Introduction to Warsaw
#Warsaw tour guide #Warsaw city guide # guided tour in warsaw #Warszawa tour guide #Warszawa city guide #guided tour in Warszawa
Take the metro in Warsaw
I wrote my first guide to Warsaw in 2012, and with the dynamic development in the Polish capital, it was gradually becoming outdated.
I have used the metro as a starting point, and really the metro is brilliant if you want to get quickly around to Warsaw’s sights. It also means that, with a little persistence, you can plan a trip around the city yourself, which can possibly be supplemented with a bus route or a bicycle.
I have included 12 metro stations (plus a quick mention of another four), combined with (so far) 12 themed articles about Warsaw. To a certain extent these cover the same things, so in order not to repeat too much, I have put a slightly broader orientation into the theme articles and placed references in the articles from the metro stations.
This is my own story of Warsaw, not a list of places to visit
My guide is the result of a lot of compromises, but the main thing has been that I want to include my own story of Warsaw. I describe the things that I myself know and care about – or rather – a small part of it, because there are still plenty of interesting places in Warsaw that are not described here.
The background is my many years of experience as a tourist guide, and I recognize that I have included what most visitors can see while visiting the city – both in terms of time and if they also need to relax a bit while they are in the city.
The preparation of this guide has also served a concrete purpose for me. Having worked as a guide since 2010, the order books was completely empty for two years due to COVID-19. This Warsaw guide has given me the opportunity to rehearse the city and look at it with new eyes. See all that has changed…renovated, closed, newly built. It’s almost like experiencing a new city.
The content partly consists of stories from walks around the city. Here I write about what I usually talk about when I go around as a guide, which means that I sometimes also include my own stories in the description.
I want to give an honest picture, not just tell how beautifull everything is
There are different types of guides and guidebooks; some concentrate on the history, anniversaries and names of architects, others only want to show the most beautiful things the city has to show. My presentation is neither. I emphasize history, but only when it relates to the present, and it is important for me to show both the beautiful as well as the ugly and dilapidated as well as the people who are around in the city. The tour I offer is a story about today’s Warsaw, about the contradictions, politics, living conditions, gastronomy and many other things that are relevant to a foreign visitor.
About this guide: This guide was written by Michael Hardenfelt. I have lived in Poland for over 25 years, and I deal with translations between Polish/English and Danish, interpretation and guided tours in Warsaw and the rest of Poland.
My tours range from a 2-hour tour to the most important points in Warsaw, which can be interrupted by a coffee or beer break along the way. If you are an inquisitive group, such a tour can be supplemented with a lecture at the hotel before we go out into the city.
I also like to organize longer trips and help with the choice of restaurants and things to do. Longer trips can be made by metro, tram or a bus (possibly an old bus from the communist era). I’m also up for a bike ride around the city (maximum 8 people).
Guided tours are also possible everywhere else in Poland – but this requires a minimum reservation of a whole day. Wroclaw, Krakow and Gdansk are all located so that I can get there and back from Warsaw in a day. And then once in a while I go on tours in Poland with organized groups.
Michael Hardenfelt – Dane in Poland. Translator, interpreter & tourist guide
Please send an email to m@hardenfelt.pl if you would like an English-speaking tour guide to show you the most important places in Warsaw.