This route begins at Metro Dworzec Gdański, a key transport hub in northern Warsaw. From the metro, take tram line 1 toward Wola and travel along Zygmunta Słomińskiego Street until you reach Powązkowska Street.
As you ride the tram you will pass Arkadia, one of the largest shopping centres in Poland — a convenient place to stop for food or drinks before starting the walk.
After leaving the tram, walk toward the entrance to Powązki Civil Cemetery.
Founded in 1791, Powązki Civil Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Warsaw and a central place of cultural memory. Many prominent Polish writers, artists, scientists, and public figures are buried here.
Walking through the cemetery offers insight into how cemeteries function in Polish daily life. People regularly visit for quiet walks, drawn by the nature, old trees, and calm atmosphere. Squirrels are a common sight, and locals often bring nuts to feed them.
On the 1st of November — All Saints' Day — the cemetery becomes one of the busiest places in the city as families gather to light candles and place flowers on graves. Around the entrances, temporary markets appear selling lanterns and flowers. These stalls are part of the small business market culture strongly associated with Poland, especially in the 1990s, and provide a vivid glimpse into Polish culture.
During the Second World War, parts of the cemetery including the catacombs were destroyed. After the war they were rebuilt, and today the cemetery includes memorials connected to wartime victims, including people murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Leaving the civil cemetery, continue on foot toward the nearby military cemetery.
A short walk brings you to Powązki Military Cemetery, established in 1912. While it primarily serves members of the armed forces and their families, it also contains graves of many figures important to Polish public life — politicians, artists, athletes, and members of the resistance.
The cemetery holds graves from the Second World War and the Polish-Soviet War, memorials dedicated to the Sybiracy (Poles deported to Siberia), and an area commemorating the Smolensk plane crash of 2010, in which 96 people including the Polish president were killed.
Like the civil cemetery, All Saints' Day draws enormous crowds, and flower and candle stalls appear at every entrance. It is one of the most emotionally significant public spaces in Warsaw.
From here, continue west toward the Bemowo district, either on foot for part of the way or by local bus.
The route ends at Fort Bema, located in the Bemowo district. Built in 1886 as part of the Tsarist defensive ring surrounding Warsaw, the fort now stands largely abandoned and overtaken by vegetation. Most underground tunnels and passages are sealed, but the remaining structures clearly show the historical military purpose of the site.
Fort Bema offers a quieter, more atmospheric encounter with Warsaw's past. It attracts visitors interested in raw historical spaces and slow exploration — a place where history can be experienced through crumbling, ivy-covered brick rather than museum displays. The contrast with the manicured cemeteries earlier in the route is striking.
From Fort Bema, bus lines 197 or 122 provide a direct connection back to the metro network.