Kids & Families

In addition to bouncy floors, Stacja Grawitacja (p.60) also boasts the best 3D VR gaming experience in Poland!

While Warsaw has plenty of wonders, not every cultural site is going to be engaging for young visitors. The first step to having a successful family vacation is probably to just accept that what you and your kids want to do are not going to be one and the same. That said, there’s common ground to be found in some of Warsaw’s most popular attractions.

Wandering the Old Town (p.24) or Łazienki (p.40) will likely please everyone, as will a walk along the Vistula Boulevards (p.37) - a great outing with plenty of diversions, most obvious of which is the stimulating and educational Copernicus Science Centre (p.39), but also the University Library Rooftop Gardens (p.39) and Multimedia Fountain Park further north. You’ll also find playgrounds along the river, and in the high season you can take a ferry to the wild side of Wisła and enjoy one of the city’s wild beaches.

Although it may sound more like punishment, kids really respond to the interactive exhibits of the highly modern Warsaw Rising Museum (p.59), which features areas designed specifically for young visitors. Some of Warsaw’s more niche museums like the NBP Money Centre (p.54), Museum of Dollhouses (p.53), Railway Museum (p.54) and Photoplasticon are also good choices for families. Of course, Warsaw has plenty of action-packed indoor attractions (p.60), so don’t miss the rainy day recommendations on the previous pages. Panoramic viewpoints are also a winner with kids, so in addition to those at the Rising Museum and University Gardens, check out St. Anne’s tower (p.30) near Plac Zamkowy, the Museum of Warsaw (p.28) on the Old Town Square and the viewing terrace on the 30th floor of the Palace of Culture & Science (p.17).

Multimedia Fountain Park

Located near the river a short walk north of the Old Town, the main feature of this park is - you guessed it - the modern, multimedia fountain. Modestly impressive by day, in the evening the fountain puts on extraordinary displays that combine music, light and water, creating visual effects of remarkable clarity such as Warsaw’s iconic Syrenka (Mermaid) moving through the water. Quite a show, these performance typically begin in May, but the spring schedule was unknown at press time, so check online. Across the street is the ‘Warsaw Family Zone’ (open 08:00-20:00; Fri 08:00-22:00; Sat 10:00-22:00; Sun 10:00-20:00), which features a playground and mini water park. QF-3, Skwer im. I Dywizji Pancernej, MDworzec Gdański, www.park-fontann.pl. Admission free.

Pinball Station

Listen here, sonny boy. Back in the days before every whippersnapper on the block had a gaming console in their blue jeans, folks used to go down to the arcade and play the pinball machines for a little entertainment. Relive those pre-digital days in this wildly fun and nostalgic pinball museum, featuring over 90 working machines you can play on, some of which date back to the 1930s. A great place to introduce this old school game to younger generations, admission gets you unlimited play for the entire day; you can even leave and come back later.QB-9, ul. Kolejowa 8A, MRondo Daszyńskiego, tel. (+48) 600 63 31 15, www.pinballstation.pl. Open 12:00-22:00; Fri 12:00-24:00; Sat 11:00-24:00; Sun 11:0022:00. Admission 45/39zł; kids under 12, 29zł.

Warsaw Photoplasticon

Hidden in a darkened pre-war tenement near the train station, a visit here really is a trip back in time. A popular form of entertainment in the pre-cinema era, a ‘photoplasticon’ is basically a 3D peep show (no, not the saucy kind) set inside a huge rotating drum, where visitors sit in front of a viewing station to see vivid photos as they slowly rotate by. Although photoplasticons were quickly made obsolete by moving pictures, this one, which has located here since 1905, somehow stayed open, surviving the war and even serving as a meeting point for intellectuals during the communist era. Today a visit to this stereoscopic theatre offers a quick, nostalgic diversion from Warsaw’s urban buzz. Check online to see what’s loaded into the machine (does it matter?) from their collection of over 7,000 stereoscopic images of times, places and people long gone. Visiting time: 20mins. QF-8, Al. Jerozolimskie 51, MCentrum, tel. (+48) 22 629 60 78, www.fotoplastikonwarszawski.pl. Open 10:00-18:00; closed Tue. Admission 10/6zł; Thu free.

Warsaw Zoo

Opened in 1928, Warsaw Zoo covers an area of 40 hectares and attracts some 500,000 visitors each year. In total there are 13,000 animals here, across 500 species. Conditions have improved dramatically in recent years, though a visit here will do little to change any opinions you have on locking animals in cages. It was bombed at the beginning of WWII and by 1945 all the animals had either been killed, deported to the Third Reich, eaten by locals or escaped into the wild. Zoo director, Jan Żabiński, became something of a hero; wounded during the 1944 Uprising, he helped save countless lives by sheltering Jewish orphans inside the grounds of the zoo.QH-3, ul. Ratuszowa 1/3, MDworzec Wileński, tel. (+48) 22 619 40 41, www.zoo.waw.pl. Open 09:00-18:00. Admission 30/20zł.