How Much Money Do I Need For Warsaw?

Warsaw is very cheap compared to most Western European or American cities. So, not only is it an excellent destination, filled with things to do, but your money should last much longer than Paris or Rome. We break down what you can expect to pay for a trip to Warsaw.

Polish currency

When travelling to Europe for the first time, many travellers immediately think of big name destinations like Paris. But the same money can go twice as far in an Eastern European city like Warsaw. Even once cheap locations like Berlin or Lisbon are more expensive than Warsaw, with restaurants up to a third cheaper in the Polish city.

Warsaw is a fantastic location for eating and drinking, there are world-class museums, and the standard of facilities is high across the board. For example, an excellent museum like the 1944 Warsaw Rising currently costs 25zł, which is less than 6€, and admission on Monday is free. Similarly, you can visit Sanssourci Palace in Potsdam for 22€, but Warsaw’s Łazienki Park is 40zł (9€) and is completely free on Fridays. You can even get most places via public transport for less than a Euro.

This page gives some typical costs for a stay in Warsaw.

Despite being a member of the European Union, the Polish currency is the złoty rather than the Euro. Obviously the price fluctuates but it has tended to average out at 1zł to 0.23€ over the last decade. So 10zł is less than 2,50€ and 100zł is just over 22€. At time of writing, our budget categories below work out at roughly 45€ per day (cheap), 90€ (mid), and 155€ (high).

Daily Budget

You could get by very cheaply in Warsaw, especially if you take advantage of free days at museums and hearty yet bargain meals from milk bars. However, your money will even go a long way in the upper bracket, with some truly excellent hotels and restaurants.

• Cheap – 200zł: This would include a dorm bed in a hostel, basic transport costs, and meals from supermarkets and milk bars, plus a bit of extra spending money.
• Mid – 400zł: This would include shared costs on a mid-tier double room and restaurant, as well as a couple of museum tickets, and some extra spending money.
• High – 700zł: This would include shared costs on a pricier double room and restaurant, as well as a ticket for a live event, and spending money.

Fryderyk Chopin Museum

Warsaw Sightseeing

• Warsaw Old Town: mostly free
• Warsaw Royal Castle: 30zł / free on Wednesdays
• Palace of Culture and Science: 20zł
• POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews: 25zł / free on Thursdays
• Warsaw Rising Museum: 25zł / free on Sundays
• Łazienki Park: 40zł / free on Fridays
• Fryderyk Chopin Museum: 22zł / free on Wednesdays

Considering the quality of some of Warsaw’s attractions, the entry costs are an absolute bargain. This list is a recommended selection but you could easily fill the day with museums and churches that cost less or are even free.

See our recommendations for Things To Do In Warsaw and our series of itineraries for suggestions.

Nobu Hotel Warsaw

Accommodation In Warsaw

Warsaw has accommodation to suit every budget range. Use Booking.com to find the best prices and see our list of Where To Stay In Warsaw for more details.

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You can generally expect a room in Warsaw to be roughly a third of what it would cost in London or Paris. Just beware that prices go up as you get closer to the peak seasons (Easter and June-August) and rooms will be harder to get, so book well in advance! The other thing to consider is location. The closer you are to the centre or specifically to the Old Town, the more expensive it is likely to be.

Unless stated, rates are per room (ie, not per person) for twin or double beds.

Budget Accommodation In Warsaw

There’s a broad range of cheap, functional hotels across Warsaw although location will be a factor in the price, and you’ll almost certainly be looking at somewhere outside the centre. Check on a map before booking.

Prices are highest in the summer (late June to the end of September) and around Easter and Christmas, when you could end up paying 600zł (130€) per night for a double room in the ibis Centrum and 625zł (135€) for the Chmielna.

Costs can drop as low as 225zł (49€) per night for the ibis Centrum at other times of the year – also a double room, with the Chmielna coming in at around 300zł (64€) and the Mokotów at 333zł (71€).

See Best Warsaw Budget Hotels for more information.

Midrange Accommodation In Warsaw

As soon as you hit this price bracket, the range of options expands considerably. You’re mainly looking at hotels for couples and business travellers but the mid-range hotel market has become more complex in recent years, as it stretches to borrow elements from hostels, boutiques, and AirBnB-style apartments. At root, though, this bracket aims at a comfortable sleeping experience with a good shower, and a sprinkling of design to differentiate from the competition. The trade-off is often location, as the prime real estate belongs to the 4- and 5-star properties.

Obviously the cost of a 3-star room is increased by extras such as private cooking facilities, but you can roughly expect to pay around 370zł (80€) per night for two people during the low season and closer to 450zł (97€) during the peak months. However, if you book at the right time, it’s possible to find prices as low as 255zł (55€). Some apartment-style accommodation also offers a discount for stays of more than 7 nights.

See Best Warsaw Mid-Range Hotels for more information.

Luxury Accommodation In Warsaw

There are stunning, almost regal, five-star hotels in Warsaw, if you’ve the money to spend. Warsaw’s boutique hotels are very grand. Costs are not always cheaper out of season, although location is a big factor and early booking helps.

With boutique hotels, the range straddles different levels of luxury. Similarly, some of the locations offer a range of options from standard rooms to apartments. As such, low-season prices can vary from 433zł (81€) to 592zł (111€) for two per night in Arthotel Stalowa 52 and 657zł (123€) to 3,773zł (707€) in Mamaison Le Regina, with other hotels somewhere in between.

In high season, these can increase to 545zł (102€) to 723zł (136€) in the Arthotel and 717zł (134€) to roughly 4,000zł (750€) in Mamaison Le Regina.

For luxury accommodation, prices are highest in the summer (late June to the end of September) and around Easter and Christmas, when you could end up paying 800zł (172€) per night for a double room in the Bristol and as much as 1,200zł (260€) for the InterContinental. All other properties lie somewhere between.

Prices can drop to 500zł (105€) per night for the Bristol at other times of the year – also a double room, with the Nobu coming in at around 750zł (160€).

See Best Warsaw Boutique Hotels and Best Warsaw Luxury Hotels for more information.

Browar Warszawski Restauracja Grill, Browar & Bar

Meals In Warsaw

Great food is one of things that keep many people coming back to Warsaw. It’s pretty hard not to find a good meal to suit any budget. As well as local and Eastern European menus, the city has the full range of international cuisine covered. And, whilst there’s plenty here for carnivores, the surprising thing is how much there is for vegans and others with special dietary requirements.

See our list of Restaurants in Warsaw and Michelin Restaurants In Warsaw for suggestions.

Warsaw Budget Meals

You can get a hearty meal at a budget price from one of Warsaw’s milk bars. These are basic and nourishing, and often very good for breakfast. A main course can be had here for 15zł or less. See, for example, Gdański Bar Mleczny.

Otherwise, it shouldn’t take long to find somewhere cheap that whets your appetite. Try To Lubię for under 20zł a meal. Many places display menus outside.

Warsaw Midrange Meals

As with accommodation, the midrange price bracket brings an incredible choice and you can get a good main course for less than 80zł. Even Stolica in the heart of the Old Town has strong salmon and duck mains for 87zł. If in doubt, ask for recommendations in your hotel.

Warsaw Luxury Meals

For more luxurious eating, Warsaw has some beautiful establishments, including Dyletanci, a Michelin-listed restaurant with à la carte mains around 170zł and a tasting menu from 380zł. An old master like the Europejski Grill will set you back 200-390zł for their top-of-the-range dishes. Even at the upper end of the scale, Warsaw’s restaurants represent incredible value. The Michelin guide is your friend here.

Warsaw Cafes

You’ll find chain cafes all over Warsaw but there’s also a lot of cosy local independents, which aren’t too much more expensive and will generally serve a better cup of coffee.

• Tall latte at Starbucks: 15zł
• Flat white at Costa: 13zł
• Latte at Wrzenie Świata: 15zł

Warsaw Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

• Litre of milk: 4zł
• Loaf of bread: 5zł
• Kilo of apples: 4zł
• Half-litre of beer: 4zł

Wherever you are in Warsaw, you’ll be close to a late-night 7-Eleven convenience store. These are stocked with a full range of ingredients, snacks, and drinks, including beers, and are reasonably priced. For more serious shopping, a supermarket (such as the excellent Carrefour in the Arkadia mall, to the north of the city) will let you buy all the bits of pieces for a picnic lunch.

Cigarettes, Alcohol And Bars In Warsaw

• Pack of Marlboro: 19zł
• Half-litre of draught beer: 16zł
• Cocktail: 45zł
• 6 vodka tasting menu: 40zł

Wherever you buy it, beer and spirits are comparatively cheap in Warsaw. There are tourist-friendly bars all over the Old Town and along Nowy Świat, and you can even buy a beer in a Costa. A real treat is to try a tasting tray of flavoured vodkas or craft beers.

Smoking is still very common in Poland. Cigarettes are pretty cheap and easily available from the ubiquitous kiosks. However, there is an indoor smoking ban unless the establishment has a dedicated room for smoking in. There are even small glass smoking booths in the departure lounge of Warsaw Airport.

SIM Cards, Phones And Data In Warsaw

Decent WiFi is fairly ubiquitous in Warsaw accommodation, whether it be a hotel or AirBnB. You’ll also find free WiFi in public buildings like the airport and shopping centres, but it can be quite limited. Starbucks is a great standby.

Any call or data plan from another EU country should work in Poland at no extra cost. So even if you bought a SIM in a country like Germany, you should be able to use it in Warsaw. This is subject to fair usage, so check the terms with whichever company sold it to you.

If you’re coming straight to Poland from a country outside the EU, and don’t have a decent offer from your existing provider, you’ll need an unlocked device that will work in Europe. This isn’t always the case with US cellphones. You can buy a cheap handset for travel from Amazon or from an electronics outlet like MediaMarkt when you arrive.

The phone market is fairly well regulated in Warsaw, so you might as well stick with the main providers. This ensures the best coverage and the most helpful service. Orange is the most tourist-friendly of these and, at time of writing, they offer a 25GB / 30-day SIM card with unlimited calls and texts for 35zł, which is pretty cheap.

We cover the process of getting setup in our guide to Where To Get A SIM Card In Warsaw.

Złote Tarasy shopping mall

Warsaw Shopping

• Pair of Levis jeans: 316zł
• Dress from H&M: 148zł
• Nike trainers: 336zł
• Men’s leather shoes: 395zł

If you find that you’ve left anything important at home, you’ll be able to replace it in Warsaw for something like 15% less than you’d pay in London. Most of the big European brands like Zara and H&M have branches in Warsaw shopping centres.

Toiletries In Warsaw

• Shampoo 400ml: 15zł
• Roll-on Deodorant: 15zł
• Tampons 32 box: 22zł
• Toothpaste: 8zł

You can buy basic toiletries in a convenience store like 7-Eleven and pretty much anything else in a drogeria, such as Rossmann, which are dotted around central Warsaw.

The 175 airport bus

Warsaw Transport

• Taxi: 8zł + 3zł / km (06:00-22:00) and 4,50zł / km (22:00-06:00 / weekends) – i.e., a 5km trip costs around 23zł (or 30,50zł at night)
• Bus / Tram / Metro / Train: 3,40zł for 20m, 4,40zł for 75m
• One-day travel card: 15zł for Zone 1 (which should suffice), 24zł for a weekend ticket, and 36zł for a 3-day Zone 1 ticket
• Bicycle rental: There is a city scheme for bike hire. The first 20 minutes are free, with a couple of zł added for each additional hour. Electric bikes are also available. Traffic can be quite manic in Warsaw but there are some good cycle routes.
• Litre of gasoline: 7zł

Warsaw’s public transport system is very cheap, comprehensively networked, and logical to navigate. Our guide for Getting From Warsaw Airport To Warsaw City Centre includes an introduction to the city’s public transport system.

Flights To Warsaw

Typical round-trip ticket costs to Warsaw Chopin Airport from selected cities direct via Lot – as of October 2023:

• Chicago: 660€
• Dubai: 596€
• London: 115€
• Paris: 191€
• Frankfurt: 160€
• Amsterdam: 159€
• Krakow: 66€

Warsaw Chopin is an international airport, served by most of the main transport hubs around the world. Warsaw Modlin handles most of the budget flights, mainly Ryanair, but the points of departure are more limited.

Use a comparison site like 12go to find the best deals.

See our guide for How To Get To Warsaw and dedicated page for Warsaw Airport for more information.