Europe with a dog - Warsaw, Poland

Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, Poland

Last year we spent a fortnight in Poland exploring various areas and cities. Our small dog, Bodie, accompanied us (as always) and we found Poland to be very dog-friendly. We stayed in various locations and in various types of accommodations including an apartment in Krakow and a castle in Rydzyna.

Warsaw is a large modern city with wide avenues and a historical city center. Our hotel, the Jan III Sobieski, was easy to find largely because of its multicolored facade (getting out of the city proved to be a bigger challenge). The luxury property has 434 rooms including 46 suites. We had reserved one regular room for my in-laws and a suite for us so that Bodie wouldn't feel too cramped when we went exploring the city's museums and churches - he may be small but he's high-strung! The suite ended up being much larger than we expected with a separate living/dining room and two bathrooms. A large buffet breakfast was included in our rate and the food was excellent quality. It was a lot like a brunch-style buffet that you would see at luxury properties in the U.S. with multiple hot and cold dishes.

We were only in Warsaw a short while but we visited the Holy Cross Church where Chopin's heart is entombed (his body is buried in Paris). The church itself was beautiful and worth a stop. It is a "real" church so be respectful and quiet when visiting.

The Jan III Sobieski hotel is located on the outskirts of the Old Town on the corner of a busy intersection. Trams stop right outside the hotel making it convenient to get about. From the hotel you can easily walk to The Warsaw Rising Museum which chronicles the uprising against the Nazi's in 1944. It is a very moving museum and is highly recommended. There are plenty of shops and restaurants also in the area offering a wide range of options. We found it to be a good place to stay, especially when having a car - we didn't have to drive through the Old Town area to find our hotel.

The food in Warsaw was excellent. A block or so from the Jan III Sobieski Hotel is a small Indian place called Arti that had the best Indian food we've ever had (and we've tried a lot).  A further walk - about 15-20 minutes - will bring you to a small shopping center with a choice of restaurants. We ate at Wook, a chinese restaurant with an open kitchen. The food portions were tapa-size with each dish costing 4-8 zloty (a few dollars). A very affordable restaurant that I would recommend even though they kept showing a dvd of a Toto concert.

Our trip to Warsaw was a bit brief so we plan on returning some day. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and we were able to communicate quite easily (most residents speak English - at least a small amount even though we tried speaking Polish). If you take your dog, check out Lazienki Park - a dog-friendly park (keep pet on leash) close to the city center. The park has a palace, an amphitheater, and other buildings. During the summer, the park hosts open-air concerts featuring Chopin at noon every Sunday. There are also other parks scattered around Warsaw where your dog is welcome.

Dogs are welcome on the public transportation but they must either be in a carrier or leashed and muzzled. You will also need to carry proof of rabies vaccination with you at all times (which is true for any foreign country).

To read more about our trip to Poland, check out these articles:

- Poznan, Poland and its colorful Old Market Square
- Rydzyna Castle Hotel - a pet-friendly castle hotel
- Krakow - many sights to see in and around Krakow - Coming Soon!

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