Spring has finally arrived in Warsaw. It’s warm, sunny and, most of all, green, after many miserable and grey months. If like me, you feel like being outdoors as much as posible, you might be interested in visiting one of two botanical gardens in Warsaw. That’s a great (and cheap) way to take a great picture of blossoming trees without having to travel to Japan 😉
Expect lots of photos in this blog post. Unlike in most of posts I’ve written, here you won’t find as many words (Finally! You might think to yourself, and I won’t hold it against you). I’ve also compiled all of the information you might need when planning a visit to one of two botanical gardens in Warsaw – Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden in Powsin and University of Warsaw Botanic Garden located in the city center. I did ask on our Instagram for some more ‘spring spots’ recommendations from you guys, but I did not have time to visit them yet, and I wanted to post it as soon as possible (before the blossoming flowers die). I will hovewer give you some of he examples of good photo spots you listed, maybe you’ll be willing to check them out before I do so. Here they are: the district of Saska Kępa is said to have some amazing blossoming trees and great atmosphere, Łazienki park is always a great idea (particularly on Thursdays when you can visit the inside of the Palace for free!), Pole Mokotowskie park is supposed to look amazing right now as well.
Before you get to reading, here’s a playlist for this blog post. It’s a set of tracks inspired by nature created by a musician called BOTANICA. You might also know him as Maciej who co-wrote a blog post about Up To Date Festival with me and was mentioned in many others as a fellow restaurant goer 😉
Powsin or Japan?
A trip to Powsin (from Bemowo district!) is quite an expedition, so I decided to make the most of it make it into a secret meeting of bloggers. All invited guests, i.e. me and Marina Furdyna, were present at the VIP gathering ;). I recommend writing to her, if you need someone to take photos of you. We wanted good light, so we were outside the gate of the garden at 9 o’clock sharp, as soon as they opened. And here’s an even better hint for those of you who are more determined to make the most out of morning light: if you care for the soft light, peace quiet, and the possibility to get into the garden in Powsin whenever you feel like it, get a pass in advance. A regular annual pass costs PLN 80 (reduced PLN 60), but there is also something called a spring pass. This magical pass costs PLN 50 (reduced PLN 35) and entitles you to multiple entries between March 21 and June 21. And, most importantly, the tickets allows you to enter the garden at 7am, when the light is the best!
However, if you are not into the idea of investing in a subscription to the world of bushes, or, like me, you would have to leave the house a week earlier to get to Powsin for 7 am, then all you need is a normal one-time ticket which costs PLN 12 (reduced PLN 8). It entitles you to take a walk around the Garden and greenhouses, which (of course) are the most interesting part of the whole thing. It’s a bit disturbing how plants closed in a glass box by a man are the ones that look best in the pictures. In the greenhouse you’ll find an orange tree, a.k.a. fashion bloggers’ paradise, a multi-generation family of cacti, guinea pigs in a bald and shaggy version (whichever takes your fancy), Hindu deities hidden in the bushes, and a banana tree, which Marina wanted to steal using her bicycle (I want to see this undercover operation!). The greenhouse is opened an hour later than the garden itself, each month the opening hours change slightly as well, so check them out on the website.
And what about the open-air area? My main mission was to find blossoming trees. I was a brain-washed by a million pictures of cherry blossoms from Japan and this street that our German friends have (it’s in Boon if you’re wondering). And I did find some of those trees in Powsin. Maybe they did not look as impressive, and many of them had already blossomed (and Magnolia looked a bit sunburned, is it the climate apocalypse?!), but they were adorned with some Japanese text. I have no idea what any of the say, as I don’t speak Japanese, but what’s the important thing here is that you can shoot an excellent photo, which for a moment allows you to forget about the pain of existence resulting from the fact that you did not buy those goddamned flights to Japan when they were available for just 1,400 zlotys. In addition, there’s something called a Japanese month currently happening in Powsin, so you can get involved in various types of thematic events, such as a lecture about Japanese cuisine or planting sakura trees. There is also a photo exhibition called “Japan through the eyes of Poles”, but it’s seriously not worth your time. The pictures look as if they were taken on a phone, in small resolution and then streched out an enormous amount to print them in large format.
Oasis of nature in the city centre
And if you’re too lazy to travel all the way out to Powsin, why don’t you check out University of Warsaw Botanic Garden located in Ujazdowskie street. Straight away, I have to admit that I have not been there this year. All the photos are from my visit last summer, so I have no idea whether there are any good blossoming trees and spring flowers right now. But I encourage you to visit the garden anyway! There’s a greenhouse there as well (although I have just read on the website that in the season 2019 it is closed due to renovation works and the entry is only available for organized groups), there is a coffee shop in which coffee tastes like dirt, but you can take shelter from a sudden hailstorm (as I had to do), in the summer there is also a lot of flowers and a green tunnel (a perfect location for fashion photos). What more could you want?! There is also something for the fans of quizzes and knowledge tests. In various sections of the Garden you will find boards with questions to solve. We tried to take up the challenge, but it did not go that well, maybe you’ll be better at it!
Between April and August, the Garden is open between 9.00 and 20.00, and on the weekends it opens an hour later. Be sure to come earlier, and not leave the visit for the last moment of the day, as the cash registers are closing an hour earlier. Plus you will need quite some time to walk around the whole garden. Entry costs 12 zlotys (reduced 6 zlotys). There is also an option to buy a subscription, but it’s a lot more expensive than in Powsin (annual pass costs PLN 120) and it seems that it doesn’t give you any additional perks such as being able to enter the garden earlier. If you need any more information on opening hours, tickets and guided tours, it’s best if you check out the website HERE.
And that’s it for today’s spring adventures. Let me know if you have your favourite places to chill out with plants. I’m still looking for a perfect place to take photos of blossoming trees. And if you’ve captured some great spring moments be sure to link to your photos in the comments section, I’d love to see some of your photos.
