Welcome to explorewarsaw.pl

Please note that the website is currently under "re-construction".

A little backstory. I first created this website in 1997 to provide useful information for travelers heading to Poland—especially Warsaw. At the time, Warsaw was far from a popular destination. When people talked about traveling to Europe, cities like Paris, Rome, Vienna, London, and Barcelona dominated the conversation. After all, they were home to world-famous landmarks—the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Eiffel Tower, Tower Bridge, and Sagrada Família—that had long captured the imagination of travelers. Cities like Prague and Budapest were only just beginning to appear on the tourist radar. Meanwhile, Poland—and Warsaw in particular—was often seen as off the beaten path, even somewhat exotic, rather than a must-see destination. After more than four decades behind the Iron Curtain, with limited access for Western travelers, it’s no surprise that Poland had yet to claim a prominent place on Europe’s travel map.

So why create a website about it? The answer lies partly in timing. In the late 1990s, the internet was still in its infancy. There was no social media, smartphones were just emerging, and Google had not yet been founded. Instead, platforms like Netscape, Yahoo, Lycos, GeoCities, AOL, and Hotmail shaped the early web. Much of the content came from individuals—enthusiasts who were excited by the opportunity to share their knowledge with a global audience. My original site, hosted on GeoCities, was part of that movement. What felt revolutionary at the time was that anyone could create and publish a website for free. With a bit of curiosity and some basic HTML skills, the world suddenly became your audience.

My motivation was simple: curiosity, a passion for travel, and a desire to share what I knew about Warsaw. Back then, reliable travel information—especially from local perspectives—was limited. Traveling itself was also more challenging: it was more expensive, less accessible, and far less documented. For many, the idea of visiting an “Eastern European” country felt uncertain. What would you see there? Where would you stay? Was it even worth the effort? As a result, very few foreign tourists visited Warsaw. Even in iconic places like the Old Town, the Royal Castle, Łazienki Park, or Wilanów Palace, international visitors were a rare sight.

And yet, it was clear to me that this would not last. Despite the often harsh legacy of communist-era architecture, Warsaw was far from a dull or lifeless city. Beneath the surface was a place rich in history, culture, and hidden beauty—full of stories waiting to be discovered. It also served as the natural gateway for anyone visiting Poland, making its rise as a major destination almost inevitable. Two emerging trends reinforced this belief: the rapid growth of the internet, which made travel information far more accessible, and the expansion of low-cost airlines across Europe in the early 2000s. Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 further accelerated this transformation, opening the country to a much wider audience.

So why return to this website now, nearly a quarter century later? Today, the world is very different. Information is everywhere—websites, blogs, and YouTube channels offer instant access to more travel content than anyone could possibly consume. And yet, that is precisely the reason to revisit this project, I feel that travel has become too commoditized.....

Thank you for reading and feel free to send me any questions relating to your travels to Warsaw and Poland and comments about the site: contact@explorewarsaw.pl

Thank you,

Team @explorewarsaw.pl