Not so long ago the idea of a shopping trip to Warsaw would have drawn laughs, with images of standing in line for bananas and knockoff jeans. But these days Warsaw can hold its own with any European capital, East or West, for food, fashion, or whatever you've got in mind. For clothing, most of the big international retail chains are clustered in Sródmiescie -- look especially along Al. Jerozolimskie and Marszakowska. South of Jerozolimskie, especially in the area around the Plac Trzech Krzyzy, you'll find the best of boutique shopping, with local Polish designers rubbing elbows with the likes of Escada and Hugo Boss. Trailing south from the Plac Trzech Krzyzy you'll find the über-trendiest of Warsaw shopping streets, Mokotowska, with its low-rise mix of international boutiques, fashionable home furnishing stores, and here and there still the occasional Polish deli or bakery. Mokotowska is currently home to the local branch of names like Commes des Garcons and Burberry, but check out also Polish shops and designers like Odziezowe Pole (Mokotowska 51/53) and Finezja Studio (Mokotowska 65).
For more everyday shopping and particularly for picking up anything you might have forgotten at home, try the Arkadia mall (Ul. Jana Pawla II; tel. 022/331-34-00; www.arkadia.com.pl), hailed locally as the biggest indoor shopping center in central Europe. Hundreds of stores, with everything from high- and low-end fashions, home electronics, furnishings, and food. You're not likely to find many surprises, but the sheer scale of the place will shock. The mall also has a 15-cinema multiplex with a good bet to have several films in English -- in case you trapped inside on a rainy or snowy day.
For English-language books, try looking at American Bookstore, with a couple of central locations (Koszykowa 55, Nowy Swiat 61; tel. 022/660-56-37; www.americanbookstore.pl). This place stocks a nice selection of Polish authors in translation, as well as books about the Holocaust, World War II, Solidarity, the fall of Communism, and other interesting topics.
For cheaper Polish-made products and low-cost souvenirs, try Cepelia (Marszakowska 99/101; tel. 022/628-77-57), the local branch of a national group selling folk art, traditional fabrics, leather goods, ceramics, and woodworking. Nice place for a "Made in Poland" gift, though you may have to pick through some obviously touristy dross.
One of the oddest shopping experiences in Warsaw takes place every day in a sports stadium across the river in Praga. Check out the Dziesieciolecia Stadium (take any tram heading east along Al. Jerozolimskie across the Poniatowski bridge). This is home to Poland's vast open-air Russian market, possibly the biggest of its kind in Europe. It's doubtful you'll find a lot worth buying -- most of the stuff tends to be aimed at low-income families trying to make ends meet on Polish salaries -- but the atmosphere is unique.
