Warsaw can surprise you - and not only with the scale of its attractions, but also with the number of places you can see completely free. Sightseeing in Warsaw does not have to be a drain on your wallet. What's more, you don't need to know the local shortcuts and secret passages at all to gain access to truly interesting destinations. All you need is some free time, comfortable shoes and a willingness to explore. We share with you an overview of ideas for having a good time in the city without having to spend money.

Royal walk in Lazienki Park

Royal Baths is a place that needs no introduction, but is worth remembering. A visit to the park always brings something new - peacocks flitting lazily between the alleys, concerts under the Chopin monument, rooks waiting to sprinkle grain at the Old Orangery.

Admission to the park is free, and in the summer season also selected interiors of the Palace on the Island and the Podchorążówka open to the public free of charge on certain days of the week. This is one of those places where history really is at your fingertips - and it doesn't cost a zloty.

Museums with free entry

Warsaw museums offer free entry on selected days of the weekand some entire permanent exhibitions are made available free of charge. Examples? Just visit the National Museum on a Tuesday to admire masterpieces of Polish painting. On Thursdays, the Warsaw Rising Museum, for many the most important point on the city map, is open free of charge.

It is also worth visiting Centre for Contemporary Art at the Ujazdowski Castle, a modern space where art often surprises and provokes thought. Here you can also enter for free on Thursday. Information about free days is best checked directly on the museums' websites, as the offer may change.

Sightseeing in Warsaw - a new perspective

You don't have to pay to see the city from a different perspective. Just go to the roof of the University of Warsaw Library (BUW). This is one of the most interesting and greenest places in the capital. The gardens, designed with flair, full of paths, pergolas and viewpoints, are open to everyone and entry is completely free.

There is also an interesting viewing point on Górka Szczęśliwicka - the highest hill in Warsaw, from which you can see panorama western districts. In Ursynów, it is worth taking a stroll near the Warsaw Uprising Mound, a place that is not obvious but full of symbolic power.

Street gallery and camera walk

Walking around the city you may come across a murals in Warsaw. In Praga Północ, in the area of Ząbkowska and 11 Listopada, you can find real works of art. street art. Huge portraits, urban symbols and abstract compositions. All this creates an informal gallery in the open air. Such a walk with a camera (or just a phone) can take up a whole afternoon.

Praga is also an interesting district to observe Warsaw life - bustling markets, old tenement houses and atmospheric courtyards. It is worth peeking into the side streets, as the most interesting nooks and crannies are hidden right there.

Outdoor culture: concerts, performances, festivals

In the summer, Warsaw turns into a big stage. Dozens of free events take place in parks, in the courtyards of cultural institutions and even on the Vistula boulevards: jazz concerts, open-air cinema, theatrical performances and art workshops.

Particularly worth following is the programme of events at the Parade Square, the Cultural Pavilion at the Landing Plate or the Summer Stage in Powsin. For those who appreciate live music, the summer Chopin concerts in Lazienki Park are a must for the season.

Walking the trail of modernism and pre-war Warsaw

For architecture lovers, Warsaw is a real paradise. All you have to do is step out onto the street and look carefully. Mokotów hides modernist villas with its distinctive ribbon windows and rounded balconies, while the South Downtown impresses with pre-war townhouses with details that can be admired for hours.

A walk down Koszykowa, Lwowska or Piękna Streets is a journey back in time - full of cornices, wrought-iron balustrades and original façade decorations. You don't have to be an architect to appreciate these delights. It is worth taking your camera and looking for the places yourself, thanks to which sightseeing in Warsaw will become a real adventure.

Libraries that make an impression

If anyone thinks that a library is just books and silence, they should visit the University of Warsaw Library or the Public Library on Koszykowa Street. The former impresses with the aforementioned gardens on the roof and a space full of light, the latter with interiors after extensive renovation and a contemporary art gallery on site.

Both are open to everyone, even without a student card. They are capital places to relax, look at an exhibition or simply settle down for a while with a good album in hand. Many of Warsaw's libraries also regularly host free cultural events, which are not widely advertised - it is worth keeping up to date.

Revitalised urban spaces

In recent years, Warsaw has gained quite a few new areas open to the public that are vibrant without the need to buy a ticket. Haller Squarethe area around Koneser Square, Tekla Bądarzewska square or the linear park in Ursynów These are examples of places that attract strollers, skaters, families with children and photographers after revitalisation. There you can relax on a bench, stroll among the greenery, and in the evening hit the local live concert or an open-air exhibition. Some of these spaces are sometimes undiscovered even by Varsovians themselves - which makes them even more interesting.

Sightseeing in Warsaw - what a city that costs nothing offers

Free sightseeing in Warsaw is more than just frugality. It's a way of exploring the city in a rhythm that stimulates curiosity and can stimulate the wanderer's spirit. The city offers so many possibilities that, even without a wallet in your pocket, you can feel like a real explorer - with a map in hand but without a guide. Sometimes it is these spontaneous moments and unknown paths that turn out to be the most valuable. And although the tickets are free, the impressions stay for a long time.