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Warsaw's Old Town Market Square seen from above, with rows of tall coloured townhouses, café umbrellas on the square and a church tower behind

Where to stay in Warsaw

Photographed in 2018. Photo: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Warsaw

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About Warsaw

Warsaw charges for street parking on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00 across the centre and the districts around it, and its clean transport zone has kept the oldest cars out since 1 July 2024. The areas differ in which bank of the Vistula they sit on and how far they are from a city garage.

Poland. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airports
Chopin (WAW), about 10 km from the city centre according to the tourism board and about 9 km by road from the Palace of Culture, with buses 175, 148 and 188 and trains S2, S3 and RL; Modlin, around 35 km north-west according to the tourism board and about 45 km by road, linked by bus to Koleje Mazowieckie trains. Source
Paid street parking
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00: PLN 4.50 the first hour, PLN 5.40 the second, PLN 6.40 the third, PLN 4.50 each hour after. Weekends free. Unpaid: PLN 300, or PLN 200 within 14 days. Source
City garages
Plac Krasińskich (by the Old Town) and Waryńskiego (Politechnika metro): PLN 8 an hour, PLN 80 for 24 hours, PLN 840 for 30 days, from 1 June 2026. Source
Clean transport zone
Since 1 January 2026 no entry for petrol cars older than 26 years or below Euro 3, or diesels older than 17 years or below Euro 5. Four days a year free of the rule; fine up to PLN 500. Source
Visitor levy
The opłata miejscowa (2026 cap PLN 3.46 a day) applies only where a council adopts it; no Warsaw resolution found, unverified as of October 2026. Source
Short-term rental rules
A bill that would give every short-let flat an ID number for its listings passed committee on 17 September 2026 and awaits its second reading in the Sejm. Not law yet. Source
Registration
Foreigners staying in Poland up to 30 days are exempt. Beyond that, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register by the 30th day at the address, other nationals by the fourth day. Source
Short stays for non-EU visitors
90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area. The EU Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. Source
Border checks
Poland checks people crossing its borders with Germany and Lithuania; the regulation of 23 September 2026 extends this to 30 March 2027. Source
Currency
Polish złoty (PLN). Source
Emergency numbers
112; police 997, ambulance 999 Source

Areas of Warsaw

Coloured townhouses with steep tiled roofs on one side of Warsaw's Old Town Market Square, with benches and café awnings on the cobbles
Photo: Igor123121, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Old Town and New Town

The historic core founded at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries and rebuilt after the Second World War so faithfully that UNESCO listed it: Castle Square, the Royal Castle, the Old Town Square with the Mermaid statue and, beyond the Barbican, the New Town. It suits a first visit on foot.

Chopin airport
about 14 km
Palace of Culture
about 4 km

Car and parking

The city garage under Plac Krasińskich, about 2 km by road from the square, charges PLN 8 an hour, PLN 80 for 24 hours and PLN 840 for 30 days. Śródmieście lies inside the paid street zone and most of it inside the clean transport zone.

Aerial view of Plac Trzech Krzyży in central Warsaw, with the domed St Alexander's Church in a green square, streets and office buildings around it
Photo: Kapitel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Śródmieście around Nowy Świat

The centre south of Jerozolimskie Avenue: Nowy Świat, Trzech Krzyży Square with St Alexander's Church, the boutiques of Mokotowska Street, the 1950s MDM district and Zbawiciela Square, a meeting place for students and young professionals. It suits a stay between the sights and the restaurants.

Chopin airport
about 10 km
Palace of Culture
about 2 km

Car and parking

Inside the paid street zone and the clean transport zone. The Waryńskiego garage by Politechnika metro charges PLN 8 an hour, PLN 80 for 24 hours and PLN 840 for 30 days, from 1 June 2026.

The Vistula boulevards at Powiśle in Warsaw, with stepped embankment seating, moored boats and a railway bridge across the river
Photographed in 2015. Photo: Dariusz Kowalczyk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Powiśle

The riverside quarter below the Warsaw Escarpment, with the revitalised Powiśle Power Station, cafés along the Vistula boulevards and the roof gardens of the University of Warsaw Library; the tourism board counts it among the city's livelier neighbourhoods for restaurants and clubs. It suits evenings by the river.

Chopin airport
about 12 km
Palace of Culture
about 4 km

Car and parking

Inside the left-bank area of the paid street zone, whose boundary follows the Vistula: PLN 4.50 for the first hour on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00, free at weekends.

A white corner tenement with balconies and a spire at Ząbkowska 2 in Warsaw's Praga district under a blue sky
Photographed in 2021. Photo: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons

Praga

North Praga on the right bank, a separate town until 1791, which kept its pre-war buildings because it largely escaped wartime destruction: Old Praga around Wileński Square, the Orthodox cathedral of 1867 to 1869 and the tenements of Ząbkowska Street. It suits travellers who want the other side of the river, a metro ride from the centre.

Chopin airport
about 15 km
Palace of Culture
about 5 km

Car and parking

The right-bank area of the paid street zone covers Praga between Starzyńskiego, Radzymińska and the Kawęczyńska tram line among other streets, at the same weekday rates as the centre.

Mokotów

The large district south of the centre. Old Mokotów, between Batorego, Wołoska, Puławska and Woronicza streets, has villas, houses and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, the Warsaw School of Economics and the Iluzjon cinema. It suits a longer stay close to the airport.

Chopin airport
about 8 km
Palace of Culture
about 3 km

Car and parking

The paid street zone reaches Domaniewska, Woronicza and Bukowińska streets, so Old Mokotów is charged on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00 like the centre.

The red brick former tram power station that houses the Warsaw Rising Museum in Wola, with an office tower in the distance
Photographed in 2017. Photo: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons

Wola

The district of the royal elections, of 19th-century factories and of the Wola massacre of 1944, which the tourism board describes as turning into a business centre. The Warsaw Rising Museum fills the former tram power station; the Norblin Factory Museum and the old Haberbusch and Schiele brewery are nearby. It suits a stay near the museums.

Chopin airport
about 8 km
Palace of Culture
about 2 km

Car and parking

Inside the left-bank area of the paid street zone, whose boundary includes Połczyńska and Wolska streets, at the weekday rates; parking is free at weekends.

Guides

Questions

Is street parking free at weekends in Warsaw?

Yes. The paid zone charges Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00; Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are free, and so are 2 May, 24 and 31 December.

Can a rental car drive into the Warsaw clean transport zone?

A car that meets the 2026 standard can: petrol cars from Euro 3 and no older than 26 years, diesels from Euro 5 and no older than 17 years. Any car may also enter on four days a calendar year without meeting it.

Where can a car be left near the Old Town?

In the city garage under Plac Krasińskich, open 24 hours with 407 spaces: PLN 8 for every hour begun, PLN 80 for 24 hours and PLN 840 for 30 days, on the tariff in force from 1 June 2026.

Does Warsaw charge a tourist tax?

Poland's local visitor levy, the opłata miejscowa, applies only where a city council adopts it. Quub found no Warsaw resolution introducing it; unverified as of October 2026.