Warsaw Entertainment

The entertainment in Warsaw has improved in recent years. There is now a good club scene that should cater for most tastes. Classical music lovers and theatre-goers are well catered for during the summer months. In particular, there are some high-quality theatre productions, operas and recitals which are popular with locals and visitors alike. The city also hosts several good festivals, although some of them are not annual events.

Nightlife

The club scene in Warsaw generally caters to commercial techno and trance fans, while there's usually some specialist nights offering kitsch 1970s and ‘80s evenings, reggae, hip-hop and so on. Don't arrive too early as most of the clubs rarely get going until after midnight. Warsaw in Your Pocket and the Warsaw Insider both have full details on all of the clubs. Big name DJs sometimes make their way to Warsaw during the summer, and ticket prices are not surprisingly, much higher.

There are no licensing hours and many bars and clubs stay open until the last customer leaves. Trainers and jeans are not usually acceptable, but it depends on where you go. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol is 18 years.

Warsaw offers a complete range of drinking establishments, from spit and sawdust bars through to ultra hip lounge-style bars with extensive cocktail menus. Many bars have outdoor drinking areas, especially during the summer period. Non-smokers should be aware that bars and clubs can get particularly smoky.

Good, live, music can be hard to find and it tends to be predictable rock and pop cover bands. There doesn't appear to be an established gig-circuit, as you would find in many cities. There are a few clubs which put on ad-hoc concerts, so be sure to check the listings in the local entertainment magazines mentioned. Touring bands will usually play at GwardiaStadium, ulica Raclawicka 13 or Tor Stegny, ulica Inspektowa 1. Big jazz names tend to play at the Sala Kongresowa.

Theatre and music

Theatre is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Warsaw. There is a rich tradition in classic theatre as well as weird and wonderful avant-garde productions. If you don't speak Polish then it's obviously a disadvantage, but it's still worth seeing one of the bigger performances, as the overall quality and set designs are of a very high standard. State subsidies ensure that ticket prices remain low.

Opera is also very popular and there are many classical concerts during the summer months. The cinemas provide a mixture of mainstream Western pictures, global art house movies and home-grown films. They are usually shown in the original language with Polish subtitles. Listings can be found in all of the local papers and entertainment guides.

Festivals

Warsaw has a thriving cultural scene and there are many festivals to choose from. 

• The internationally acclaimed Autumn Festival is Poland's leading forum for presenting contemporary classical music from around the world. A number of one-off concerts take place at venues around the city.
• The Chopin Festival is held for the entire month of August at the historical concert hall at Ostrogski Castle and at Stanisawowski Theatre in Royal Lazienki Park.
• The International Chopin Piano Competition is held every five years at Stanisawowski Theatre in Royal Lazienki Park.
• The Warsaw International Film Festival is held in the middle of October and screens over 100 films from 40 countries.
• Other festivals include the International Book Fair in May, the Warsaw Poetry in autumn and the International Jazz Jamboree Festival in October.