Warsaw travel guide

Warsaw, Poland – Overview

Warsaw, which also has other names, is Poland's capital and biggest city.  It has a population of 1,706,624 as of 2007, with its metropolitan area having a 3,350,000 population.  Warsaw is the European Union's 8th biggest city as well.  The older spellings of the city's name in Polish were Warszowa and Warszewa, which means “owned by Warsz”.  The name was attributed by a fisherman and his wife.  Warsz owned a village that was located by the Mariensztat site of today during the 12th and 13th centuries, and he was also a nobleman.  The Capital City of Warsaw is the city's official name in full, and has been known as Varsovia, which is Latin.

Geography and Climate

the Vistula River runs straight through Warsaw and is situated in the Masovian Plain's heart.  It is only 100 meters above sea level, but there are a few hills, which are mostly man-made, that are located within the city's confines.  The city has a humid continental climate, with an average temperature of 28°F in January and 64°F in July.  In the summer, it is typical for the temperature to reach 86°F.  Most of the rainfall comes during July, with an average of about 27 inches a year.

Transportation

Even though a lot of the streets in Warsaw were made wider, or new ones were made, during the 1950s when Warsaw was rebuilding, the city is still plagued with traffic issues.  There is plenty of public transport in the city, which is served with a metro, tramways, and buses.  There is a bus service that covers the whole city, having a total of 170 routes and 1,600 vehicles.  Warsaw also has more than 20 tram lines, and the first one was opened on the 11th of December in 1866.  Right now, Tramwaje Warszawskie, the tram line company, runs about 863 streetcars on nearly 292 miles of track.

There is one airport in Warsaw, the Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, which is located only about 6 miles from the center of the city.  They operate more than 70 domestic and international flights everyday, having more than 8,270,000 passengers during 2006.  In March of 2008, they opened a second terminal to alleviate an overcrowding problem, which is expected to extend the capacity of the airport by 6 million additional passengers.  They have been making plans for converting the military Modlin Airport, which is in disuse, into another airport for Warsaw, which will be mainly used by budget airlines.  However, the earliest that the airport will be ready is 2010.  Plus, they also have some long-term plans for building a whole new international airport, but the location is still undecided.