[divider style=”2″ align=”center” size=”larger” scrolltext=””]Frequently Asked Questions[/divider]

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[accordion_toggle title=”WHAT TIME DOES THE ORANGE UMBRELLA FREE TOUR START?“]

We run the Old Town tour every day at 10 am, all year round. We also run the afternoon theme tours at 1:30 pm,- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday (World War 2 in Warsaw) and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (Jewish Warsaw). You can join also Best of Warsaw at 11:00 am. on Friday and Saturday.

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[accordion_toggle title=”WHERE DOES THE TOUR START?“]

All the Orange Umbrella Free Tours start next to Sigismund’s Column (Polish: kolumna Zygmunta) in Castle Square (Polish: plac Zamkowy) in the Old Town of Warsaw (Polish: Stare Miasto).

You can see a map showing the location in our contacts section. Zoom the map in and out or use the StreetView option using navigation in the bottom left-hand side corner of the map!

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[accordion_toggle title=”IS THERE A TOUR TODAY?“]

Yes, there is!;) We run the tours EVERY day, two-three times a day, 365 (or 366:) days a year, holidays included. Weather conditions also don’t discourage us from showing you the best of Warsaw – rain or shine, snow or thunderstorm you can find our Orange Umbrella at the starting point.

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[accordion_toggle title=”HOW DO I BOOK?“]

There’s no need to pre-book your tours. We run them every single day, and it’s enough to show up at the starting point a few minutes before 10 am, 11 am or 1:30 pm, depending on which tour you choose.

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[accordion_toggle title=”HOW LONG IS THE TOUR?“]

The tours takes approximately 2h-2h30 depending on how many questions you have and how many extra stories the guide decides to share:)

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[accordion_toggle title=”DO YOU RUN THE FREE TOUR IN SPANISH/FRENCH/POLISH…?“]

Orange Umbrella Free Tours are conducted only in English. However, apart from English and Polish, our guides also speak Spanish, French, Italian, German and Russian. For a private tour in one of these languages, please contact us via Station Warsaw website where we offer tours on request.

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[accordion_toggle title=”HOW COME IT’S FREE?“]

Orange Umbrella Free Tours are pay-as-you-wish tours, so ‘free’ can mean several things. First of all, you’re free to join the tour. You’re also free to leave at any point if, for any reason, you’re not satisfied with it. But ‘free’ also means we don’t charge you with the tour ticket costs. We’re not financially supported neither by Warsaw city authorities nor by any sponsors. The only kind of remuneration our guides receive for the Orange Umbrella Free Tour is donations/tips they receive at the end of the tour. And again, you’re free to decide how much the tour was worth or how much you can afford to donate.

[/accordion_toggle][accordion_toggle title=”WHO ARE THE GUIDES? ARE YOU STUDENTS?“]

Orange Umbrella Free Tour guides are professional, licensed Warsaw guides. We work with Station Warsaw, one of Warsaw’s most popular tour companies for individual tourists. We have experience with walking tours of the city but we also show around Warsaw by bike or segway. Some of us may be students but for most of the guides it’s a regular job.

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[accordion_toggle title=”WHAT PARTS OF WARSAW DOES THE FREE TOUR COVER?“]

OLD TOWN:
In terms of the route itself, we stick to the area of Warsaw’s Old Town. However, our basic aim is to show you Warsaw in a nutshell. For that sake, we tell you about much, much more than just stories of Old Warsaw. During the 2.5h walk we take advantage of every occassion to tell you about Warsaw nowadays, its turbulent WW2 history,  its perished Jewish life, world famous Varsovians. Which means we don’t rush from one sight to another but take time to see and learn as much as possible. All that in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, no a-date-a-name-a-fact blah blah blah:)

JEWISH WARSAW:
The tour covers parts of Muranów and Northern Śródmieście, so the area which before WW2 was called the Northern Quarter and was mostly populated by the Jewish community. On our way we visit the pre-war Nalewki St., the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Miła bunker, Umschlagplatz and other sites important to the history of Jewish Warsaw.

WORLD WAR 2 IN WARSAW:
During this tour we will tell you what life under Nazi occupation was in Warsaw, how the Polish underground resistanc fought the Germans and how dramatic both uprisings in Warsaw was: the 1943 uprising in the ghetto and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. We will walk in the area of the Royal Route, Piłsudskiego and Teatralny Sq., Arsenał and Bankowy Sq. We will see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, the pre-war Bank of Poland, one of the last points of resistance in the Old Town area and much more.

BEST OF WARSAW:
We like to call this tour the “Warsaw in a nutshell walk”. We will start from the Old Town and continue along the Royal Route, past St. Ann’s church and the President’s Palace, up to the University of Warsaw and the Holy Cross church, the resting place of Frederic Chopin’s heart. On to the Holy Trinity protestant church and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, past the Sacon Gardens and Grzybowski Sq., which is both one of historic Jewish centres of the city and a modern, upcoming spot for eating out. We will finish the tour by the Palace of Culture and Science, having taken a glimpse at the ‘Warsaw City’, full of 21st c. skyskrapers.

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[accordion_toggle title=”CAN YOU TAKE OUR GROUP FOR A TOUR AT A DIFFERENT TIME THAN 10AM, 1:30PM or 3:30PM?“]

Yes we can! Please note however, that the concept of a free tour means that we offer a professional, high quality tour of Warsaw to individual travellers who after the tour independently decide on how much the tour was worth or how much they can afford to pay for it. It can be just a good word and a smile, it can be a TripAdvisor review, a regular 20-30 $ (as is usual per person in case of paid walking tours in European capitals) or more than that. However, the trade off is that the tour runs at 10am, 11:301m or 1:30pm, starting from a particular point in the Old Town of Warsaw. If you’re an organized group, we will be happy to offer a private, tailor-made tour at a reasonable cost. Please visit Station Warsaw website for a more detailed offer.

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[H4]WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY[/H4]

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Beata is a class apart. She took a disparate group of many nationalities and turned us into a single entity; all in search of her knowledge. The tour lasts a couple of hours, goes in a flash and covers parts of the Old Town which you would never find on your own. If you visit this city, here is where you start.

Jaketjeff, TripAdvisor user

Brilliant Beata! Saw this trip on this website and thought we would give it a go as it’s technically free! Beata was brilliant full of information and able to answer all questions that were asked! The emotional side of how 85% of the city was demolished and rebuilt made you realise there was a heart to this city! Such a good trip it’s deserved every Zloty that we gave her at the end of this 2.5 hour informative and humourous tour!

Pete P, TripAdvisor user

Absolutely first class. Myself and my wife joined the free walking tour with Beata and it was absolutely first rate – Beata was knowledgeable, approachable and really opened our eyes to the Old Town.

justinbarrellTripAdvisor user

Gavel was an excellent tour guide. Very knowledgeable and an excellent communicator. Appropriate pace. We did the Warsaw ghetto tour. He seemed much more knowledgeable than others I learned the history from the day before from a different group.

jfehrenb, TripAdvisor user

I had a brilliant time! My guide, Gaweł, was informative and friendly but left me to my own thoughts as well which was nice.

warriorgrrl,TripAdvisor user

I really enjoyed this tour. It went for a little longer than I had anticipated (about 2 hours 15 minutes) but it was well worth the time and effort to walk around the city. Anna, our guide, was very friendly, spoke very good English and was very knowledgeable about the area. I really enjoyed the tour and would happily go on it again, and definitely recommend it to any one!

Chanelle38,TripAdvisor user

Anna, our guide, was not only well versed in the history and culture of OldTown and Warsaw but she was entertaining as well–factual and fun. She was superb and made the time fly by. We could have stayed with her the rest of the rest of the day. Highly recommended!

tbone06, TripAdvisor user

I took the tour today along with about 20 other people. Our guide was Anna and she was amazing. We learned a lot about Poland, its history and its people, and time flew. The weather was bad, but nobody left the group.

657David, TripAdvisor user

Despite the cold our guide Andrzej was lively and fun, as well as friendly and informative. Just a great experience; I highly recommend it. I know I’ll be back for more than a layover next time!

Christian L, TripAdvisor user

Our guide, Andrzej, was funny, informative and enthusiastic. A game of Chinese whispers, legends and opportunities to sample local Polish food made this a highlight of my whole trip to Poland.

DiscreetBox, TripAdvisor user
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