Warsaw: Evening Beer, History and Culture Tour

We will meet in the iconic MDM Square, a Communist time capsule whose architecture represents the epitome of the socialist realism fantasy that influenced urban planning in Poland during the aftermath of the Second World War. 

Your friendly local guide will give you the lowdown on the significance of the sculptures and buildings you are looking at and tell you stories about life in Warsaw during the communist era. As we walk through the tremendous arcades, we will admire seasonal murals and we’ll see the housing development that was supposed to encourage the ‘everyday working man’ to settle and work here after the War. 

After soaking up some Polish history, it’s time to soak up something a little more fluid. We’re going to take you to the oldest (and best) tap bar in Warsaw. Run by the legendary Queen of the Crafts, who will serve you some traditional Polish treats and pour for you some of the country’s finest craft beer. Will you dare to try her ‘mad marinated cheese’ too?! This pub is like a museum so, as we enjoy our drinks and snacks, we’ll chat more about the city’s intriguing past.

Once our glasses are empty, we will make our way to Warsaw’s real epicenter for beer; Nowogrodzka Street. We will visit one of the most popular and reputable beer sanctuaries in all of Warsaw. 

Here the beer tasting gets really serious, as your guide (or more accurately, your Beer Sherpa for the day) will teach you everything you need to know about tasting beer like a pro. You’ll taste four different types of beer together and your guide show you how to choose the style and strength, learn how it should be served (the type of glass and what temperature it should be), how to control the beer’s appearance (colour, clarity, head) and finally we’ll show you the best technique to gently swirl it, smell it and sip it. 

After our beer tasting we’ll head back on the streets, feeling buzzed and eager to explore some more. We will continue down Mysia Street (meaning Mice Street) which used to be a short and narrow passageway in the 18th century but is today a busy thoroughfare that showcases cutting-edge clothes and accessory stores and one of the best photo galleries in town, the Leica Gallery.

As we walk we’ll spot a strange, black monument that starts underneath your feet and finishes leading up to the sky. It’s strongly connected to the former Central Office of Press Control, Publications and Spectacles (a fancy name for the censorship bureau). Continuing with the Cold War theme, our evening stroll will come to an end at Party's House (the monumental seat of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party before 1989). 

Our tour ends here but we would thoroughly recommend that you stay close to Warsaw’s White House where another buzzy tap bar is located. So if you feel you had not enough of beer tonight (unlikely!) you can grab your next craft fix in here.