Warsaw tours: sightseeing, culture and history

What are the best tours to take in Warsaw, Poland?

I spent about a month and a half in Warsaw on two different visits in the past few years and took all sorts of local tours around the city.

Warsaw is big. I’ve heard others say they didn’t find it very impressive when they first got there, and that doesn’t surprise me. Warsaw is multifaceted and can be a bit overwhelming at first.

However, there are a lot of interesting things to see, discover and learn in Warsaw.

As with many other big cities, the secret to making the most of Warsaw is planning your visit well and using local guides to show you the best things their city has to offer.

In this guide I picked the best Warsaw tours that cater for different interests and travel styles.

Warsaw free walking tour

Warsaw free tours
Take a free walking tour in Warsaw

The easiest way to get to know a new city is by taking a free walking tour that will give you a general introduction to the city.

The Free Walking Tour of Warsaw starts in the market square in the old town and covers many of the city’s landmarks, highlights and history.

I recommend taking a free walking tour in Warsaw on your first or second day there.

A free tour is tip-based, meaning you pay the guide as much as you think the tour was worth at the end.

Book a place on the free Warsaw tour

The most populat guided tours in Warsaw

Tours to take in warsaw if you’re short on time

If you’re on a short visit to Warsaw, you can save time by taking a sightseeing tour that covers many of the highlights in a few hours, by your favourite means of transportation:

Warsaw bicycle tour: See Warsaw on a bike in 3 hours with a local guide. This is one of the most popular tours in Warsaw.

Warsaw car tour: This is a highly rated 3 hour private tour, combining a walking tour with a tour by car, including hotel pickup.

Warsaw segway tour: A 1.5 hour tour on  a segway that lets you see more of the city in less time. If you’ve never had a chance to ride a segway before, training is included.

Warsaw electric scooter tour: See the old town with a guide on an electric scooter in 90 minutes.

Warsaw bus tour: A comprehensive tour, combining walking and a bus ride in Warsaw, that will let you see different parts of the city in 3 hours. It includes hotel pickup and drop-off.

Warsaw history tours in vintage cars

There’s a nice selection of tours in communist era vintage cars in Warsaw. They cover communist history, Jewish history and city highlights.

Here’s are the top rated vintage car tours in Warsaw:

Off the Beaten Path 4-Hour Tour in a Nysa 522 car, this is a socialist  themed tour covering the Praga district and the city centre. It includes hotel pickup and drop-off.

3-Hour Communism Tour in an Original Socialist Van in a Nysa 522 van with a focus on places associated with the city’s socialist past.

Historic Private Tour in Retro Fiat: Learn about communist era Warsaw and other significant events in Warsaw’s history in a Fiat 125p.

Chopin music concert and Warsaw tours

Chopin tours in Warsaw
From my visit to the Chopin Museum in Warsaw

Frédéric Chopin is one of Warsaw’s most celebrated composers. If you like his music or want to get to know it, here’s what Warsaw has to offer:

Attend a live concert: A live piano concert of Chopin’s famous music that takes place in the old town. The ticket price includes a drink during the intermission.

Visit the Chopin Museum: This is one of the most impressive interactive museums I’ve ever been to. The display is beautiful and very engaging. You can get a combined ticket to the museum and to the old town piano concert.

Take a Chopin walking tour in Warsaw: There are plenty of places associated with Chopin around the city and you can find them with the help of a local guide. The ticket price for this tour also includes a guided tour of the Chopin Museum and hotel pickup.

Take a half day Chopin experience: This tour is for true Chopin fans. It includes a guided tour to many spots around Warsaw, including the Chopin Museum, and a trip to Zelazowa Wola, where Chopin was born.  The entry ticket to the museum and the transportation are all included in the price.

Wilanow palace and gardens tickets and tour

Wilanow Palace and Gardens tour
The beautiful Wilanow Palace

The Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów is located a little bit outside the city centre and is well worth a visit.

Nicknamed “The Polish Versailles”, this beautiful Baroque style palace survived WWII, and is a very unique building in Warsaw.

Wilanow Palace is surrounded by wonderful gardens that are part of the visit.

You can see the palace, the decorated royal rooms and the palace art collection with the Wilanow Palace guided tour, which includes skip-the-line tickets for both the palace and the gardens.

Each of these can have long queues… I was there in August and was told that they were running out of tickets, so a skip-the-line ticket can come in handy, especially if you visit in high season.

The tour lasts 2 hours and can also include hotel pickup if you opt for it, at an extra cost (but you can also arrive independently by bus or taxi from the city centre).

Jewish history Warsaw tours

The free walking tour of Jewish Warsaw covers  the former Warsaw Ghetto, the famous Polin Museum (Museum of the History of Polish Jews) , the story of the holocaust, as well as stories of the thriving Jewish community in Warsaw that thrived up until WWII. 

If you prefer a private tour, the 3-Hour Car Tour of Jewish Warsaw covers  the Jewish cemetery , a synagogue that survived WWII, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and more.

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