Warsaw Before You Speak Polish
Language exchanges, stand-up, quizzes, films and theatre with English subtitles, board games and a Saturday morning run. All in English, for people new to the city.
This guide is for people who live in Warsaw and don't speak Polish yet, or not much. If that's you, welcome. If it's a friend of yours, send them the link.
Every week there are a handful of places in Warsaw where you can meet people and talk in English: at a library table, at a bar, in the audience at a comedy night. We've collected the ones we could check on the organisers' own pages, with dates for October and November 2026. Most of them happen every week, so it's easy to go back.
Dates, hours and prices come from the organisers' own pages, as of 2 October 2026.
Talk
English Conversation Club at the Library
"Przystanek Książka" library, Grójecka 42, Ochota
"Get Talking" is a free weekly conversation in English. A different volunteer hosts each week, one of them a retired teacher from Edinburgh, and every session has a topic: "My best memory" on 6 October, the story of a special book purchase on 13 October. The library's page is in Polish and mentions materials for different levels, so expect mostly locals practising their English. It's a good way to meet people who actually live here.
When: Tuesdays 18:00-18:55. Free, no sign-up.
Monday Language Exchange
Ginnery Gin Bar, Nowogrodzka 31, Śródmieście
Every Monday from 19:00 to 22:00, Meet & Speak runs an English table at the Ginnery Gin Bar. The same evening, at Macondo on Krucza 6/14, there are Slavic tables: Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian and Czech. If you speak Ukrainian and want to practise Polish, that's probably the easiest place to start.
Cost and booking: free, you just buy a drink. RSVP on Meetup is optional.
Flag Party Language Night
a&o Hotel Bar & Lounge, Kasprzaka 18/20, Wola
Every Saturday from 19:00 the same organisers hold the Flag Party: language tables (Spanish, French, Italian, German, Slavic and Asian languages), board games and foosball, with English as the common language. They say more than 200 people come. That's a lot, so it's easier to go with one or two friends and settle at one table first.
Cost and booking: free, no registration.
English Book Club at the Library
"Pod Skrzydłami" library, Grójecka 109, Ochota
Once a month, adults read short stories, essays and articles and then talk about them in English. The next meetings are on Wednesday 28 October and Wednesday 25 November at 18:30. The texts are sent by email, so write to [email protected] beforehand.
Cost: not stated on the page.
Friday English Social Club
PiwPaw, Foksal, Śródmieście
Warsaw International holds a drinks-and-conversation evening on Fridays from 19:00 to 23:00, for internationals and locals. RSVP spots on Meetup are limited, so sign up a few days ahead.
Cost and booking: not stated on the page. RSVP on Meetup.
Laugh and play
English Stand-Up Comedy Night
Kino Amondo, Żurawia 20, Śródmieście
Comedy Tuesday is ten comedians doing five minutes each, hosted by the Canadian comedian Ariel Bialski. Online tickets cost 30 zł, 45 zł for a couple, 75 zł for three and 90 zł for four, so it's cheaper in a group. Adults only.
There's also a Wild Comedy Night at DZiK, Belwederska 44A, on Wednesday 7 October at 20:00, 35 zł or 59 zł for a couple.
When: every Tuesday, doors 19:30, show 20:00. Tickets on Fienta. The ticket page gives the address as Żurawia 18; the cinema says Żurawia 20.
World Pub Quiz in English
Południk Zero, Wilcza 25, Śródmieście
On Wednesdays Meet & Speak runs the World Pub Quiz in English, and people stay on to chat afterwards. Teams are three or four people, and if you come alone you'll be put in a team on the spot. The bar staff speak English.
When: Wednesdays, registration from 18:45, quiz at 19:00. Free, but buy something at the bar. Get there early.
English Board Game Afternoon
Dom Kultury Kadr, Rzymowskiego 32, Mokotów
Warsaw Board Game Hub meets once a month, on Saturday 24 October and Saturday 28 November from 16:00 to 20:00. Last time 48 people came. Almost all the games are in English, tea and coffee are free, and you can bring your own snacks. You RSVP on Meetup and pick a table at the same time.
A smaller option: Warsaw International plays board games on the first Saturday of every month from 16:00 to 19:00 at Cybermachina, Nowy Świat 54 (entrance from Gałczyńskiego street); next on 7 November.
Cost: no fee shown.
Saturday parkrun at Pole Mokotowskie
Pole Mokotowskie, start by the seasonal lake near Rokitnicka 4
parkrun is a free, timed 5 km every Saturday at 9:00, all year round. You can run, jog or walk it. You register once online, for free, and bring your barcode, because, as the organisers put it, no barcode means no result. Afterwards some people go on to Klubokawiarnia Pożyteczna at Al. Niepodległości 135.
Warsaw has other parkruns too: Park Skaryszewski, Kępa Potocka, Park przy Bażantarni, Park Bródnowski and Fort V in Włochy.
Getting there: metro Pole Mokotowskie, or the tram to Biblioteka Narodowa.
Films, theatre and opera
English-Language Opera at Teatr Wielki
Teatr Wielki, Polish National Opera, plac Teatralny 1, Śródmieście
On 16 October Teatr Wielki gives the world premiere of "Mothers of Kherson", a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. It's sung in English, with Polish and English surtitles, and tells the story of abducted Ukrainian children. Later dates are 18, 23, 25 and 27 October. In October there's also Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet" in French, with Polish and English surtitles, on 11, 17 and 24 October.
Tickets: online, on each date's page.
Films with English Subtitles
Kino Muranów, Andersa 5, and Kinoteka in the Palace of Culture
Kino Muranów's "English friendly" series shows films with English subtitles, at the moment mostly Polish films and classics. The new "Lalka" (The Doll) runs that way until 8 October, then "Bez znieczulenia" (Rough Treatment) on 11 October at 16:00, "Salto" on 2 November at 20:30 and "Ewa chce spać" (Eve Wants to Sleep) on 30 November at 20:30. Tickets are 20 zł on Mondays, 28 zł Tuesday to Thursday and Friday before 17:00, and 30 zł on Friday evenings and at weekends.
At Kinoteka, every screening of the new "Lalka" has English subtitles, at least until 12 October. Tickets there are 18 zł on Mondays and 19 zł on Wednesdays.
Teatr Dramatyczny with English Surtitles
Palace of Culture and Science, plac Defilad 1, Śródmieście
Teatr Dramatyczny shows English surtitles on selected dates: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" on 7 October, "Muszenie" (Gottagirl) on 15, 16 and 17 October, "Kruk z Tower" on 27 October, "The Exterminating Angel" on 13 November, "Antygona w Molenbeek" on 19 November and "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" on 21 November. The theatre's English page lists which seats can see the surtitles.
Cheaper: every Monday from 12:00 the theatre releases a pool of 35 zł tickets for that week's shows, sometimes with a restricted view.
English-Surtitled Plays at TR Warszawa
TR Warszawa, Marszałkowska 8, Śródmieście
"Power Play" is on 17 October at 19:00 and 18 October at 12:00, 75 minutes, 70 zł, reduced 50 zł. "Kosmiczny Dom" by Lina Lapelytė is on 28 November at 19:00 and 29 November at 17:00, 55 minutes, 90 zł, reduced 70 zł. Both have English surtitles.
History in English
Communist-Era Poland Workshop in English
Warsaw Multicultural Centre, Jagiellońska 54, Praga-Północ
On Thursday 8 October at 17:00 the Polish Migration Forum runs a workshop in English about everyday life in communist Poland, which ends with everyone making a dessert from that time. The organisers say plainly that you don't need to know anything about Polish history. Sign up through the form on their page; no price is given.
Walks in English, audio guides and museums that work without Polish are in our guide "Warsaw's History, Live".
What's not here
There are more English quizzes and open mic nights floating around online, but we couldn't confirm them on the organisers' own pages, so we left them out. If you run something in English in Warsaw, write to us and we'll add it.
If you've only just moved here, have a look at "Your First Month in Warsaw" too.
Where we checked
Everything checked on 2 October 2026, on the organisers' own sites or their Meetup and Fienta pages.
- Get Talking: conversation sessions, Przystanek Książka library.
- Book club: 28 October, 25 November.
- Meet & Speak: group, Mondays, World Pub Quiz, Flag Party.
- Warsaw International: group, board games, social club.
- Comedy Tuesday: about, tickets, Kino Amondo; Wild Comedy Night.
- Warsaw Board Game Hub.
- parkrun: Pole Mokotowskie, course.
- Teatr Wielki: calendar, "Mothers of Kherson".
- Kino Muranów: English friendly, tickets. Kinoteka: "Lalka", prices.
- Teatr Dramatyczny: performances with English supertitles, prices.
- TR Warszawa: "Power Play", "Kosmiczny Dom".
- Polish Migration Forum: communist-era workshop.
Some dates in this guide may have passed. Check the organiser’s page before you go.
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