Go, but pay attention.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Warsaw at 75/100 for crime — that makes it read about the same as than Poland's national picture overall (74/100 vs 74/100).
City page · part of Poland
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in Warsaw report
Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside Poland's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
25.3
Safety Index
74.7
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as Poland's national page, with crime swapped for Warsaw's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in Warsaw, specifically
- • Warsaw is a safe city overall.
- • Some areas south of the Palace of Culture and Science and the train station have a rather seedy feel to them, especially at night.
- • Though nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other major cities, pickpockets can sometimes be a problem and you should be careful to hold onto your belongings when in a large crowd or on buses (…
- • Violent behaviour is extremely rare and if it occurs it is most likely alcohol-related.
- • Pub crawl tours are scams.
- • It is not uncommon taxi drivers will try to scam tourists by overcharging when driving people from the train station.
Legal status (national law)
Always legal in Polish legislation (Russian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia and Austria-Hungary Empire laws criminalizing same-sex intercourse were in force to 1932; German laws criminalizing same-sex intercourse were in force from 1939 to 1945 during Nazi Germany occupation) + UN decl. sign.
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / E · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 997 or 112 / ambulance: 999 or 112 / fire: 998 or 112
Tipping
When you're paying for drinks or a meal in restaurants or bars and you are handed a receipt, you should give the amount you have to pay and wait for the change. If you give the money and say "thank you" it will be treated as a "keep the change" type of tip. This also goes for taxis. The average tip is around 10% of the price. It's polite to leave a tip, but it's not uncommon to ignore this practic
SIM / Data
There are numerous mobile phone operators in Poland: Plus, T-Mobile, Orange and Play are the most popular ones, with the offer enhanced by many virtual operators, usually cheaper, including free calls in a monthly package. LTE is available in every town and 5G is being implemented as of 2021. Domestic call rates are roughly the same across all services.
Cash vs. Card
The legal tender in Poland is the Polish złoty, pronounced zwoty. It is denoted by the symbol "zł" (ISO code:: PLN). The złoty is divided into 100 groszy (see infobox for details).
How this compares to Poland
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Warsaw at 75/100 for crime — that makes it read about the same as than Poland's national picture overall (74/100 vs 74/100).
See the full Poland page and all receipts →