Are you planning a trip to Warsaw with the kids? Have no idea where to go and what to see in the capital of Poland? I’ve got good news for you! Warsaw is a great destination to go to with kids of all ages. There are plenty of fun things to see and do and we share our favourite attractions and things to do in Warsaw with kids below!
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Travel tip: The easiest way to get to the city from the airport with all that luggage after a long flight is by taxi. Unless you bring your own travel seat, book a car service that comes with a child’s car seat included.
Travel tip 2: A family vacation in Warsaw deserves more than selfies! I recommend a Flytographer photoshoot of the traveling family to capture those precious memories. After all, aren’t the memories from the trip the best souvenir? (Use the code LITTLETRAVELLER for $25 off)
1. THE FRYDERYK CHOPIN MUSEUM WARSAW
While visiting a museum for a composer (no matter how famous) does not sound like an awesome thing to do with young kids, keep reading.
It is super kids friendly.
We loved the treasure hunt. Upon entering the museum, Thea received four postcards depicting objects located within the exhibition. We had to find those objects and answer a couple of questions. Such as what is it, what is it made of, when was it made etc.
I will not reveal what the prize is to not spoil the surprise for you. What I can tell is that Thea loved the outcome of this treasure hunt.
It is entertaining, and you learn new things.
The other experiences that we liked were musical booths. There you get to choose the playlist and listen to the incredible sounds of music composed by a genius composer and virtuoso pianist.
Thea loved the space dedicated to children. It features several integrated screens with multiple interactive games and a cartoon tale about the golden duck in several languages.
Because of Covid, all visitors except young children must wear masks indoors. Moreover, visitors receive and have to wear blue plastic gloves. The gloves are rather inconvenient as they come in one massive size and keep slipping off. So bringing your own might be a good idea.
Anyway, we absolutely recommend visiting this museum.
It is possible to book a private tour of the museum as well, you can find more information below:
Private Chopin Tour with tickets to Chopin Museum
2. WARSAW ZOO
What kid does not like a trip to the zoo? Thea adores animals, so we always include zoos in our itineraries when visiting new places.
Unfortunately, we did not get to see as many animals as expected, but it was exciting nevertheless. Thea loved the four leopards napping in the shade of a tree in close vicinity to the visitors. We got to see a zebra, a camel, horses, donkeys, various types of fish, a hippo swimming in its tiny pool, flamingos, pelicans, a variety of birds that I’ve not seen or heard names of before and the head and one paw of the lion.
You can book a train ride which takes you from the zoo entrance to the other end of the zoo. Just a straight line, nothing fancy, but fun for kids nevertheless. The lady driving the train was super nice. The good thing is that you can buy tickets directly from the driver and even pay by card. The ride costs 10 Polish zlotych and lasts about 4-5 minutes.
The day was rather hot (by European standards) when we went there, so the sprinkling water activity was super popular among kids and adults alike. You have to run through a frame of splashing water. Very refreshing and fun to try once or twice.
The zoo is clearly in urgent need of gardeners. Remember the head and one paw of the lion? We didn’t see the lion clearly because of all the bushes and weeds growing all over. If you have never experienced the sensation on the skin after touching a nettle, you can do that in this zoo. There are plenty of nettles right next to and over the handrails for visitors. Fret not, although rather unpleasant, the tingling doesn’t last long and is said to reduce the risk of rheumatoid.
Overall it is not a fabulous zoo. It would surely welcome refurbishment and improvement of the enclosures for animals. However, kids don’t notice all of that. They are excited to see real animals right next to them. So if you are in Warsaw with kids and have a couple of spare hours, give it a go.
By the way, there is a tramway stop right next to the zoo. We boarded the tram there, and in just a couple of minutes, it took us back to the Old Town.
3. MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS WARSAW
If you follow us on Instagram, you may have noticed that we are quite fond of optical illusions.
Our favorite museum of illusions so far has been on Sentosa island in Singapore (You can read about it here). We also loved the one in Vilnius in Lithuania (more about it here). So, when I found out that there is one in Warsaw, it immediately went into our to-visit list.
It was not easy to find, though. I used the address indicated on Google for Uber, and the driver took us to the seemingly right place, but the museum was nowhere to be seen. I almost gave up thinking it had closed and then stumbled upon it accidentally in the main square in the Old town.
It is located in a beautiful building in the very heart of the Old town and is relatively small.
Do not expect many exhibits, but the ones that are on display are fun. We liked the shark installation the most. It also seems to be the most popular one among other visitors. The exhibit with the chair, which gives an illusion of someone sitting on a giant chair look tiny, needs to be adjusted because the gap between the two parts ruins the illusion.
There are stickers on the floor that indicate the place with the best angle for taking pictures which is helpful. The girls at the counter were polite and spoke good English, the museum wasn’t crowded, so it was a short but delightful experience.
If you are in the Old town, we recommend stopping by.
4. COPERNICUS SCIENCE CENTRE
This science center, named after Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer known as the father of modern astronomy, is probably the best place for kids of all ages in the entire city.
Not only is it entertaining but also educational. We could have easily spent the entire day there. A robot welcomes visitors at the ticket counter. The fun part is that visitors get to control it too! Thea enjoyed pressing various buttons on the screen to see the robot move and change colors.
This science center is jam-packed with incredible experiments that allowed us to become researchers and explorers for a day.
It’s a great place not just for children but adults alike. I’ve learned many new concepts myself, and it was nice to see my daughter learn and explore in a fun way.
A super important piece of advice: book your tickets in advance because they sell out quickly.
5. LIVING STATUES IN WARSAW OLD TOWN
We saw many living statues in Warsaw. You know, the strange-looking people who stand extremely still, breathing so shallowly and seemingly not blinking, with collection tins on the ground in front of them.
Thea did not believe that they are humans until I gave her some money to put into a collection tin to prove it.
6. THE RAILWAY MUSEUM IN WARSAW
We loved the railway museum in Warsaw! It’s a perfect place to go to with kids of all ages. It doesn’t look very promising from the outside and would welcome refurbishment, but don’t be deceived. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Initially, I planned to spend 30- 40 mins inside, however, Thea loved it so much that I started to wonder if she was a train engineer in her past life. Although the museum is not very big, our visit lasted 3 hours!
It consists of two middle-sized rooms and an outdoor place with real trains. Some of them you are allowed to board and see from the inside.
The exhibit inside displays dozens of train models from all around the world. We saw so many beautiful steam locomotives, carriages pulled by horses, old trains for passengers, cargo, and the ones used during the war. No one was following us around like what you often get in other museums. Also, there were no other visitors, so we had the entire place for ourselves.
In addition to train models, old phones, and other relics, there are several moving dioramas. The smaller room contains 3 pretend train carriages, showcasing what economy, business, and first-class wagons looked like in the past. (I’m pretty sure economy/business/first class are not the exact terms used in the past, but you get the idea).
We liked the real trains that are located in the outdoor exhibit. We got onboard several steam locomotives. For Thea, who loves train rides, it was fascinating to see how different trains were before.
Overall, we highly recommend this place. Entertaining and educational under one roof (and sky).
7. PAPUGARNIA PARROT PETTING ZOO
This place I found totally by accident while googling what to do in Warsaw with kids. It’s like on the 100th page of Google search and not even in English. However relatively easy to understand. A parrot zoo in two locations in Warsaw, opening hours and prices. The other places that I wanted to take Thea to were closed, so we went to this parrot zoo located in Al. Jerozolimskie 200.
We stayed in Sofitel Victoria in the Old town, and this petting zoo was relatively far from the hotel. We spent around 25 mins in an Uber with no traffic, but it was well worth it.
It’s not fancy, more like a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, but well worth a visit!
We purchased tickets at the entrance and then proceeded to the main area where you can interact with parrots. They come in all sizes and colors and are absolutely adorable! They are so used to humans that they landed on us and ate the feed that we offered. Thea was a bit shy at first. After all, you don’t get a parrot landing on your head every day. However, after a couple of interactions, she loved it and didn’t want to leave.
So these are the things and places we loved the most during our 6-day stay in Warsaw and recommend to your family.
Warsaw Rising Museum and Warsaw Museum
We also went to the Warsaw Rising Museum. However, it is more suitable for older children. For little ones, a replica of a Liberator B-24J bomber is a highlight, though.
The other place that we went to is the Warsaw Museum. It is fascinating and depicts the history of the city, located in a beautiful building in the Old Town. Again, it’s more appropriate for older kids, not 4-year-olds. Thea liked some of the exhibits, especially the depiction of the Old Town before, during, and after the war.
I got to answer some pretty serious questions, like ‘why would someone drop bombs on the city?’, ‘did people die or did they manage to escape?’, ‘who rebuilt Warsaw?’ etc. So if you take your kids to the Warsaw Museum, make sure to brush up on your history knowledge in advance.
Let me know if you have any questions about visiting Warsaw with the children. I will be happy to help.
For more places and activities in Warsaw check the link below:
Warsaw, Poland- fun things to see and places to go to
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