Bus 175 is the simplest way into Warsaw: it leaves from outside the terminal every 10 to 20 minutes, reaches the Centrum stop by the Palace of Culture in about 30 minutes and carries on to Pl. Piłsudskiego, about 15 minutes' walk from the Old Town. A 4.40 zł ticket from the machine on board covers the ride, and the SKM train S2 is a quicker alternative to the centre when one is due.
What's the best way from Warsaw airport into the city?
For most layovers, take bus 175: about 30 minutes to Centrum, by the Palace of Culture, and about 40 to Pl. Piłsudskiego, a 15-minute walk from the Old Town, for 4.40 zł paid by contactless card at the machine on board. Allow about an hour from landing to the bus, and leave Centrum 2.5 hours before your flight.
Getting through the border
Before the bus comes passport control, unless you’ve flown in from another Schengen country, in which case you walk straight out. Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) doesn’t publish queue times, so plan on about an hour from landing to sitting on the bus.
- EU and EEA citizens with a biometric passport or ID card can use the 30 automatic ABC gates.
- Everyone else queues for a desk, where non-EU visitors give fingerprints and a photo for the EU’s Entry/Exit System. It slows the queue, so the hour is a sensible allowance rather than a generous one.
- Fast Track at Warsaw speeds up security on departure. It doesn’t help with passport control on the way in.
- Bags. On one ticket, checked bags go through to your next flight. On separate tickets you collect them after passport control, and they stay with you: the airport has no left luggage (see “Storing bags” below).
- A long queue eats into your time in town, never into the time you leave it: that’s fixed by your flight.
Who needs a visa to leave: visa and transit rules.
The options at a glance
| Bus 175 | SKM train S2 | SKM train S3 | Taxi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To | Centrum, then Pl. Piłsudskiego | Warszawa Śródmieście | Warszawa Centralna | Anywhere |
| Time | About 30 minutes to Centrum, about 40 to Pl. Piłsudskiego | 22 minutes | 21 minutes | About 20 to 30 minutes |
| How often | Every 10 to 15 minutes on weekdays, 20 at weekends | Every 30 minutes | Every hour | From the rank, or by app |
| Single fare | 4.40 zł | 4.40 zł | 4.40 zł | About 50 zł |
| Pay with | Contactless card at the machine on board | The machine on the train | The machine on the train | Licensed taxi, or the Uber or Bolt app |
Bus 175: the best way into town
- Finding it. Follow the signs to the public transport stop outside Arrivals and take the 175 towards Pl. Piłsudskiego.
- The route. It runs through the centre, past Dw. Centralny, the Central station, to Centrum, the stop for the Palace of Culture, about 30 minutes from the airport. Then it carries on to the end of the line, Pl. Piłsudskiego, about 10 minutes further (our estimate). From there, walk about 15 minutes to Castle Square, at the edge of the Old Town. The airport’s 30 minutes is approximate: the bus shares the road with the traffic.
- How often. Every 10 to 15 minutes on weekdays, and every 10 in the morning and afternoon rush hours. Every 20 minutes at weekends, and every 30 before 7am.
- Tickets. A 75-minute ticket costs 4.40 zł and covers the whole ride, however long the traffic makes it. Buy it from the machine on board with a contactless card, and it’s validated as you buy it; a ticket bought in an app such as mobiWAWA or SkyCash you validate as soon as you board. Buy a second ticket for the ride back. Riding four times or more, a 24-hour ticket for 15 zł is cheaper.
- Castle Square, for now. The 175 normally stops at Castle Square, but since 7 November 2026 the street past it and the university has been closed to traffic, until further notice. The bus takes a detour and the stops there are suspended, so ride to the end of the line and walk; the street is open on foot. The itineraries already allow for the walk.
- First and last buses.
| Monday to Friday | Saturday and Sunday | |
|---|---|---|
| First 175 from the airport | 4:58am | 4:58am |
| Last 175 from the airport to Pl. Piłsudskiego | 10:53pm | 10:53pm |
| Last 175 from the airport to Centrum | 11:58pm | 11:58pm |
| Last 175 back to the airport from Pl. Piłsudskiego | 11:19pm | 11:20pm |
These are WTP’s timetable times for November 2026. The last bus back starts at Pl. Piłsudskiego, near the Old Town, and passes the Centrum stop a few minutes later, so from the Palace of Culture you have a few minutes more than the table shows. Public holidays and roadworks change these times, so check your bus on WTP’s journey planner on the day.
Few layovers meet the last bus: on a same-day return you leave Centrum 2.5 hours before your flight. It matters only if you spend the evening in town before a morning flight. Miss it, and a taxi is about 50 zł.
SKM trains S2 and S3: quicker, less often
The trains leave from the underground station next to the terminal, on the same 4.40 zł ticket, with ticket machines on board that take contactless cards.
- S2, towards Sulejówek Miłosna: every 30 minutes, 22 minutes to Warszawa Śródmieście, in the centre a few minutes’ walk from the Palace of Culture. It doesn’t stop at Warszawa Centralna. The first train leaves the airport at 4:56am. The last train back you can count on leaves Śródmieście at 11:10pm on weekdays; at weekends, check yours on WTP’s journey planner.
- S3, towards Legionowo: every hour, 21 minutes to Warszawa Centralna, the Central station, beside the Palace of Culture. The first leaves at 5:53am on weekdays and 6:11am at weekends; the last one you can count on back from Centralna leaves at 10:24pm on weekdays.
Take a train when one leaves within the next few minutes, or when the roads are jammed: on the 22-minute timetable it beats the bus to the centre. For the Old Town the bus is better, since Śródmieście is about 25 to 30 minutes’ walk from Castle Square (our estimate).
Taxis and ride-hailing
- Taxis. About 50 zł to the centre, in about 20 to 30 minutes outside the rush hours (our estimate; the airport publishes no ride time). Take a licensed taxi from the rank, with its tariff shown in the window, or call iTaxi on 737 737 737.
- Uber and Bolt. Both pick up at the airport, and Uber has Tap to Ride kiosks in the baggage reclaim hall and the arrivals hall.
- When a car beats the bus. Late at night after the last bus, with heavy bags or young children, or when the traffic is light and every minute in town counts. Otherwise the bus costs a tenth of the fare and takes little longer.
Private transfers
A pre-booked transfer gives you a driver waiting in arrivals and a price agreed before you land, which helps most after a late landing or with a family. GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) lists transfers from Warsaw Chopin Airport. Compare the price with the taxi’s figure above before you book.
Storing bags
The airport has no left-luggage office and no lockers, and it won’t hold anything for someone else to collect. So on one ticket, check your bags through to your final destination and come into town with hand luggage only.
If you have a case with you, leave it in town. Bounce lists 34 storage spots in Warsaw, in shops and hotels, many around the Central station and the Złote Tarasy shopping centre beside it, from about 11 zł a day (seen November 2026). The 175 stops at Dw. Centralny on the way in, so drop the bag there; allow about 20 minutes extra each way to drop it and pick it up (our estimate), which comes out of your time in town.
Timing your return
Be back at Warsaw Chopin Airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. On a connection there’s no check-in queue for you, only security and, before an N gate, passport control, and 90 minutes covers both. The airport’s advice to arrive 2 hours before a flight in Europe and 3 before a long-haul one is for passengers checking in; if you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow longer.
In practice, leave the Centrum stop 2.5 hours before your flight, or Castle Square 2 hours 50 minutes before.
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 5.5 hours | About 1 hour |
| 6 hours | About 1.5 hours |
| 6.5 hours | About 2 hours |
| 7 hours | About 2.5 hours |
| 8 hours | About 3.5 hours |
| 10 hours | About 5.5 hours |
| 12 hours | About 7.5 hours |
The times are for the Palace of Culture: an hour from touchdown to the bus, 50 minutes to Centrum with the wait for a 175, an hour back to the terminal (5 minutes to the stop, up to 20 minutes’ wait, 30 on the bus and 5 to spare) and 90 minutes at the airport, as in the itineraries. Heading for the Old Town, take off about 45 minutes: the ride on to Pl. Piłsudskiego and the walk to Castle Square add about 25 minutes in, and the walk back to the bus and the longer ride about 20 back.