is average (pretending to be) Polish food. Depending on location quality varies between average and OKish. I'd NOT recommend - much better options in town

as for public transport - riding a motorbike in WAW, so can't help here :)

mfk

Um, that would be turn left. :) I would also skip Chmielna and have the taxi drop you off at the corner of Nowy Swiat and Foksal. And then of course continue down Nowy Swiat and keep going straight once it transforms into Krakowskie Przedmiescie.

As Mike mentioned I would definitely NOT bother with trains and buses and just take a cab from the airport unless you are on a very tight budget. NEVER listen to any of the taxi touts though - just ignore them and go to the taxi stand outside the terminal. There are probably four taxi operators using the official stand but they all have the same prices.

The airport is located close to the centre so the prices mentioned by Mike will be accurate. On the way back also look for similar taxis, you might even find a cheaper one: all taxis must have the 'per km' charge shown on a sticker on the side window. If I recall prices should range from approx. 2-3 PLN per km depending on the company. Just stay away from any dodgy looking taxis and hotel ones - the latter will charge double as they count the trip including their solo return to the same hotel.

If you like beer then there will be plenty of places to pop in for one along the way, including some microbreweries. :)

Zapiecek is a chain restaurant that specializes in Polish food. You can get a variety of pierogis there. But some locations are better than the others. As for the #175 bus, because of the traffic patterns towards the end of the line, it diverts towards Plac Piłsudskiego just before the Bristol hotel. However, on the return it travels all the way down Krakówskie Przedmieście street.

What I would suggest is getting off maybe a couple of stops after the bus turns left off of Aleje Jerozolimskie onto Nowy Swiat (which is the same street as K.P.) and just walk down towards Old Town. It is actually a nice walk. Maybe a little more than a kilometer in length. On the way back, there is a bus stop for #175 diagonally across from Saint Anna's church on K.P. In fact, there is a great place right there that has a store front window selling waffles with whipped cream and cherries on top (there are other toppings as well) for only 6 or 7 PLN. It's one of my favorite "must do's" in Warsaw.

Thanks!

Do you actually need zlotys to get by for such a short stay? Or can you just use credit/debit cards for ZTM tickets/shopping/dining/etc.? Seems like it'd be a waste to exchange a small amount of money, especially if you have a fee free card (which I assume most FTers have anyway)...

Good question. Do the ZTM ticket machines accept US credit cards? If so - I'd be good to go with zero cash.