Warsaw Wanderings

What a weekend 🥰

Last year I spotted that System of a Down and Queens of The Stoneage were playing in Warsaw and, like all sensible adults in their forties, I immediately bought tickets and worried about the details later.

What followed was four gloriously chaotic days fuelled by scooters, sunshine, good food, questionable decisions, excellent decisions, cherry wine, a floating sauna and a lot less sleep than either of us probably needed.

Neither of us had visited Warsaw before, so beyond the gig we didn't really have a plan. As it turns out, that was exactly the right approach. Some of our favourite moments came from simply wandering about, following our noses and saying "that looks interesting" far more often than was strictly necessary.

Here's how our long weekend in Poland's capital unfolded...

TDLR; Warsaw at a glance
📅 When we visited: July 2026
✈️ Flights: Luton → Warsaw Chopin
🚆 Getting around: Trains, trams and Lime scooters
🏨 Stayed: Ursus district
🎵 Highlight: System of a Down & Queens of the Stone Age at PGE Narodowy
🧖 Don't miss: Sauna Wisła floating sauna
🍒 Must try: Cherry wine at Piana Vyshnia

Day 1 : FRIDAY

An early start saw us heading from Luton Airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport for the beginning of our little adventure. Considering we didn't leave ourselves much time to get through security before boarding, it all ended up being surprisingly stress-free. A couple of hours in the air later, we landed around lunchtime absolutely starving after skipping breakfast.

Our first stop? Coffee and an enormous focaccia in the airport before jumping on the train into the city. I have to say, Warsaw's public transport is brilliant. It's incredibly cheap, easy to navigate and ridiculously efficient. Why is the UK so spectacularly bad at trains when places like this seem to have cracked it?

It was absolutely roasting when we arrived and, despite only having a small backpack each (fuck you, airline baggage fees!), lugging them around in the heat wasn't much fun. We spotted some Lime scooters and, because neither of us are known for making sensible decisions, attempted to fit two adults onto one. It was perhaps not our finest idea, but it was hilarious and I thoroughly enjoyed being chauffeured along the riverside.

We parked up beside the Vistula for a couple of beers on a floating barge overlooking the river and PGE Narodowy Stadium, soaking up the sunshine before grabbing another scooter - one each this time - and heading towards a bar Jonny had found called Piana Vyshnia.

We quickly discovered they serve exactly one thing: cherry wine. Thankfully, it was bloody delicious. Their tradition is to fill a crystal wine glass right to the brim before you have to slurp enough out without touching the glass with your hands, allowing them to drop in a couple of liquor-soaked cherries. Naturally, we embraced the tradition completely, sat outside in the sunshine and spent a while people-watching while deciding what to do next.

Eventually we picked a place called Bones & Beers for dinner. What we hadn't realised was that we'd accidentally wandered into a pre-show hangout complete with live music, burgers, flash tattoos and a lovely crowd of fellow gig-goers.

We'd planned on one drink.

Instead, intrusive thoughts won almost immediately and within twenty minutes I'd acquired another tattoo, had a burger in one hand, an Earl Grey IPA in the other and was attempting to relearn chess with the help of Jonny and a young German chap who became increasingly invested in our game and was almost certainly a secret grandmaster.

Several beers, plenty of laughs and far too little sleep later, we finally grabbed a Bolt back to our accommodation at around 3am.

Our original riverside Airbnb had cancelled just days before the trip, leaving me panic-booking somewhere on Booking.com less than a week before we flew. We ended up staying in Ursus, around twenty minutes west of the city centre. The clue was definitely in the name - it was a tiny studio apartment that felt more like a hotel room and was approximately the same temperature as the surface of the sun - but it was clean, comfortable enough and gave us a good base for exploring.

day 2 : SATURDAY

Saturday started very slowly.

While I attempted to resemble a functioning human again, Jonny headed out in search of breakfast-shaped things before we made our way back into the city. We had a few hours to fill before the gig, so we headed to the Cosmos Museum.

It was brilliant - interactive, creative and full of clever optical illusions and hands-on exhibits. We happily wandered around pressing buttons, climbing into installations and generally behaving like oversized children while trying not to melt in the Warsaw heat.

Afterwards we spotted signs for Food Town and decided to investigate. Housed inside a beautifully converted old factory building, it instantly reminded us of Battersea Power Station, packed with independent food stalls, bars and loads of places to sit. We settled on pierogi (obviously), some incredible fried fish and a couple of cocktails while cooling off.

From there we scootered over towards the stadium, stopping at a little Czech bar for a quick drink before joining the steadily growing crowds heading for PGE Narodowy.

Queens of the Stone Age were incredible, but the moment System of a Down walked onto the stage was when the goosebumps really kicked in.

This was the whole reason we'd come to Warsaw and somehow they still exceeded every expectation I had.

There was something strangely emotional about singing songs that have soundtracked different chapters of my life alongside seventy thousand other people. I'm not usually a stadium gig kind of girl, but for a couple of hours it felt strangely therapeutic. The atmosphere was electric, the band looked like they were having just as much fun as everyone watching, and the setlist was basically banger after banger. I don't think I stopped smiling, singing or bouncing around for the entire show.

After eventually escaping the stadium crowds, we wandered back across the bridge and squeezed into a packed little bar called Karma. It was absolute chaos trying to get served, but my margarita was worth the wait and Jonny managed to solve his rapidly escalating hanger situation with a late-night hot dog.

Once we'd had enough of the crowds we found a quieter pizza place nearby, collapsed into some deckchairs with another drink and spent the rest of the evening replaying our favourite moments from the gig before catching another Bolt back to the apartment.

day 3 : SUNDAY

After very little sleep, Sunday also began at a fairly leisurely pace.

We found a lovely local café called Bakery near our accommodation where excellent coffee, an iced matcha (yeah... I'm that bitch) and a cracking Croque Madame brought us back to life before hopping on the train back into the city.

Our destination this time was the Pinball Museum.

Honestly? It was brilliant.

Pinball machines from every era, retro arcade games everywhere you looked and unlimited plays once you were inside. We completely lost track of time bouncing between machines, unknowingly sheltering from torrential rain outside while we competed to beat each other's scores.

Eventually hunger struck again, so we headed back towards Food Town for bao buns and gyoza before realising the Women's World Cup Final was on. Everywhere was buzzing, packed and noisy, so rather than fight for tables we called it a day and headed back early for a very welcome proper night's sleep.

day 4 : MONDAY

Monday was our last full day, so we made a slightly earlier start and wandered back down towards the river. After breakfast and coffee at a lovely little café opposite, it was finally time for something I'd been particularly excited about.

Since starting my side-hustle with Wild Sauna Club, I've become slightly obsessed with visiting saunas whenever I travel. So when I discovered Sauna Wisła - a beautiful floating sauna right on the river - booking it immediately became non-negotiable.

At less than £35 for two hours of exclusive hire, it felt like an absolute bargain. What I hadn't fully appreciated was just how traditionally Finnish the experience would be. Thankfully I'd booked it privately because there was absolutely no room for British awkwardness here.

The whole place was beautiful. Incredible river views from every window, rooftop hammocks, friendly staff, delicious drinks (the mocktail was particularly good), even a little library where you could borrow a book between sauna sessions.

It was the perfect way to spend a slow afternoon, although Jonny did somehow manage to acquire an absolutely beastly splinter. Thankfully it came out without too much drama.

Feeling wonderfully relaxed afterwards, we wandered back along the riverside before hopping on scooters once again through one of the city's leafy parks to find Ouch! - a Korean fried chicken place we'd heard good things about.

It sits beneath one of the bridges alongside loads of tiny independent bars and food stalls. The whole area has a slightly grungy, alternative feel that was completely my kind of vibe. Every place smelt incredible and the garlic wasabi chicken wings absolutely lived up to the hype.

By this point I was starting to flag, but we still had one more stop planned: the Copernicus Science Centre.

Like the Cosmos Museum, it was packed with interactive exhibits and hands-on experiments. It was definitely busier, with lots of families and excited children, so I had to take a couple of quiet moments to recharge, but it was still a fantastic way to spend a few hours and embrace our inner nerds.

For our final dinner in Warsaw we wandered until we found a taco place called Dalores, which had brilliant reviews and a very cool interior.

It absolutely delivered.

Spicy cucumber salad, shrimp tacos, chorizo nachos and an incredibly fresh ceviche disappeared very quickly before we made our sleepy journey back to Ursus for one final night's sleep.

Needless to say, I slept exceptionally well before our rather brutal 4am alarm. A quick Bolt to the airport, a straightforward flight and a drive home brought our little adventure to an end.

By the time we landed back in the UK, it genuinely felt like we'd packed a fortnight's worth of adventures into four days.

We'd drunk cherry wine in the sunshine, scootered across half the city, accidentally acquired another tattoo, played pinball for hours, sweated our way through museums, eaten an unreasonable quantity of excellent food and watched one of my all-time favourite bands put on a phenomenal show.

The funny thing is, despite all that, it still feels like we barely scratched the surface of Warsaw.

The city surprised me at every turn. It was vibrant without feeling overwhelming, packed with interesting places to stumble across and incredibly easy to explore. I'd happily return tomorrow to discover more of Poland's history, culture and food (and, let's be honest, probably another floating sauna too).

So thank you, Warsaw, for turning one impulsive gig ticket purchase into a most fantastical, long weekend!

Have you been to Poland? Where should we visit next?

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