Żoliborz

Wola is immediately to the west of Śródmieście and blends seamlessly with it, the border between them being the Jana Pawła II Avenue. Wola has been rapidly changing from a former industrial area into a prime business district with office buildings, and modern upscale residential highrises. Wola holds large parts of the area covered by Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War, and many important places of remembrance can be found there. It also hold Warsaw's most important necropolis, the Powązki, and the Warsaw Rising Museum. The word wola means "will" in Polish, referring to the fact that the royal elections (yes, Poland's noblemen used to elect their kings, they were not automatically hereditary) took place there over the vast expanses of open spaces it once encompassed. Ochota is a district of Warsaw. The name means "willingness" or "fancy". It is a relatively small (by area), traditionally residential district. Ochota is further divided into Filtry, Rakowiec, Szczęśliwice and Stara Ochota (Old Ochota), which covers the traditional area of the district. Żoliborz has traditionally been the intelligentsia district of Warsaw. It is further divided into Stary Żoliborz, Sady Żoliborskie and Marymont-Potok.

Wola Main streets parallel to Vistula: ul. Towarowa - ul. Okopowa Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: ul. Kasprzaka-ul. Wolska, ul. Leszno-ul. Górczewska Ochota Ochota's northeastern extremity is next to the Dworzec Centralny train station. The Warszawa Zachodnia train station is also within the district. Local trains (SKM, Koleje Mazowieckie) will also stop at Warszawa-Reduta and Warszawa-Rakowiec on their way between the city centre and the Warsaw Chopin Airport Main streets parallel to Vistula: ul. Żwirki i Wigury, ul. Grójecka - al. Krakowska Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: ul. Wawelska - ul. Grzymały - Al. Jerozolimskie Trams from the city centre run down Grójecka and Filtrowa streets Żoliborz Main streets parallel to Vistula: Wyb. Gdyńskie, ul. Mickiewicza - ul. Słowackiego, al. Jana Pawła II - ul. Popiełuszki Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: ul. Słomińskiego, Trasa Armii Krajowej

Trams run along Aleja Solidarności and Aleje Jerozolimskie (at the southern border of the district), and between them through Towarowa. Consult official tram network map for up-to-date information and tram stops: [1]

For the areas closer to the city centre, walking is a reasonable choice and the sights along the way are worth it (especially if you are heading into Chłodna from Plac Bankowy, or walking along Grzybowska). You can even endavour to walk as far as the Warsaw Rising Museum. Otherwise, Wola becomes a sprawling district with little interest to the tourist beyond specific points of interest. You may walk, but you would be better advised to take advantage of the public transportation.

1 The Warsaw Rising Museum ( Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego ), ul. Grzybowska 79 ( The entrance is on Przyokopowa, which is about two streets west of the Hilton Hotel. Trams: 20, 22, 24, 32, and 45. Buses 106, 155, and 100 will stop near the museum on request ), ☏ +48 22 539 79 05, +48 22 539 79 06,, kontakt@1944.pl. Mon Wed-Fri 08:00-18:00, Sat Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Tue. Enormously fascinating, The Warsaw Rising Museum is a moving experience that anyone to Warsaw must visit. This museum will almost certainly not bore anyone, especially with the museum's superb use of multimedia. The museum has bilingual displays in Polish and English. The museum does a good job of explaining the perceived history of the insurgents and the Uprising in the years following the Second World War. You can also take an elevator to the rooftop to see the surroundings of Wola district. If you go on Sunday, they have chapel services at 12:30. Regular: 35 zł; Reduced rate: 30 zł. Free admission on Thursdays. ( updated Nov 2025 ) 2 Muzeum Gazownictwa ( Warsaw Gasworks Museum ), ul. Kasprzaka 25. 10:00-18:00, individual entry on Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00. A museum dedicated to the history of gasworks and provision of municipal gas, aptly located in Warsaw's old gasworks. F free, 20 zł, 10 zł reduced, tickets are timed. ( updated Aug 2024 ) 3 Stacja Muzeum ( Station Museum, Muzeum Kolejnictwa, Railway Museum ), ul. Towarowa 1 ( if you're driving, follow Al. Jerozolimskie west to ul Towarowa, then turn right ). The railway museum in the former Warszawa Główna ( Warsaw Main ) train station, a boon for railway buffs.

Roman Catholic Cemetery ( Cmentarz Rzymskokatolicki ). Contains the St Charles Borromeo Church ( Kościół Św. Karola Boromeusza ). Famous tombs: Jan Kiepura, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Stanisław Moniuszko, Bolesław Prus, Władysław Reymont. ( updated Apr 2017 ) 4 Jewish Cemetery ( Cmentarz Żydowski ). Famous tombs: Estera Rachela Kamińska, Isaac Loeb Peretz, Ludwig Zamenhof (the creator of Esperanto ). Also contains a symbolic monument to Janusz Korczak (he died in a concentration camp). ( updated Apr 2017 ) 5 Calvinist Cemetery ( Cmentarz Ewangelicko-Reformowany ). Contains Halperts' Chapel ( Kaplica Halpertów ). Famous tombs: Wojciech Gerson, Tadeusz Stefan Jaroszewski, Emil Wedel, Szymon Bogumił Zug. ( updated Apr 2017 ) 6 Lutheran Cemetery ( Cmentarz Ewangelicko-Augsburski Cmentarz Ewangelicko-Reformowany ). Famous tombs: Anna German, Leopold Kronenberg, Józef Simmler, Stefan Żeromski. ( updated Apr 2017 ) 7 Powązki Communal Cemetery ( Cmentarz Komunalny - Powązki ), previously: Military Cemetery ( Cmentarz Wojskowy ) ). Contains the Avenue of the Meritorious ( Aleja Zasłużonych ), as well as mass graves of the participants of the November Uprising (1830–1831), January Uprising (1863–1864), World War I (1914–1918), Polish-Bolshevik War (1920–1922), World War II (1939–1945) and Warsaw Uprising (1944). ( updated Apr 2017 )

8 Pl. Narutowicza. The streets that radiate from here are worth seeing. ( updated Apr 2017 ) 9 Filtry Lindleya ( Warsaw Waterworks ). Occasional tours are organized. ( updated Apr 2017 )

10 The Citadel ( X Pawilon Cytadeli Warszawskiej ), ul. Skazańców 25. Built during the Russian occupation in the 19th century to keep control over Warsaw. Many participants of the January Uprising, including its leader Romuald Traugutt, were executed there. ( updated Apr 2017 ) Żoliborz Oficerski ( ul. Krasińskiego × ul. Mickiewicza ). Residential district built in the 1920s, renowned for its architecture. Some of the highest housing prices in Warsaw. ( updated Apr 2017 ) St Stanislaus Kostka Church, ul. Hozjusza 1. Renowned because of the sermons of Jerzy Popiełuszko, the priest who was later assassinated by the communist regime. ( updated Apr 2017 ) Church of Virgin Mary, the Queen of Poland, ul. Gdańska 8a. Has an interesting history. It was built in the 1600s for Queen Marysieńka, then was converted into a hunting residence by King August II the Strong, and turned into a chapel in 1816 and again into a church in the 20th century. ( updated Apr 2017 )

Silver Screen, ul. Górczewska 124 ( CH Wola Park ). 1 Muranów, Ul. Gen. Andersa 1, ☏ +48 22 831 03 58. Wisła, Pl. Wilsona 2, ☏ +48 22 839 23 65.

Komedia, ul. Słowackiego 19a, +48 22 833 68 80 Teatr Ochoty, ul. Reja 9, ☏ +48 22 825 85 44.