Warsaw has hosted dingy to modest bars to outrageous pubs and clubs. Some have closed as quickly as fads change and others have built enough of a reputation to weather the ever changing tastes of those on the scene. It’s comforting to know that no matter what your style is; Warsaw does have a night spot to go well with your needs. The ‘hipper’ places are either truly worth visiting or too full of boldness, velvet ropes and bouncers with no necks. Posing comes in high doses in many places, so be ready to see lots of well or barely dressed women, and men in shirts and shoes. Trainers and jeans are frowned at, but, once again, it all depends where you go. Big name DJs do make their way to Warsaw, and during summer, many night spots offer outdoor drinking areas. Non smokers should be aware that clubs can get particularly fumy.
There are no licensing hours and numeours bars and clubs stay open until the last guest leaves. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol is 18. A beer costs round about ZL7-12, while spirits can be anything from ZL12 upwards. Admission to clubs tends to cost between ZL10-40. Door staff often insist that all coats and bags be left in club cloakrooms but for a fee of course.
An excellent source of information on cafés, pubs and clubs is Warsaw Insider, which has a monthly printed version.
Bars
Warsaw offers everything from spit and sawdust drinking dens, right through to ultra hip lounge style bars with a myriad of cocktails and live DJs. Foksal 19, ulica Foksal 19, attracts an appreciative late-20 and 30-something crowd, keen to see and be seen on either of the two floors that it occupies. Dance music on the second floor, posing and cocktails on the first. You can enjoy cocktails in a cool and forgiving atmosphere at Paparazzi, ulica Mazowiecka 12, or focus on wine instead at Vinoteka ‘La Bodega’, ulica Mokotowska 64. For a little less perceived refinement and more of a focus on comraderie and beer, try Lolek, ulica Rokitnicka 20 @Pole Mokotowskie, which features live music and an outdoor grill, or the Cork Irish Pub, aleje Niepodleglosci 19, where the screen TV is almost as essential as a pint of Guinness on a sports day.
Casinos
Casinos have a comparatively strict dress code of jacket and tie and passports are required – over 18 years only. Many of the major hotels have some type of casino, including the Hyatt Regency, aleja Belwederska 23, the Marriott, aleje Jerozolimskie 65/69 and the Sofitel Victoria, ulica Krolewska 11.
Clubs
As varied as the bar scene, the late night Warsaw clubs cater to the commercial music lovers, kitsch 70s and 80s evenings as well as trance and hard core electronica. For a decent, no frills retro boogie try Club 70, ulica Walicow 9. Wear a pair of flares and don an afro and you’ll be the belle of the dance floor. ‘Mainstream’ aptly describes Ground Zero, ulica Wspolna 62, a cavernous space that has hosted various Warsaw club goers for years. The place to find DJs and an edge are at Piekarnia, ulica Mlocinska 11 and Luztro, aleje Jerozolimskie 6, which is best on weekends and is also very gay-friendly. Finally for a mixture of absurd, hip and ultramodern music, performances and clientele, try Le Madame, ulica Kozla 12.
Dance
Contemporary dance performances and ballet are part of the National Theatre’s regular programme (see Music above).
Film
Kanal (1956), directed by Andrzej Wajda, is based on the resistance movement and the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, when people used the sewers under the city to bypass the restrictions placed on them by Nazi occupiers. A more up to date vision of Warsaw, yet still set in communist times, is in Krzystof Kieslowski’s Dekalog (1987) and Three Colours: White (1994).
There are several cinemas in Warsaw, including Silver Screen, ulica Pulawska 19/21 (tel: (022) 852 8111) and Cinema City Arkadia, aleja Jana Pawla 11 82 (tel: (022) 321 2121). Almost all films are shown in their original language with Polish subtitles. Tickets cost from about ZL15 to ZL25, with concessions for students and children. Listings may be found under ‘Kino’ in Friday’s Gazeta Wyborcza. Arthouse and Polish language films with English subtitles can be seen at the Rejs cinema, behind the Kultura cinema at Krakowskie Przedmiescie 21/23 (tel: (022) 826 3335), and the Muranow, ulica Gen. Andersa 1 (tel: (022) 831 0358).
Live Music
When big names in rock and pop hit town, they often perform at either Gwardia Stadium, ulica Raclawicka 13 or Tor Stegny, ulica Inspektowa 1. Big jazz names have a tendency to be billed in the Sala Kongresowa (bottom of Palace of Culture and Science). For a taste of live music around town on any given night, you might just get lucky at Dekada, ulica Grojecka 19/25. It hosts live rock/pop bands in a setting of the 1960s and 50s Americana. Jazz, can be found at the new Bojangles Club inside the refurbished Polonia Palace Hotel, aleje Jerozolimskie 45. You might get lucky at Harenda, with jazz in the basement. Tygmont, ulica Mazowiecka 6/8 showcases new talent and experimental material and its slightly seedy, cellar bar ambience is the ideal venue for jazz. Stylish venues for domestic rock and lesser-known foreign bands include nightclubs Stodola, ulica Batorego 10, and the vast Proxima, ulica Zwirki I Wigury 99A.
Music
The main orchestra in Warsaw is the Filharmonia Narodowa (National Philharmonic), also known as the Warsaw Philharmonic (tel: (022) 551 7111), ulica Sienkieicza 10. The company includes both symphonic and chamber players, with separate entrances for both halls – ulica Sienkiewicza 10 (symphony concerts) and ulica Moniuszki 5 (chamber concerts). Teatr Narodowy (National Theatre), plac Teatralny 1 (tel: (022) 692 0208), consists of the Teatr Wielki (Grand Theatre) and Opera Narodowa (National Opera) and was built between 1825-1833.
Ballet performances and Opera run most evenings during the season (Sep-May). Warszawska Opera Kameralna (Warsaw Chamber Opera), aleja Solidarnosci 76B (tel: (022) 831 2240), performs at various venues throughout Warsaw.
Lighter music is available at the popular Buffo Theatre, ulica Konopnickiej 6 (tel: (022) 625 4709), where anything from Elvis Presley to pre-war Polish movie songs and musicals are performed. Large scale productions, such as Aïda, are held in the big Sala Moniuszki, in the National Theatre which has one of the largest stages in Europe.
Theatre
The Roma Musical Theatre, on ulica Nowogrodzka 49 (tel: (022) 628 0360), stages productions of Broadway type hits, folk music theatre and some matinees for children. The Teatr Zydowski (Jewish Theatre), plac Grzybowski 12/16 (tel: (022) 620 6281), is a full time Yiddish language theatre company. The Globe Theatre Group (tel: (022) 620 4429) is Poland’s professional English language theatre group. |
