# Warsaw/Mokotów

Mokotów has over 200,000 inhabitants and is the most populous district of Warsaw. It consists mostly of residential developments of varying density, and Warsaw's largest office district in its Western part. There are a few historic buildings in the district, and many places played a meaningful role in the Warsaw Uprising. There are also quite a few embassies in Mokotów, and some parks.

## Understand

The name "Mokotów" may originates from French mon coteau, which means "my hillside" or, in another version, from Mokoto, the supposed name of the settlement's founder. The district is further divided into Augustówka, Czerniaków, Ksawerów, Sadyba, Siekierki, Sielce, Służew, Służewiec, Stegny, Wierzbno, Wyględów and Stary Mokotów (Old Mokotów), which is the historical area of the settlement.

### Local information

* Mokotów City Government website

## Get in
### By car

* Main streets parallel to Vistula: ul. Czerniakowska-ul. Powsińska, ul. Belwederska-ul. Sobieskiego, ul. Puławska, al. Niepodległości, ul. Żwirki i Wigury
* Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: ul. Spacerowa, Trasa Siekierkowska-ul. Witosa-ul. Sikorskiego

### By bus

From the Warszawa Centralna train station, you can take 119, 131, 525 to get to Mokotów. From Marszałkowska, also in the Centrum, you can take 522. Or if you cross under the street, and pop up on al. Jerozolimskie, you can catch the 107. If you go further down to ul. Piękna, where the US, French, and Canadian Embassies are located, you can also catch the 159. The 180, which is known as the tourist route, connects the Old Town and Nowy Świat with Wilanów, via the Mokotów. Most of these buses will end up taking you in the direction of the Sadyba neighborhood of Mokotów, toward Wilanów.
Other buses connect other parts of Mokotów with Warsaw too.

### By metro

Warsaw's subway system immediately connects Mokotów with Śródmieście and Ursynów. The last station in Śródmieście before entering Mokotów is the Metro Politechnika stop, while the last stop before entering Mokotów from Ursynów is the Metro Ursynów stop. More or less, the subway line cuts down the middle of Mokotów.

## Get around
### By metro

Warsaw's subway system has several stops in Mokotów, which can allow for travelers to quickly hop on and off the metro line and get north and south of Mokotów in just a few minutes. The following stops are in Mokotów - Pole Mokotowskie, Racławicka, Wierzbno, Wilanowska, and Służew.

## See

* 52.18921.0284721 Królikarnia, ul. Puławska 113a. Museum is open 11:00—18:00, except for Thursdays (closes 20:00) and Mondays (closed all day). The Królikarnia park is named after a pretence to being a rabbit warren for the King Augustus II in the 18th century, but in reality it served as a leisure residence and a place for meetings of the arts community. Those took place in the classicist palace, modelled after the renaissance Villa Rotonda outside Vicenza by the royal architect Domenico Merlini. The palace is situated right on the slope of the Warsaw escarpment, providing idyllic views of the greenery (and by now - low-rise residential areas) towards the Vistula river. Today, the park is open to the public and the palace hosts the sculpture department of the National Museum, dedicated to famous 20th-century sculptor Xawery Dunikowski, with several works scattered around the park. The park and palace come alive with cultural and social events in the summer months, so check the schedule in its website. Free entrance, both to the park and the museum.
* 52.20417821.0257452 Szuster Palace (Pałac Szustra), Morskie Oko 2. A neogothic palace, once a remote park residence, now nestled between residential buildings. A reconstructed "mauretanian house" signifies the entry to the vestigial park from Puławska street. The palace is home to a musical company and not open to visitors except concert nights.
* 52.17215421.0447273 St Catherine Church, ul. Fosa 17. St. Catherine's is the oldest continually existing parish within Warsaw, founded in 1238. This may be a bit misleading, as the current church building is much younger, dating in its present form from 1848, but still well-worth a visit for its elegant form, picturesque hilltop location and quite pristine condition. The churchyard contains the Monument to the Victims of Communist Terror of 1944-1956. (updated Jun 2017)
* 52.21375521.0034544 National Library of Poland (Biblioteka Narodowa), al. Niepodległości 213, ☏ +48 22 608 29 99, +48 22 452 29 99, fax: +48 22 825 52 51, bndyrekt@bn.org.pl. Closed Sunday. Not a major architectural draw or a typical tourist attraction, but a massive vault of knowledge and artistic work in print and other media. If this is of interest to you, you can easily schedule hours if not days for visiting the National Library.

### Czerniaków

* St Anthony Church in Czerniaków ul. Czerniakowska 2/4
* Folwark Czerniakowski
   * Gardener's House ul. Jodłowa 18
   * Manager's House ul. Bernardyńska 1

## Do
### Cinemas

* Cinema City, ul. Wołoska 12 (Galeria Mokotów), ☏ +48 22 456 65 00. A decent cinema in Galeria Mokotów. The upside of the theater is that the mall's food court allows you to grub out before or after the movie.
* Iluzjon, ul. Narbutta 50a, ☏ +48 22 646 12 60.
* IMAX, ul. Powsińska 31 (Sadyba Best Mall), ☏ +48 22 550 33 33.

### Music

* Warsaw Music Society (Warszawskie Towarzystwo Muzyczne), ul. Morskie Oko 2. Classical music.

### Sports
#### Bowling

* Hokus Pokus, ul. Powsińska 31 (Sadyba Best Mall), ☏ +48 22 550 35 35.

#### Ice-skating

* Tor Stegny, ul. Inspektowa 1 (near the intersection of ul. Sobieskiego and ul. Sikorskiego), ☏ +48 22 842 27 68. Open when the temperature falls below 10°C.

#### Swimming

* Wodny Park, ul. Merliniego 9 (near ul. Puławska near Królikarnia), ☏ +48 22 854 01 30.

### Theaters

* Pruderia ul. Racławicka 99 (unorthodox)

## Buy
### Malls

* Galeria Mokotów, ul. Domaniewska 41, ☏ +48 22 541-4141. 10:00-22:00. A large, un-crowded, and extremely nice and comfortable shopping mall. It's a great mall for those that want to avoid the crowds of Zlote Tarasy or Arkadia. Plus, you can find a few more lesser known shops here than at other popular malls.
* Sadyba Best Mall, ul. Powsińska 31. By comparison to other malls in Warsaw, this one is pretty small, but it comes equipped with a cinema, food court, and interestingly enough - a bowling alley, which is a one-up on most malls in Warsaw. Its cinema is also one of only a few IMAX theatres in Poland.
* CH Land, ul. Wałbrzyska 11 (Metro Służew), cuhlands@land.waw.pl. A very small, rather un-populated mall in Mokotów. This mall isn't too large or packed with annoyingly large crowds like at Złote Tarasy, Arkadia, or Galeria Mokotów, but it also doesn't have nearly the same number of stores as those malls or the activities.

## Eat
### Budget

* Dominium Pizza, ul. Rakowiecka 41 (Subway to Pole Mokotowskie, then restaurant is opposite the SGGW administration building), ☏ +48 22 210 10 10. Just one of a chain of pizzerias.
* Efes, Al. Niepodległości 80 (Metro Racławicka). Great place to go for a kebab.

### Mid-range

* Pizzeria Segment, ul. Powsińska 18A, ☏ +48 22 651 87 01. 11:30 - 22:00. A cool little pizzeria located in the Sadyba neighborhood of Mokotów. The pizza is superb and there is a number of varying pizza themes. The deserts only improve the experience. In the summer, dining upstairs is nice and the restaurant has an outdoor balcony. In the winter, it's warmer to eat downstairs than upstairs. 30+ zł.
* Flik ul. Puławska 43

### Splurge

* Restauracja Roma, ul. Artur Grottgera 2. 60 zł.
* Portucale, ul. Merliniego 5, ☏ +48 22 898-0925, fax: +48 22 898-0927, restauracja@portucale.pl. Portuguese restaurant that made its reputation in its collection of amazing wines.
* Blue Cactus, Zajączkowska 11, ☏ +48 22 851-2323, fax: +48 22 851-2322. M-F 08:00-23:00, Sa 09:00-23:00, Su 12:00-22:00. An excellent Mexican restaurant with good food and drinks. You can easily spend 60 zł or more per person, but it's well worth the money. From 60 zł.

## Drink

* Park, Al. Niepodległości 196, ☏ +48 22 825 91 65, park@klubpark.pl. Park is like Russian roulette; you may have your head blown off, or possibly have a great time. The door is relaxed, which means a lot of fools and the fashion challenged can usually get in. Alcohol is cheap with a shot of Wyborowa only costing zł 5. The only real problem is likely to be a concern for women. The men who go to this club often act like they have never seen a woman before, which may be due to the ethanol induced state of mind they are in, and may touch women who obviously don't want to be bothered. If any woman decides to go to this club, be sure to bring along friends or a guy friend to ward off drunk advances. Also, be sure not to upset the bouncers – let's just say, they don't take too kindly to being upset.
* Qlala Bar, ul. Chełmska 21, ☏ +48 507 071 787, manager@qlalabar.pl. A random and thoroughly unsuspecting bar. Walking in, the bar tender seemed surprised by the idea of customers, but was friendly. The furniture in Qlala consists of large comfortable chairs, love seats, and sofas, which are surrounded by book shelves that are covered in worn Polish-language books.
* Klub Mechanik, ul. Narbutta 87, ☏ +48 22 234 83 14, klub@klubmechanik.pl.

### Cafés

* Zielnik, ul. Odyńca 15 (A few streets from Racławicka metro stop, off of Al. Niepodległości), ☏ +48 22 844 35 00, fax: +48 22 844 99 15, info@zielnikcafe.pl. Zielnik is a really cozy café where couples and close friends could go for lunch, dinner, and a cup of coffee or tea. Worth a visit, if you like to get a sense of having some alone time with a friend or date.
* Cafe Chełmska, ul. Chełmska 9 (Buses 107 and 141 stop across the street, while bus 119 stops around the corner after turning off of ul. Chełmska), ☏ +48 605 104 207, cafe@cafechelmska.pl. M-F 08:00-20:00 Sa Su 10:00-18:00.
* Sikkim, Al. Niepodległości 88 (Racławicka metro stop), ☏ +48 22 844 14 79, sikkim@herbaciarnia.com. Cool little café, where you can stop in for a cup of tea or grab some tea leaves for home.

## Sleep
### Budget

* Atos, ul. Mangalia 1, ☏ +48 22 841 43 95.
* Aramis, ul. Mangalia 3, ☏ +48 22 858 21 26.
* Portos, ul. Mangalia 3a, ☏ +48 22 463 63 63.
* SUSeł, ul. Rzymowskiego 41/43, ☏ +48 22 843 53 72.

### Mid-range

* Reytan, ul. Rejtana 6 (near Metro Pole Mokotowskie), ☏ +48 22 646 31 66.

### Splurge

* Hotel Karat, ul. Słoneczna 37, ☏ +48 22 849 84 54, fax: +48 22 849 52 94, hotelharat@hotelkarat.pl. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 10:00. 250 - 400 zł per night.