Warsaw for WWII Buffs - private tour by retro minibus
Overview
This tour is a choice for those primarily interested in the history of World War II. You'll learn about the battles, heroes and everyday life in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, the political situation in the region that has changed diametrically throughout coupe years of WWII and the consequences that war has brought to Poland and Europe. Find buildings that may be considered war memorials due to the bullet holes and ricochets, pieces of the Jewish Ghetto wall and hidden hills of rubble. Travel through time thanks to stories you'll hear, combined with archival photographs and our Zuk retro vintage minibus.
Inclusions
- Professional English speaking local guide
- Transport by retro communist minibus
- Hotel / apartment Pickup and drop-off within 3 km radius of city center
What to expect
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Warsaw, Warsaw, Mazovia Province, Central Poland
Tour’s schedule is organised in chronological order. The first part is looking for witnesses of the war in downtown Warsaw. The wounds are still visible - you just need to know where to look for them. Next, the guide introduces you to the international situation in the late 1930s and the WWII outbreak in 1939. It was the time of shock caused by nazi and communist (the Soviet Union captured eastern Poland) terror and the birth of Polish resistance.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Fragment of Ghetto Wall, ul. Zlota 60, Warsaw 00-821 Poland
The crucial part of WWII history in Poland is the tragedy of Jewish citizens who were oppressed and murdered by German Nazis. Poland was home to 3 million Jews, 300 000 of them lived in Warsaw. In 1940 German Nazis created Warsaw Ghetto and squeezed half a million Jews into it.
A few fragments of the Ghetto Wall running between the properties are preserved, as well as the walls of the pre-war buildings that marked the border of the ghetto. The three best-known parts of the wall are located in the former small ghetto, although some are periodically not accessible: the guide takes you to one of them.
Duration: 25 minutes
Stop At: Waliców, Warszawa, Poland
The Waliców street tenement house is, as we say, the last ghost from the Ghetto since it remains a ruin up to now. Also - there is a fragment of the Ghetto wall preserved in the same place.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Chlodna Street, ul. Chlodna, Warsaw 00-000 Poland
In 1941 Ghetto was divided into two parts by Chłodna street, used for East-West transfer traffic.
The wooden bridge was built near the intersection of Chłodna and Żelazna streets to link two parts. It reached the third floor of the buildings, which allowed the “Aryan” trams, German military transports and cars to pass beneath it, as we can see in many photographs.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Muranów, Warsaw, Poland
The next stop is the Muranów district. Again, the first impression is that it is just a regular neighbourhood filled with squared blocks of flats. But there is much more from the past to be discovered with the help of a guide.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Pomnik Bohaterow Getta, ul. Zamenhofa 11, Warsaw 00-001 Poland
The monument of the Ghetto Heroes and Polin museum are two symbolic and essential places where your guide takes you. Both are located near the spot where the first armed clash of the 1943 uprising took place. Yet, at the same time, it is where Polish, Jewish and German nations reconciled through several events throughout the last 50 years.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East, Muranowska, Warsaw Poland
On September 17th 1939, two weeks after the outbreak of WWII in Europe, Poland was attacked by the Soviet Union, and the Eastern part of our country was lost forever. After the fall of the USSR, the Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East was erected in honour of Poles deported to Gulags in Siberia, killed in executions and the victims of the Katyń massacres.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Warsaw Uprising Monument, plac Krasińskich, 00-263 Warszawa, Poland
Later in World War II, an agreement was reached between the Western Allies and the dictator of the USSR, Stalin; as a result, post-war Poland was about to become a country subordinate to the Soviet Union. The last attempt to avoid this fate was the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, which resulted in the Nazis destroying 85% of Warsaw. Red Army captured the empty city three months after the fall of the insurrection, in January 1945.
Duration: 10 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Car is used mainly for transfers between locations where guests walk with their guide.
- This tour can be booked instantly online for adults and children over 150 centimetres (4, 9 ft). However, if you want to book a tour for a shorter child, please contact the tour operator to check the availability of seat boosters, which are obligatory in Poland.
- Classic vintage minibuses are not equipped with air conditioning, and some are not equipped with seat belts (which is legal with classic vintage cars). However, they have a heating system for the winter.
- The capacity of one minibus is 8 passengers. 5 minibuses are available.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
Thoroughly enjoyed this tour, time flew by with guide Marc who was so informative and insightful. Saw places we wouldn’t have found on our own and got a better understanding of how war and communism impacted the city, often literally. Very moving, I can see the city with different eyes now.
Thoroughly enjoyed this tour, time flew by with guide Marc who was so informative and insightful. Saw places we wouldn’t have found on our own and got a better understanding of how war and communism impacted the city, often literally. Very moving, I can see the city with different eyes now.We had a wonderful evening a.nd very interactive talk from our guide. Definitely one of our highlights and would recommend
We had a wonderful evening a.nd very interactive talk from our guide. Definitely one of our highlights and would recommendArtur? Not sure how to spell his name. I had the best tour of my life with him. He knows everything about Warsaw history and he super funny. I would definitely go on a tour with him again.
Artur? Not sure how to spell his name. I had the best tour of my life with him. He knows everything about Warsaw history and he super funny. I would definitely go on a tour with him again.Wow. We have been travelling for 6 weeks across Europe on a WWII tour, and this by far takes the cake for being the best tour. Our guide was not only extremely kind, personable and funny he was incredibly informative and passionate about history. He provides photos/viewings of books of what certa...
Wow. We have been travelling for 6 weeks across Europe on a WWII tour, and this by far takes the cake for being the best tour. Our guide was not only extremely kind, personable and funny he was incredibly informative and passionate about history. He provides photos/viewings of books of what certain areas looked like during the war, it is incredibly helpful when taking in such important/dark history that can be difficult to truly understand. We learnt so much and have walked away wanting to learn more/research some of the heroes mentioned on our tour/watch more movies. I highly recommend this tour and would even do it again in future. Tip: I recommend doing this at the beginning of your Warsaw travels, your guide gives you fantastic advice on other museums to explore.Great tour for those who are knowledgeable of WWII in Poland and those who aren’t! Our guide was on time and provided excellent context, even tailoring the tour around the questions I had. My only regret is not doing this tour at the beginning of our trip (did it the last day) because after you h...
Great tour for those who are knowledgeable of WWII in Poland and those who aren’t! Our guide was on time and provided excellent context, even tailoring the tour around the questions I had. My only regret is not doing this tour at the beginning of our trip (did it the last day) because after you have knowledge of what you’re walking by it makes things in the city that much more impactful. Highly recommend!Amazing private tour for those who have knowledge of WWII and those who don’t. Pickup was on time and started immediately, everything was thorough and our guide was extremely knowledge. He tailored the tour to my questions which was fantastic. We did the tour in the last day of our trip and wish ...
Amazing private tour for those who have knowledge of WWII and those who don’t. Pickup was on time and started immediately, everything was thorough and our guide was extremely knowledge. He tailored the tour to my questions which was fantastic. We did the tour in the last day of our trip and wish we’d have done it on the first. Our guide pointed out things we had walked by a few times and had no prior knowledge of the significance. The tour will also take you to areas around Warsaw we would have never gone to or found ourselves. Highly recommend!