Muzeum Neonow

What to Expect

The Neon Museum is the first and only museum in Europe dedicated to Cold War-era neon signs. It was founded in 2012 by photographer Ilona Karwinska and graphic designer David Hill, who since 2005 had been rescuing communist-era neon signs from destruction across Poland — saving over 200 signs and 500 individual letters. Since 2025, the museum occupies a new home on the 4th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science, after relocating from the legendary Soho Factory in the Praga district.

The collection features roughly 100 restored neon signs from across Poland, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. You’ll find icons of Warsaw’s streetscape: the E. Wedel chocolate neon, the “Warszawa” sign, neons from the Shanghai and Ambasador restaurants, the Jas i Malgosia cafe, and the Sezam department store. Each sign tells a story — of design, propaganda, urban aesthetics, and the people who created them.

The museum is compact — allow 45-60 minutes. But these are 45 minutes that will stay with you longer than many three-hour outings. The photogenic quality of this place is extraordinary — Instagram confirms it, and Time Out listed the Neon Museum among the best things to do in Warsaw.

Tips

• Photos, photos, photos. The neons look best in the dimmed gallery lighting — turn off your flash and use night mode on your phone.
• New location since 2025 — if you visited the old Soho Factory space, the Palace of Culture is a completely different experience. Less industrial, but still atmospheric.
• Enter from Marszalkowska Street, via the side lifts from level -1 to the 4th floor. Don’t look for the main PKiN entrance — the museum has its own access point.
• No free admission days — the museum is privately run and doesn’t offer free entry.
• Guided tours (45 min) require a minimum of 10 people and advance booking. In English: 150 PLN for the group, plus individual tickets. Worth it if you’re into design history.

Getting There

Metro: Centrum station (M1 line) or Swietokrzyska (M1/M2 interchange) — 3-5 minute walk to the Palace of Culture.

Tram: Numerous lines stop along Marszalkowska and Aleje Jerozolimskie — stops right next to the Palace of Culture.

Bus: Centrum and Dworzec Centralny stops — a few hundred meters away.

By car: Underground parking at the Palace of Culture or Zlote Tarasy shopping centre. Driving in central Warsaw is usually a bad idea, but at least parking options are close by here.

Nearby Museums

Background

The museum’s story began in 2005, when Ilona Karwinska — a Warsaw-based photographer — rescued the “Berlin” neon sign from Marszalkowska Street. Together with David Hill, a British graphic designer, she began documenting and collecting endangered neon signs from across Poland. In 2012 they opened the museum at the Soho Factory complex in the Praga-Poludnie district — a post-industrial space in a former weapons factory.

Over the years the collection grew and the museum gained international recognition, with guest exhibitions in London, Luxembourg, and Amsterdam. In 2013, they organized the “Neon for Warsaw” competition in partnership with RWE.

In 2025, the museum relocated to the 4th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science — a building that is itself a symbol of the very era that produced the neon signs on display. A fitting address.