Warsaw with children

Our Warsaw with children is a wonderful destination in all seasons. Agne, one of the co-founders of “Travel 4 kids”, and her family go to Warsaw all the time. “A trip to Warsaw with kids is a great choice for those who don’t want to travel far, but are looking for entertainment, interesting places to visit and shopping,” says Agne. Agne and her family, who visit Warsaw several times a year, share their recommendations, favourite places, funniest cafés and best shops.

Warsaw with children

Warsaw with kids is a great weekend destination, a great idea for a mini-vacation with children, and the best stopover when travelling to or from Europe by car. There’s always something exciting going on, lots of events, new spaces or places to visit. The last time we were in Warsaw was on the second Christmas Day and for anyone who wants to experience the spirit of the Christmas markets but doesn’t want to travel far, we recommend planning a trip to Christmas Warsaw in 2024. Read our impressions of festive Warsaw in the article Christmas in Warsaw.

Warsaw with children is ideal for those who like water activities, as Suntago, the largest water park in Europe, is right next to Warsaw. For those interested in science, spend a day at the impressive Copernicus Science Centre. For those who like to eat well, Warsaw is a city of gastronomic discoveries, cafés and restaurants. For those who like fun and long walks in the Old Town or time in nature. And of course for those who love shopping. So here’s our guide to Warsaw for you.

Warsaw with children – TOP attractions

Suntago Water Park

Europe’s largest water park, Suntago Water Park is truly worthy of its title. There are fun activities for everyone from the little ones to adults. You often ask us if it’s worth going with younger children. Our answer is definitely yes – even the little ones will find something to do at the park. And for older children, Suntago Water Park is a paradise. We have been to Suntago Water Park five times in different seasons.

Buy your tickets in advance, as the queues are double or triple as short to get into the park once you’ve bought your tickets. Plus, with a ticket, you are 100% guaranteed to get into the park. Tickets can be purchased on the park’s website.

There are three zones, with children only allowed in Yamango. The other zones are definitely less crowded, as many people come to the park with children. Although it is not fair to do so, you can buy one wristband for the adult area and exchange it, as it is easily removed.

There is a light board in front of the entrance to the ice rinks, which shows how long you have to wait.

We recommend that you dedicate a full day to the park, as there is plenty of activity. A four-hour ticket is definitely not enough, as you won’t be able to try even a small part of the activities. A two-hour ticket is not even worth considering!

All our recommendations for visiting Suntago Water Park, recommendations for dining, arrival, practical tips in the article – Suntago Water Park, the largest in Europe.

Copernicus Science Centre

The Copernicus Museum is a huge science centre. We recommend buying tickets well in advance on the museum website – you may not get tickets in person, it’s very crowded and the museum is very popular. It’s a very interesting and meaningful place – all the world’s inventions, experiments and laws under one roof. At the Copernicus Science Centre, you can visit exhibitions where many of the ‘exhibits’ can be touched and, in the truest sense of the word, tested for yourself. You can also attend performances by the Robot Theatre and the High Voltage Theatre, or take part in science experiments. There are also mini-workshops in the Centre’s laboratories. Spend at least half a day at the museum, or ideally all day.

The Copernicus Science Centre is easily accessible by metro. You can also arrive by car. You can leave your car in the underground car park beneath the Copernicus Science Centre building, Monday to Sunday from 07:00 to 22:00. You can also park in the paid car parking area next to the Copernicus Science Centre (Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 20:00). Parking is free on weekends and public holidays.

Planetarium

The Planetarium is located in the Copernicus Science Centre. Named “Copernicus Sky”, the planetarium is one of the most modern astronomical facilities in Europe. It can accommodate 146 visitors at a time. The planetarium has a 16-metre wide dome and a spherical star projector that resembles a ball divided into two parts. It is the only one of its kind in the whole of Poland, made up of 100 elements and weighing more than three tonnes.

Warsaw Zoo

The zoo is located in the very centre of Warsaw, easily accessible by public transport. Today, the 40 hectares are home to around 500 different species of animals, with a total of around 4,000 individuals. It is an active and modern zoo. In 2003, the zoo opened an elephant area of 6,000 square metres – a special enclosure with external and internal pools, a house and a special area for elephant walks.

The zoo is very large, so if you have small children, you can borrow a four-wheel stroller.

The zoo is easily accessible by metro line II – Dworzec Wileński (“Vilnius Station”). If you arrive by car, you can park at the zoo, or if there are no spaces available, it is convenient to park for free at the Galeria Wileńska shopping centre (72 Targowa Street). You will need to show your zoo ticket on departure. By the way, this is also a good place to shop when leaving Warsaw, as the road home is just around the corner.

What to see and where to go for walks

Our favorite walk

We highly recommend a walk along Nowy Świat Street. During the festive season, this street is very decorated and becomes a pedestrian promenade. There are many events and musicians playing all year round. Nowy Świat is where old meets modern. This street is full of cafés, bars and shops. Walking along Nowy Świat Street, you will cross over to Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street (it’s just one street that changes its name in the middle) and walk to the Royal Palace and the Old Town and the Old Town’s main square. This walk is our favourite.

Must see places

The Royal Castle

The Royal Castle of Warsaw (Polish: Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a castle residence that has served as the official residence of Polish monarchs for centuries. In 1980, the Royal Castle, together with the Old Town, was registered as a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Old Town Square

If you walk a little further into the charming streets of the Old Town, you will reach the main Old Town Square. Surrounded by beautiful XVII and XVIII century merchants’ houses, this square is full of street vendors, cafés, shops, galleries and some of Warsaw’s best restaurants. There is also a Michelin-starred restaurant here. In winter, there is a Christmas market and an ice skating rink.

We usually arrive and park the car on Dluga Street, then go to our favourite restaurant Podwale 25. Then we go to the Old Town Square, then to the Royal Palace, then across Nowy Świat, have an ice cream, go to the weighty sweets shop and walk all the way to the Palace of Culture and Science.

The Palace of Culture and Science

The Palace of Culture and Science is a symbol of Warsaw. Looking at this giant of a building reminds us, at least, of the old days. This building, the Palace of Culture and Science, is the tallest building in Poland, with 44 floors. On the 30th floor (also known as the XXX floor), 114 metres above the ground, there is a terrace with a spectacular view. The Palace houses the Museum of Technology, the Museum of Evolution, 4 theatres, a cinema and an exhibition hall.

Marszalkowska Street is next to the palace, with many shops and popular hotels. On the other side is Emilii Plater Street and Warsaw’s skyscrapers, the Zlote Tarasy shopping centre, and the bus and train stations.

The most interesting museums for children in Warsaw

Toy Museum

This museum in Warsaw has a collection of more than 150 historic houses, shops and doll’s houses. The exhibits come from all over the world, with the oldest dating back more than 200 years. The collection – probably the largest and most interesting in this part of Europe – includes several thousand miniature objects and toys, as well as many old games and puzzles.

Museum of Illusions

A very popular museum in Warsaw. Both children and adults will enjoy it. You can buy tickets in advance to save a lot of time.

Where to eat in Warsaw

Food Hall Browary – here you will find food for all tastes, from pizzas to Thai cuisine or Spanish snacks. The place is spacious, has a cosy patio, plenty of tables inside and high chairs for children. We also really like Bar Koszyki. It’s like a very big food market. It is a very popular place.

Podwale 25. This is a very large German-style restaurant in Warsaw’s Old Town, right next to the city’s defensive wall. If you like Bavarian-style restarans, German sausages – you will love this restaurant as much as we do. It’s also home to some very tasty locally brewed beer. The portions are very large and the food is really tasty. The owners of Podwale 25 also have a restaurant called U Szwejka. A themed restaurant with large portions of food.

U Szwejka is a very popular restaurant belonging to the same chain as Podwale 25. Men will not be indifferent to the locally brewed beers and Czech/German/Polish food with huge portions. By the way, they bring you unrealistically tasty snacks compliments of the place. And the food here is really tasty and there is a children’s menu.

From U Szwejka you can walk to Bar Koszyki. This is once a very large food market. A very popular place. Here you will find very tasty ice-creams for children and cocktails and desserts for mothers.

Shopping in Warsaw. The best shops and outlets

Warsaw is a paradise of shops and supermarkets. Twenty or so years ago, when Lithuania still had a very small selection of shops, it was Warsaw that my parents and I used to go shopping in. And nowadays, there are a lot of supermarkets. But shopping in Poland is cheaper than in Lithuania. Even if the shops and the goods are the same as in Lithuania, everything is a bit cheaper in Poland. Even though the difference is sometimes small, buying more adds up to quite a lot. For a full list of the best shops and outlets, see our article Shopping in Poland: the best shops and outlets.

Outlet stores in Warsaw

There are three large outlet stores in Warsaw – Designer Outlet Warszawa, Factory Ursus and Factory Annopol.

Designer Outlet Warszawa is probably the biggest outlet store. It belongs to the ROS Retail Outlet Shopping group, which also has outlets in Gdansk and Sosnowiec (near Kraków), but we will talk about them later. The outlet itself is very modern, like many outlet stores in Germany or in the UK, it is built on the campus principle. You will find Adidas, Armani, Boss, Calvin Klein, Furla, Guess, Lacoste, MaxMara, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and many more.

Factory Ursus and Factory Annopol are owned by the same owners. These outlet stores also feature a wide range of popular brands (Adidas, Calvin Klein, Guess, New Balance, Nike). Both Factory Ursus and Factory Annopol are very good outlets for children’s products on SMYK. We also personally like the Mountain Wharehouse sports shop. You can find rainwear for kids, jackets at very good prices.

Shopping centres in Warsaw

Warsaw has a large number of shopping centres. Many of them also have very similar shops. I would therefore recommend that you go wherever is convenient for you (say when entering or leaving Warsaw, near a hotel or similar).

Galeria Młociny

I would single out and recommend Galeria Młociny, as it is the closest Primark store to Lithuania, as well as our favourite Tkmaxx. There are also a number of children’s areas in the shopping centre itself. The metro is very easy to get to and stops right outside the door.

M1 Marki Shopping Centre, Ikea, Homepark Targówek

Coming from Lithuania, there is a large complex of shops on the main S8 road before Warsaw. M1 Marki Shopping Centre, Ikea, Homepark Targówek (with a Tkmaxx store), and a little further down the road, Atrium Targówek Shopping Centre, with a large number of clothing stores. It is very convenient for both coming and going to Warsaw without having to wander around the city.

Złote Tarasy

The Złote Tarasy shopping centre is right in the city centre. It is right next to the bus station and Warsaw’s main symbol, the Palace of Culture and Science. On the other side of the Złote Tarasy Shopping Centre and the Palace of Culture and Science on Marszałkowska Street there are many shops (Zara, Half price, Reserved, C&A).

Arkadia Shopping Centre

Arkadia Shopping Centre is one of the largest shopping centres not only in Warsaw, but also in Poland, with 240 stores. It belongs to the international Westfield supermarket chain.

Galeria Mokotów

Another large and popular shopping centre is Galeria Mokotów. Very convenient location, close to the centre. We would definitely recommend a visit if you live in the Mokotów area, which by the way has a very large selection of hotels and apartments. And it’s very convenient to live here, as it’s close to the centre.

Blue City

Another popular shopping centre, Blue City, is located a little further from the centre. Very modern and stylish. Lots of shops and cafés. But the most fun part of this shopping mall for children, although we guarantee it will be interesting for adults too, is the 14650 LEGO figurines exhibition. Also the FunClimb climbing room. This is an unreal wall climbing activity (but the walls are not the usual ones, but the most varied ones, the likes of which I’ve never seen anywhere in Lithuania). There is also a very cool children’s playroom called Inca play.

You can also visit Suntago by following our itinerary to Poland’s theme parks and attractions. Route article Travel itinerary by car in Poland with children.

You can also go to Warsaw by train. Read about travelling to Warsaw by train in the article Travelling to Warsaw by train with kids – a challenge or a fun experience?

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