WARSAW: WHAT TO DO IN SUMMER | TOP UNMISSABLE EVENTS AND FESTIVALS

Summer in Warsaw is something special. The city comes alive with outdoor festivals, parties, and events that attract both locals and guests from around the world. Discover some unmissable upcoming music, art, theater, fashion, and food events in Warsaw and start filling your calendar!

Visiting Warsaw this summer and wondering what’s on the cultural agenda in this city? Or maybe you live in Warsaw and look for the events to make the most of your summer? Then this blog post is for you.

So, what Warsaw prepared for us this summer?

Slow Movement is a wonderful concept with an endless idea that manifests itself in slow food, slow design, slow art, slow fashion, slow travel and all other aspects of our lives. To celebrate "slow," come to the Slow Weekend! 

What will happen there? It's going to be a combination of a fair and a picnic where you can discover more than 350 exhibitors that are in line with "slow." There will be a slow market with slow food: local producers, the best food trucks, a foodsharing event, a cooking show, organic fruits and vegetables, and many other healthy things.

In the slow fashion zone, you will be able to find clothes, accessories, and design objects from local designers. If you are looking for professionals that would help you to choose the right natural cosmetics, you can benefit from this opportunity at the Slow Weekend, too. There will be stands with Polish organic cosmetics and consultants that can advice suitable for you green skin care products.

In addition to the stalls with thousands of Polish products, you can find at the Slow Weekend children's play areas, relaxation areas for adults, and participate in the creative workshops.

Keep calm & slow down!

FREE admission

More info here.

EVERY SUNDAY, THE WHOLE SUMMER

Chopin concerts in the Lazienki Park are probably the most famous summer event in Warsaw! You can't leave Warsaw without attending one of those concerts.

Enjoyed by all the generations, these concerts prove that the music of Chopin is timeless. Lay down on the grass and feel how this beautiful music fills the summer air.  

Every Sunday at 12:00 and 16:00 @ the Royal Lazienki Park 

FREE admission 

Full program is available here. 

Warsaw has many culinary and gastronomic events throughout the year. But in summer almost everything goes open air. It also applies to eating :-)

To enjoy good weather and good food in Warsaw, head to the Breakfast Market in Żoliborz or Mokotów. It's a perfect place to try regional specialties from different parts of Poland, to buy fresh food from the local producers or ready-to-eat culinary curiosities from the best restaurateurs and to create a picnic with your family and friends. 

The Breakfast Market is more than just eating. You can also participate in the sessions of yoga on the grass, fitness classes, and different art, culinary or hand-made workshops. There is also a playground for children that makes it a perfect venue for a family weekend. 

ŻOLIBORZ – a park near al. Wojska Polskiego/Śmiała – every Saturday, 10:00-17:00

MOKOTÓW -  AK GRANAT, intersection of Woronicza/Puławska, - every Sunday, 10:00-17:00  

More details here.

During the summer time in Warsaw, you can also enjoy practicing yoga on the grass in the Royal Lazienki park. Doing yoga outdoors is a beautiful experience that gives you a sense of freedom and joy, integration and understanding of yourself on many levels. As most of us spend the days away from the nature, we can rediscover and appreciate the depths of fresh air, light and green space during the outdoor yoga sessions.

Whether you are a seasoned yogi or a beginner, you can join the classes and experience the connection to your own innate bliss.

The classes are free and open to all the levels.

Don’t forget to bring a mat, water and insect repellant.

Further information here.

Fashionista alert! Warsaw Fashion Street is the largest fashion festival in Poland attended by more that 150,000 visitors. It will traditionally take place at Krakowskie przedmieście street.

What to expect? Tons of fashion, but not only. Warsaw Fashion Street is also the festival of culture, music, and art, and during these two days, you will be able to enjoy designer shows and listen to the outstanding music artists. There will also be a children fashion show, a competition of young Polish designers, a Fashion Fair with the stands of Polish designer brands where you can buy clothes, accessories and much more.

The admission to all the events is FREE.

Check the detailed program here.

JUNE 24

Midsummer's Eve or Noc Swietojanska, also known as Kupala Night, is one of the biggest open air festival in Warsaw. It is based on an ancient Slavic tradition coming from the pagans’ times.

It consists of many rituals such as couple jumping over the flames of bonfires, girls floating wreaths of flower on rivers, or young people searching for blooming ferns. It is connected with a sacred role of water and fire having purifying power.

The event “Wianki nad Wisłą”  taking place each summer in Warsaw tries to combine tradition and modernity.

It will include a picnic, fireworks, Polish folk music, traditional food, concerts with the Polish stars, and different workshops on wreaths making, painting of sails, baking traditional biscuits, and creative ecology.

This event is a unique way to immerse into a Polish culture.

All the details here.

The International Street Art Festival is an artistic event taking place in Warsaw every year since 1993. During two summer weeks, the streets of Warsaw come alive with street theater, dance, music, circus and other cross-disciplinary performances. It creates for Varsovians and guests of the capital a colorful kaleidoscope of artistic experiences where audience participation is encouraged. 

Outdoor shows will take place at the Warsaw squares and in the parks. Artists from Italy, Germany, Russia and Poland will perform in this year's edition.

Detailed program of the festival is available here. 

Leave movie festivals in the stuffy cinemas for the autumn and enjoy watching movies in Warsaw under the stars, on sun lounges or just laying on the grass. 

This summer Warsaw is going to become the biggest open-air cinema in Poland with movie screenings taking place in the various districts of the city: Śródmieście, Ochota, Powiśle, Praga, Muranów, Mokotów, Bemowo and Białołęka among others. 

The inauguration event is planned for the 27th of June at the Pole Mokotowskie. I'll update this article with more details once the program is disclosed. 

Check out where the summer film shows will take place in Warsaw during the holiday season.

FREE entry for all the movie screenings

“Ogrody Muzyczne” (Music Gardens) Festival is a one of the highlights of Warsaw’s summer cultural agenda including concerts, opera, ballet and film screenings. It takes place every year at the Royal Castle in Warsaw and is attended by 50,000 people.  

Each edition of the festival embraces a different theme. 

 
The full program of the event is available here.
 

And all that JAZZ ... :-) 

Throughout the whole July and August, the International Festival Jazz in the Old Town will please us with jazzy extravaganza. It's the biggest and the longest jazz festival in Poland and Europe. The concerts will take place every Saturday at the Market Square of the Old Town. 

You will have a chance to enjoy the performances of the Polish and international jazz stars such as Francesco Cafiso Quartet, John Pizzarelli, Marek Napiorkowski, James Carter and many others. 

Check the full program here. 

Another jazz festival in Warsaw that you can't miss is Warsaw Summer Jazz Festival. It was launched back in 1999 and immediately became one of the most prominent jazz festivals. Some of the top jazz stars performed at the Warsaw Summer Jazz during last years. You can listen to the performances of many celebrities of avant-garde jazz. Check who is playing this year! 

The festival will take place at the trendy Soho Factory, Minska street, 25

Enjoy the four days of massive and uncontrolled contemporary jazz!

Further information and program is here.

THE WHOLE SUMMER

What is summer without a beach party? Warsaw is not a beach destination, but it does have fantastic urban beach parties that will give you a tropical feel. One of the best places to catch rhythms of salsa, kizomba or bachata, and to enjoy exotic drinks is La Playa Music Bar on the Vistula river.

At La Playa you will get a huge dose of summer beach party served by the best DJs. It’s Warsaw’s paradise in the city centre where the dance floor is hot and the drinks are cold.

Come and see for yourself!

Address: Wybrzeże Helskie street, 1/5

Check out the program of their parties here

Which events will you be adding to your calendar?

Which other summer events in Warsaw are you looking forward to enjoying this year?

Leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading!

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Rock and roll,

Sasha

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