What Warsaw costs
A day in Warsaw per person, in euros — and two days in a row when the three big museums charge nothing.
- A day per person
- frugal €22–41, middle €61–116
- A night per person
- hostel €11–23
- A meal
- milk bar €5–10, restaurant €11–28
A day in Warsaw costs €22–41 per person with a hostel bed, two milk-bar meals and a day ticket, and €61–116 with a hotel room for two, dinner in a restaurant and two paid museums. The bed makes most of the difference, and the timetable the biggest saving: on Wednesdays a special route through the Royal Castle is free, and on Thursdays POLIN and the Rising Museum.
Two profiles, per person per day
The hotel runs from the cheapest month (January) to the dearest (April), for a room shared by two; the other items are the price range in the sources.
Wednesday for the Castle, Thursday for the other two
- The Royal Castle — the Royal Route €13.82, with an audio guide. On Wednesdays a special route through the Royal Apartments and the Lanckoroński Gallery is free, but many rooms are closed that day.
- POLIN — €10.36, with an audio guide. On Thursdays the core and temporary exhibitions are free.
- The Warsaw Rising Museum — €8.06. Free on Thursdays.
If the trip spans a Wednesday and a Thursday, the Castle goes on the Wednesday, POLIN and the Rising Museum on the Thursday: all three big entries then fit into two days without a ticket.
Food and transport
A two-course milk-bar lunch with kompot is €5–10; a state subsidy keeps it that low. Dinner in a restaurant is €11–28, depending on whether it is one course or three.
A 75-minute ticket is €1.01 and covers changes between metro, tram and bus; the day ticket is €3.45. The day ticket only pays from the fourth ride — walk the centre and take the metro back in the evening, and single tickets come out cheaper.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How much money a day for Warsaw?
Per person, €22–41 in a hostel with a milk bar and the museums on a Thursday, and €61–116 in a three-star hotel room for two, with a restaurant and two paid museums.
Is the free Wednesday at the Royal Castle the same as the paid route?
No. On Wednesdays you only get a special route through the Royal Apartments and the Lanckoroński Gallery, and many rooms are closed; the full Royal Route is paid.
Which day should I avoid for museums?
Tuesday, when POLIN and the Rising Museum are both closed, and Monday, when the Royal Castle is.
Ready for Warsaw?
Where to next
Warsaw beyond the rebuild: a neon museum and a roof garden
→A roof garden over a library, a cemetery laid out in 1790 and courtyards with wartime shrines — seven things…
Lublin · 153 km
→A city in eastern Poland whose castle chapel dates to 1418, with the Majdanek camp on its edge
How well does Warsaw suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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