Jimmy's Tour Club - Warsaw Tours
Licensed Tour Guide
Welcome to our Warsaw Tours section; where you will find a carefully selected variety of professional tours of Warsaw with our licensed Warsaw tour guide, Artur Stavicki.
For the full list of tours available, please visit Warsaw Tours at Love Warsaw.
We are a group of Expats and Poles who have lived in Warsaw for many years and we enjoy visiting the many historic locations Warsaw has to offer. We also enjoy exploring the social side of the City looking for new places to have fun and let our hair down.
Jimmy's Tour Club is located at Jimmy Bradley's Irish Bar and is located close to the Palace of Science & Culture and this provides the perfect venue for lunch and after-tour socialising.
Artur is a Varsovian and his family has lived in Warsaw for many generations. Originally a journalist, Artur has a real passion for the history of Warsaw and he now shares this passion and his knowledge of the City with tourists from around the world.
Amongst the various Warsaw tours; which Artur conducts around the City is a bicycle tour combining his passion for cycling with his passion for the history this remarkable historic location. The bike tour lasts for 5 hours and costs range from 260 PLN or 65 Euros for a special one-to-one tour for one person up to tours for 2 people costing 130 PLN or 32 Euros per person (bike included). The bike tour can be arranged on a bespoke basis with Artur who will design the tour based on the attractions you are interested in seeing. For further information, please contact Artur.
Artur speaks a variety of languages including Polish, English, Russian, Ukranian and is currently learning Italian. Tours in other languages can also be arranged.
A tour with Artur is highly recommended, he is a real character who also enjoys socialising. In addition to his passion for the history of Warsaw, spending quality time with his wife and son, his daily cycle rides around the city, Artur also enjoys watching good movies, listening to music and having a sing-song with his circle of friends over a few beers.
Artur's Tours by Artur Stavicki
I invite you to spend some time with me and travel in time and space around the wonderful city of Warsaw. Find out why Warsaw is often referred to as the Phoenix reborn from ashes and discover first-hand why so many people fall in love with Warsaw (and sometimes in Warsaw!)
Warsaw was established in the Middle Ages and was later a place where the first European constitution was signed. The city has seen many wars & troubles in her past and in the last World War alone, has survived the siege of 1939 and two uprisings against German occupiers (Jewish 1943 & Polish 1944). Since the beginning of World War 2, Warsaw has been totally destroyed and rebuilt.
Tour 1 - History & Heritage (Walking Tour)
On this tour, you will discover 800 years of history in just 4 hours. The sights you will visit are:
Palace of Culture and Science - (called "nightmare of mad confectioner" - "an Uncle Joe's gift" or "statue of dependence"). "Given" by Stalin in 50's is still the highest building in Warsaw. However the Queen of Nederland said about it: "Small but stylish".
All Saints Church – was the biggest church in Warsaw in the middle of the twentieth century.
The monument of John Paul II stands in the front of the church.
Synagogue – Before the war there was hundreds of Jewish prayer houses. This one, built in 1902 by Nożyk family, is the only survived till today and is still in use.
Saxon Garden - that's all which remains of the Saxon residence, in the complex was a Palace & Gardens which you can visit today. The palace was destroyed during the war. Fryderyk Chopin played in this park as a child (his family lived in the palace nearby).
Pilsudski Square – a place of national celebrations. In 1979 about 500 000 people attended here the mass celebrated by John Paul II. This started a foundation of "Solidarity" movement in 1980 and the collapse of communism in Poland. (A stone cross commemorates this event.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – built in 1925 to honour soldiers who fought & died for Polish independence. Every Sunday at 12:00 you can see the ceremonial change of the guard.
The Great Theatre – Opera house & National Theatre. The Famous La Scala looks like a kiosk in comparison with the size of this building . Built in 1833 by Antonio Corazzi, destroyed during the war and was rebuilt in the 60's. The stage has a size of half a football field ( 50 metres deep) The audience holds about 2000 spectators .
WARSAW OLD TOWN:
Castle square and Column of Zygmunt III Waza first civil monument in Warsaw.
The Royal Castle – from the end of XVI century residence of the King and First Republic parliament, where the first European constitution was signed.
Cathedral church ( Is the oldest Varsovian church - in the beginning it was castle chapel) built in gothic style in XIV century. Destroyed by Germans during WW II, and was rebuilt in the 50's.
Market place – center of every medieval city surrounded with decorated houses. Till 1818 stood here the Varsovian town hall, now we will find here a statue of the famous Varsovian mermaid.
The Barbican – work of Venetian architect built in XVI c. reconstructed after the war.
WARSAW NEW TOWN:
Whilst in the New Town, this tour concentrates on the following attractions:
Dominican church.
Our Lady church.
St. Kasimir Church (masterpiece of Tylman van Gameren).
Maria Curie - Skłodowska House (birth place of this famous Polish scientist).
Prices:
Special Individual Tour (1 Person) = 250 PLN or 62 Euros
Small Groups (2 People) = 125 PLN or 31 Euros per person
Small Groups (3 People) = 100 PLN or 25 Euros per person
Small Groups (4 to 6 People) = 75 PLN or 18 Euros per person
Large Groups (7 to 13 People) = 50 PLN or 12 Euros per person
Large Groups (14+ People) = 28 PLN or 7 Euros per person.
For further information about this tour or to book a tour, please send an email to Artur who will get back to you ASAP.
Tour 2 - Social Realism in Warsaw - Relics of Communism (Walking Tour)
For visitors from Britain or States (or even young Poles born after 1989) stories about communism sound like gloomy and non-sensical fairytales. If you want to see remains of the Communist system: which for over 45 years changed the life of locals into a black comedy or sometimes horror show, come with us for this unique & unusual 4 hour tour.
Palace of Culture & Science - classical example of social realism, was designed by the Soviet architect Lev Rudniev. The Palace had to play (in a strong Catholic Poland ) a roll "of the secular temple" by promoting the communist outlook on life. The congress-hall served as the place of congresses of the Communist party. It unexpectedly became a venue of The Rolling Stones concert and a constant scene for the Jazz Jamboree. Presently this social realist building is home to many institutions - theatres, museums, offices of Varsovian communalists, the faculty of mathematics of the Varsovian university and many more...
Parade Square - the location for all 1st May parades (Communist holiday). The participation in these manifestations was obligatory (party-activists assembled workers from their own institution and checked the attendens list). Under the tribune for party bosses was a kind of VIP room and from the tribune to the Palace of the Culture was a secret underground passage way.
Constitution Square (in the MDM district built in 'social realist' style) - was planned as the place of meetings and celebrations. We can see here (by monumental buildings) three massive candelabrums. and reliefs representative of labor heroes.
Milk bar - only a few of them resisted the falling of Communism. There were hundreds of them before in Communist Poland and they played a roll of a Communist McDonnalds (but for sure, there was no fast food on offer!). Milk bars were famous for cheap food, big crowds and arrogant staff. You should wait in a long que to get your "leniwe" or "pomidorowa" so it was rather "SLOW FOOD" than a fast food. ( you should try the ''leniwe'').
Ministry of Agriculture - you can see the highest colonnade in Warsaw.
Former seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party - Have you ever been in the headquarters of the communist party? Well now you have the opportunity to drink a shot of vodka in the same canteen as where the First Secretaries of the communist party drank. This place was fully stocked at the time when shops for "ordinary citizens" were empty - this made Varsovians furious with envy. (Drink traditional vodka with herring in former communist canteen - and feel like a first secretary) [dinner in milk bar - optional].
Prices:
Special Individual Tour (1 Person) = 250 PLN or 62 Euros
Small Groups (2 People) = 125 PLN or 31 Euros per person
Small Groups (3 People) = 100 PLN or 25 Euros per person
Small Groups (4 to 6 People) = 75 PLN or 18 Euros per person
Large Groups (7 to 13 People) = 50 PLN or 12 Euros per person
Large Groups (14+ People) = 28 PLN or 7 Euros per person.
For further information about this tour or to book a tour, please send an email to Artur who will get back to you ASAP.
Tour 3 - Jewish Heritage Warsaw (Driving Tour)
This 4 hour tour is very unique and provides tourists with a detailed understanding of Warsaw's Jewish heritage. The sights that you will see are:
Janusz Korczak Monument
Janusz Korczak (The real name. Henry Goldszmidt, 1878 or 1879 -1942) was a doctor, a writer and an educator who dedicated his life to help children. Working as the children's doctor since 1912 and directed the Jewish House of Orphans. He was an author of scientific publications and fairytales for children (in Polish). In 1940 his orphanage was transferred to the Ghetto. In August 1942 Henry had a choice to save himself or die with his children, he voluntarily went together with the children of the orphanage to their death in the extermination camp in Treblinka.
Nożyk Synagogue
Synagogue was built in 1902 as a private prayer house by Zelman and Rywka Nożyk and given to the Warsaw Jewish Community. During the occupation the synagogue was closed and used by Germans as the store. Opened again only in 1945. In 1977-1983 renovation restoring it original condition. Of the hundreds of prayer houses in pre - war Warsaw it is the only surviving synagogue still in use.
Bunker of Jewish uprising HQ
On the corner of Mila st and Dubois st stood the tenement house. In its cellar was a bunker, which the command of the Jewish Fighting Organization occupied. On May 8, 1943 it was discovered by the German troops. Most of the fighters committed suicide with commanders - Mordechaj Anielewicz (1919-43) and Arie Wilner (1917-43). In 1946, on the mound formed of ruins of the house was placed a memorial stone with inscriptions in Polish, Yiddish and Hebrew.
In 2006, at the bottom of the burial mound, was placed a stone with names of those who died by suicide and a fragment of a poem "Here they lie at the site of their death as the sign that the whole earth is their grave." [ by R Matywiecki]
The Monument to the Heroes of the Getto
Work of Natan Rapaport and Marek Suzin was unveiled on the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the Ghetto Uprising, April 19th, 1948.
On the west side is a sculpture symbolizing battle, and on the east is a relief depicting the martyrdom of the Jewish people. Nearby is an monument from 1946. On a tablet of red stone, is an inscription in Polish, Yiddish and Hebrew: "To those who fell in the unprecedented heroic battle for the dignity and freedom of the Jewish people, for a free Poland and for man's liberation. Polish Jews."
Willy Brand, Chancellor of Germany kneeled at the bottom of the Monument of the Ghetto Heroes 7.12.1970.
Opposite the monument, is the place where the Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be built [at present under construction].
Umschlagplatz Monument
This monument stood in the place of former Umschlagplatz - the railway-loading platforms at Dzika street. In July 1942 transports of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp began (The Jews were told they were going to work camps in the East). Everyday about 6,000 people were sent to their death. A monument was built here in 1988. "Over 300,000 Jews followed this path of suffering and death between 1940-1943 from the Ghetto created in Warsaw to the Nazi death camps" informs inscription on the monument. There were also inscribed in the wall four hundred and forty-eight first names, from Abel to Żanna, as a symbol of the 450,000 Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. On the wall of a neighboring building a verse from the Book of Job, 16:18, is engraved in Polish, Yiddish and Hebrew: "O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place."
The Route Recalling the Martyrdom and the Struggle of the Jews 1940-1943
The Route, designated by blocks of black granite , runs between Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto and the the Umschlagplatz. Each stone bears names of Ghetto rising heroes, individuals active in the Warsaw Ghetto and Jewish leaders [i.e Szmul Zygielbojm (1895-1943) a member of the Polish National Committee in exile (in London) at the time commited suicide because of no reaction from any governments of the allies after liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto].
Fragment of the Ghetto Wall
By the end of 1940 the Ghetto was enclosed by 3-meter-high wall. About 500,000 Jews were imprisoned here on 300 hectares. (The Germans deported here also Jews from neighbouring small towns ). Late 1941 the boundaries were altered and the walls moved to the middle of the bordering streets. After the end of deportations, the Ghetto was reduced in size again. Fragments of the ghetto wall survive at the building on Sienna Street as well as at locations on Waliców, Krochmalna and Zelazna streets. We can see a fragment of the wall erected in 1940 between Sienna and Zlota streets.
The monument to the Memory of Jews and Poles:
In the former sports field "Skra", in the years 1941-1943, Jews who died of hunger and illness were buried in mass graves. In 1944, Poles were shot here. After the war the bodies were exhumed and the remains (6588) were put in the Cemetery of the Insurgents at Wolska Street.
In 1988 during the excavation of foundations under the house building one discoveredremains of 300 Jews and Poles.
In 1989 a monument was erected on the remaining part to commemorate the mass graves of Poles and Jews killed during the World War II.
The Jewish Cemetery
This cemetery founded in 1806 is one of the few Jewish cemeteries still functioning in Poland. It counts about 33 ha of the area and 250 000 graves is here (500 000 buried bodies). Over 150,000 gravestones have survived war and German occupation . Its sizes permit to understand, how huge was warsaw Jewish community.It is the resting place of many distinguished people in the history of the Jews, Warsaw and Poland.
[Apart from tzaddiks and rabbis, there are also the graves of Jewish authors, actors and the creator of Esperanto, Ludwik Zamenhof (d. 1917). Here you will find the mass graves from World War II, the burial mound of Prof. Majer Bałaban (d. 1942), and Adam Czerniaków, chairman of the Judenrat [ which was a Jewish council in a Ghetto] (d. 1942).
The former Bersons and Baumans Children's Hospital
This hospital was built in 1878 for Jewish children, funded by donors, Majer Berson Paulina Bauman. Janusz Korczak worked there before World War I. On August 1942 the children and staff were transferred to the school building in the "big" Ghetto, and from there to Umschtagplatz for deportation to death camp in Treblinka. After 1952 the building was adapted it as a municipal children's isolation hospital. On the building was placed a commemorative plaque for Dr. Anna Braude- Heller (1888-1943), director of the local hospital murdered in the bunker together with sick children in the central Ghetto during uprising.
The Ester Rachel Kamińska and Ida Kamińska Jewish Theater
The theater was built in 1969. It houses the Jewish Theater [came into being in 1949 in the Łodź and in 1955 was transferred to Warsaw] which presents plays in Yiddish, the Headquarters of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland , the Polish-Yiddish Journal Słowo Słowo Żydowskie (Dos Jidisze Wort), and the American-Polish-Israeli Shalom Foundation.
Próżna Street
Four tenement houses between Grzybowski Square and Zielna Street , No 7, 9, 12 and-14, which are in a poor condition are one of the few remaining fragments of Jewish Warsaw.
Prices (includes transport):
Special Individual Tour (1 Person) = 350 PLN or 88 Euros
Small Groups (2 People) = 175 PLN or 44 Euros per person
Small Groups (3 People) = 135 PLN or 33 Euros per person
Small Groups (4 to 6 People) = 125 PLN or 31 Euros per person
Large Groups (7 to 13 People) = 93 PLN or 23 Euros per person
Large Groups (14+ People) = 57 PLN or 14 Euros per person.
A deposit may be required for this tour.
For further information about this tour or to book a tour, please send an email to Artur who will get back to you ASAP.
