Explore Warsaw - festivals and major events

No idea how to spend time in Warsaw fruitfully? Choosing the best attraction from a handful of events the capital has to offer, is not an easy task. We prepared a short review of what to do in Warsaw in spare time.

Entertainment

When you get tired of sightseeing you can relax in Łazienki Park and, on a summer weekend, take in a concert by the Chopin Monument. You could also have a walk round the University of Warsaw's Botanical Gardens nearby or the Ujazdowski Park and see how many kilos you've lost on the historical sit-on scales. You could also go to the top of the Palace of Culture and Science and see a panorama of Warsaw.

Festivals and important events

All kinds of cyclical events, related to culture, art or just the calendar. Every 5 years, in October, the National Philharmonic hosts the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition (the last was in 2010). The annual Ludwig Van Beethoven Easter Festival takes place at the National Philharmonic. Bookworms will love the International Book Fair, which takes place at the Palace of Culture every May. Chopin fans will love the open-air piano concerts next to the Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park on Sundays at 12:00 and 16:00 from May to September. Also in May, Saska Kępa holds its own festival -  the Święto Saskiej Kępy (Saska Kępa Holiday) - on Francuska Street. In the middle of May, following a European trend, Warsaw's museums are open all night and entrance is free on Night of Museums.

On the weekend around the 24th June, Warsaw holds the Wianki nad Wisłą Festival (Wreaths on the Vistula) which celebrates the old Polish folklore tradition of setting a wreath afloat on the river as symbol of the start of summer.

The Mozart Festival in Warsaw takes place at the Warsaw Chamber Opera in June/July and the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days concerts are all over Warsaw at he end of June and beginning of July. If that's not enough Jazz, then get down to the Old Town Square every Saturday in July and August for the Jazz in the Old Town Festival.

The last week of August and the first in September are when the Warsaw of Singer Festival takes place. Grzybowski Square and Próżna Street remember Jewish Warsaw, culture, life and their extermination.

In October, the Congress Hall, among other venues, hosts one of the the oldest Jazz festivals in Europe - the Jazz Jamboree. The Warsaw International Film Festival also takes place in several cinemas in October, as does the 5km Run Warsaw race for athletes over 13 years old.