If Warsaw’s city center once felt like a tangle of concrete, traffic, and underground passages, that era is being gently—yet determinedly—swept away. With the grand opening of Central Square (Plac Centralny), Warsaw’s long-envisioned plan to stitch together its fractured downtown with people-first urbanism is no longer just a dream—it’s a walkable, tree-lined, memory-soaked reality.
Where once stood a barren expanse of heat-radiating slabs between Złota Street and the Palace of Culture and Science, now stretches a green oasis in the city’s heart. Central Square features over 100 newly planted trees—including lindens, ginkgos, and magnolias—joined by more than 80,000 perennials and shrubs. Benches ring the trunks. Lawns unroll like picnic blankets. There’s even smart rainwater retention technology hidden beneath your feet.
But this isn’t just a park—it’s a tribute.
Inlaid into the stone paths are ghostly outlines of pre-war tenement buildings and streets like Zielna, Wielka, and Złota, resurrecting a cityscape long since erased. The square quite literally invites you to walk the streets of old Warsaw. History breathes here—quietly, respectfully—through five types of stone and reused cobblestones pulled from the very depths of Plac Defilad.
Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, speaking at the opening ceremony, called Central Square “the green heart of Warsaw,” a place for Varsovians and visitors alike to gather, talk, and simply enjoy being. It’s part of the broader Nowe Centrum Warszawy initiative: a bold rethinking of the downtown experience that includes the revitalized Bracka and Chmielna streets, the new Museum of Modern Art, and the popular 5 Rogów Square. In short, the city center is no longer a zone to pass through—it’s a place to linger.
Chairwoman of the City Council, Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska, went even further, calling Central Square “a nexus of history, the present, and the future.” She’s not wrong: the project’s design team—led by the AA Collective and the City’s own architects—cleverly wove the past into a livable, accessible space that looks forward to a greener, people-centered Warsaw.
Come nightfall, the square takes on a theatrical glow: restored black cast-iron chandeliers (some dating back decades) light the way, paired with sleek modern fixtures. Meanwhile, an elevated, greened-over viewing platform—once the site of a communist-era tribune—has been reborn as a small stage for outdoor performances.
Tonight’s opening event includes a musical march by Brass Federacja, a toast to the city’s women, and sets by Janek Młynarski’s Warszawskie Combo Taneczne and DJ Burn Reynolds. It’s more than a celebration; it’s a declaration: the city center belongs to people again.
Central Square is just one piece of the puzzle. Starting June 14, work begins on transforming Marszałkowska Street—one of Warsaw’s busiest thoroughfares—into a green artery. Think: tram tracks embedded in sedum, tree-lined medians, new crosswalks (yes, above ground), a continuous bike path, and fewer speed restrictions for trams.
This isn’t cosmetic; it’s systemic. By prioritizing pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport—not to mention introducing over 100 new trees—the city aims to “stitch together” its patchwork neighborhoods into a walkable, breathable whole. The disruption may last until October, but the future it points to? It’s worth the wait.
Warsaw, once known for post-war greyness, is undergoing the most colorful transformation yet.
