Mariensztat Square

Mariensztat Square

Where You Are

Mariensztat is administratively part of Warsaw Old Town and located just to the side and downhill from Plac Zygmunta (Zygmunt Square) , literally a few minute walk. Although close it is tucked away and mostly untroubled by the hustle, bustle and traffic up above. Mariensztat is mostly inhabited by locals (apart from yourselves of course!) so you’ll be living amongst real Warsovians going about their day to day business and you’ll meet them in the Corner Shop or in Barylka.
Mariensztat also has the advantage of being easy to access by car/taxi, there are no traffic restrictions ( there are restrictions in the main Old Town ) and parking is only difficult at weekends when visitors come into the Centre.

Getting Around

Well we love Mariensztat and think it’s one of Warsaw’s hidden gems with it’s own (slightly ) shabby style and a truly excellent location for visitors… not just for the Old Town and Krakowskie Przedmiescie ( the Royal Route ) you are also close to the river ( Praga district and Zoo just across the bridge ), and looking left you’ll find the University Library, Coperni- cus Science Museum and the up and coming Powisle area.
Most of what you will want to see is reachable on foot or by bus – the 127 to Palace of Cul- ture/Central station/Zlote Tarasy mall , 180 to Nowy Swiat, Lazienki Park, Wilanow Palace or 175 back to the Airport. Trams are close by and you can reach Praga going in one direction and the Warsaw Uprising Museum in the other.
So if you want to get anywhere or see something and are not sure just ask and we will help you whenever we can. As mentioned before we can order you a taxi anytime ( ten minutes no- tice ).

What to Do

  • Krakowskie Przedmieście, the Royal route (walk) Nowy Świat (continue above walk)
  • National Museum (walk or Bus)
  • Warsaw Uprising Museum (tram)
  • Copernicus Science Museum (walk)
  • Museum of the History of Polish Jews (walk)
  • Zoo (walk)

Some Things to See

  • Łazienki Park, specially Chopin concerts on Sundays in Summer (bus) Wilanów Palace and Gardens (bus)
  • Palace of Culture (walk or bus)
  • Old Town (walk!)

Some shopping

  • Hala Mirowska, foodie market (tram)
  • Złote Tarasy, big mall with cinema and food court (bus)
  • Old Town, galleries and souvenirs (walk)

Event Destinations

  • National Stadium (walkable)
  • Warsaw University (walk)
  • National Theatre and Opera (walk)

Tours

All of the above are easy to find yourselves but there is a lot lot more to Warsaw- the older tenements, it’s tragic recent history, it’s food and traditions …you might need some help find- ing on a shorter trip. In these situations we recommend our friend Marcin at Warsaw Behind the Scenes
http://warsawscenes.com/en/start

It’s a great tour in English which we’ve done ourselves – funny and informative you are taken around town in a special vehicle to places of interest including places to eat. All of our Guests who have gone have praised the tour wholeheartedly and because of this we are recommend- ing it to you, we don’t have any commercial interest. Marcin also has the number one rating in the Trip Advisor list of things to do so it’s not just our Guests who have enjoyed him. If you are interested let us know, he will come to Mariensztat to pick you up and looks after our Guests specially.
There are other walking tours from the Old Town which leave from the main square and you can find out about from the Tourist Information point in the main square.

Eating Out/Going Out

Warsaw’s list of restaurants grows longer by the week and although we can tell you about a few favourites we couldn’t possibly give you a full list so we think it’s a good idea to do your own research in the Warsaw Insider http://www.warsawinsider.pl
Warsaw Insider is an English Language guide to Warsaw’s restaurants, clubs and bars ( not only they cover all the other tourist attractions ) and there is always a current edition avail- able online. We usually have a copy of the magazine lying around the apartment when you get her but they do sometimes go missing.
Areas like Old Town and Nowy Świat are full of great places to eat and it’s fun just to walk around and choose a place but if you set your heart on a place and want to book in advance let us know in advance, we’ll happily book it for you.
Just a few places we’ve tried ourselves (although we don’t get out so much these days our – selves!).

No particular order:

  • SAM, Lipowa Street (10 minutes walk) breakfast, all day cafe with it’s own fresh bakery, fresh food shop downstairs
  • Podwale 25 (walk, address and name of restaurant) – big, busy, bustling dining experience – Central European/Polish food in large quantities and a good price. Sometimes involves queuing. One of our Guests ordered the golonka (pig knuckle) and what he brought home in a doggy bag lasted him three days.
  • Delicja, Krakowskie Przedmiescie (walk) – a more refined Polish dining experience.
  • Lokal Bistro, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 64 – real burgers have become a bit of a craze in Warsaw so we’re pleased that one of the best places is just 5 minutes away.
  • Zapiecek – a chain serving Poland’s most typical delicacy, stuffed dumplings. They have a few locations around the Old Town and they’re not bad.
  • Veg Deli, Radna Street (10 minutes walk) – very good vegan cuisine
  • Paparazzi/Enklawa, Mazowiecka (walk), popular and lively bar and club, not too difficult to walk back from after a hard nights partying.
  • Bar Ka – bar, club located on a boat on the river, great place to dance outdoors in the Summer (but closed otherwise)
  • Rownonoc, Chmielna Street – busy Nowy Swiat, Foksal area, always good music, stop by for a cocktail and move on. There is a whole network of Bars around here.
  • Beirut/Tortilla Factory, Poznanska Street – bars with food, another lively area.
  • Pizza – just order in, Dominos has a good service, 22 209 0000 and speak English.

But as we said there are hundreds of places and if you find somewhere that you’ve enjoyed let us know and pin a card up on one of the apartment notice boards.

Out of Town Excursions

If you are considering a trip out of town, Krakow for example is possible on a day trip let us know in advance and we can advise you. If you need a driver or a guide for the day to take you somewhere a bit further out we can arrange this and have done this for our Guests in the past.
We’ve prepared a map (attached) with the layout of the Square and location of our apart- ments, Barylka Pub, the Cornershop etc. to give you a head start! Ther’s an even more use- ful information map that the City has put up on the corner of Garbarska and Mariensztat which you should check out and is a good starting point to any excursion.
Well that’s it we think ! Thank you for choosing us and we want to see you leave with a smile on your face (even come back one day!) …so always let us know if you need anything and every suggestions to make things better is gratefully accepted.