Flaner
Meet people in your area
We get together in small groups, close to home, to talk and try things. Some evenings bring familiar faces; others introduce you to someone brand new.
JoinSee who you might meet
Once you join Flaner, the Community tab lets you browse short profiles of people in your district or across Warsaw. Here are some example people you might come across.
Marta K.
I’ve been learning Portuguese for six months and I’m looking for company to practise conversation over coffee, ideally in a cosy café somewhere close to home. I don’t mind if you’re just starting out: enthusiasm matters more than your level.
Hania S.
I always read two books at once and keep a notebook of quotes that surprised me. I’m happy to lend something from my shelf or hear what you’re reading. My favourite conversations drift from the book to something completely different and stay there.
Kuba R.
I host a board game night once a month and always bring one game nobody has heard of. The stranger the rules, the more fun we have. I don’t mind who wins: what counts is a good atmosphere at the table and good snacks.
Nina W.
I collect a stamp from every café nearby that I’ve stopped at. I have over thirty now and I’m happy to show you the whole notebook. I also like recommending places nobody has heard of yet, especially ones without a queue outside.
Sample profiles. You'll find many more real people in your area.
You can mark that you’d like to meet someone. You’ll then get an email when they propose a new meetup. If they mark you too, you’ll each see which meetups the other is planning to go to, so it’s easier to end up at the same one. It doesn’t affect priority. You can also mark someone you’d rather not end up at the same meetups with.
Flâneur: someone who wanders without hurry
"Flâneur" is a 19th-century Parisian term for someone who strolls through a city without a fixed destination: observing, talking, stopping wherever something interesting is happening. No rush, no need to plan everything.
We named Flaner after exactly that idea: meetups that don't need a big plan or a special occasion. Just step outside and let whatever's happening nearby take it from there.
How it works
Choose a meetup
Browse the meetups and choose what appeals to you, whether it’s a regular gathering near home or a one-off evening across town.
Come along
You don’t need to know anyone or arrive with conversation starters. The host helps get the conversation going and makes sure newcomers can join in easily.
Get to know people
If you got on well, you can arrange to sign up for the same meetups. That’s how a familiar group grows out of seeing each other again.
Public and private venues
We meet in cinemas, parks, cafés and bars, and once we know each other a little, in hosts’ own homes too.
Host something of your own
In time, we’ll ask you to host a meetup of your own. We’ll help with ideas and the practical details. For now, you can settle in and get to know Flaner as a participant.
Keep something from the evening
In a paper notebook you can collect entries and photos from your meetups. It's optional, but we recommend it: it's the fullest way to experience what Flaner is about. There's also room for your own notes, to help you remember the evening later.
Everyone has something to contribute
Reciprocity: part 1
Your company helps make the evening
You bring your own experiences to the conversation, listen to others and spend time together. That’s a contribution in its own right.
Reciprocity: part 2
You give people a reason to get together
You choose an idea, a place and a time, giving a few people something to look forward to. It doesn’t take a lot of preparation: all you need is something that interests you, such as a book you’ve just read, a game, or a walk around the area.
A meetup has one to seven guests besides the host, depending on what the host proposes. We don’t all need to host at once, but we need each of us to propose something now and then. We’ll ask you no more than once a month.
There’s a place for you
Signups are always open
There's no single fixed day when new meetups appear. Hosts propose them continuously, and you apply as soon as you see a time that works for you. Meetups themselves happen every day, in four time blocks: 8–11 AM, 11:30 AM–2:30 PM, 3–6 PM and 6:30–9:30 PM.
Every meetup has to be proposed at least 4 days before it starts, so there's something to choose from and the host has time to review applications properly.
Signups for meetups are open all the time
What happens after you apply
Right after applying
You apply
The host sees your profile description. You don’t see how many other people applied, just the number of seats, so not getting in never feels like rejection in front of a crowd.
At the latest 2 days before the meetup
The host decides
You find out whether you have a seat. Applications appear on the host’s list in order of priority level.
On the day
The meetup happens
You head to the address on the meetup page. If the host changes anything, we’ll let you know.
If the host cancels
If a meetup you had a confirmed seat at is cancelled, your priority level rises by one tier until your next successful signup.
Cancelling a meetup that already has confirmed seats leads to a temporary pause on hosting. We know plans can change, but we also want to consider the plans of people who already set aside time for that evening's meetup.
Your priority level
When more people want to come than there are seats, the order of applications on the host’s list depends on your priority level, from 1 to 7. A lower number means a higher spot on the list. At the same level, whoever applied first comes first, and a pair of flandy counts at the better of their two levels.
Three things count equally: how often you host (hosting roughly one in three of the meetups you take part in counts fully), whether you show up to meetups you have a seat at, and how many of your applications in a row didn’t get you a seat. That last one raises your level to make up for the wait.
You're closer to level 7 when you rarely host, or sometimes miss a meetup you had a confirmed seat at.
A host can also give priority to people who’ve been to their meetups before, for up to half the seats, so the rest stay open for new people.
Only you can see your level, on your profile. It isn’t a judgment of you as a person, just a way to share out seats fairly.
The fastest way to improve it: host a meetup of your own. It counts once it has taken place and you’ve saved the evaluation.
How we look after safety
We verify the phone numbers of people using the app, and most meetups happen in public places.
You can host or join a meetup in someone’s home once you’ve been to three public meetups as a guest and hosted one.
Every host sets a minimum number of guests. In someone’s home it has to be at least two besides the host, so a meetup at someone’s place is never just the two of you.
You can also go together with someone
Flandy is our word for a buddy: the person you apply to meetups with. If you got along well with someone, swap email addresses on your profiles, and from then on you’re flandy. You can change your flandy as often as you like in the Profile tab.
You can then apply together to any meetup. The host approves both of you or neither, never just one.
Flaner is for every adult
At signup we ask whether you're still studying, so we can best suggest meetups with people you'll genuinely get along with. You can change your answer any time in your profile.
What's not here
Swiping or rating people
You don’t swipe through profiles or rate anyone. Flaner isn’t for dating: you meet people around a shared table.
Points or rankings
There are no points, badges or followers to collect.
An algorithm choosing your plans
You decide which meetups to sign up for and which hosts you’d like to visit again.
Ads
We don’t show ads or sell your data.
An endless feed
Flaner isn’t really an app: it’s a way to arrange a meetup and meet someone new from your local community.
Live
See where our community is growing
Starting out: Żoliborz only
Anyone can join the waitlist, but for now meetups and membership are only available in Żoliborz. That's how we're testing Flaner, before opening it up to more of Warsaw.
Point to an area to see signup progress, or select it to join.
- Flaner is up and running, with room for more people
- Flaner is growing
- Welcoming the first members
The map helps us plan where to launch next, but you’re not limited to your neighbourhood. Once your area launches, you can also join meetups in any other active part of Warsaw. If you know someone who might enjoy Flaner, we’d appreciate you telling them about it.
Your first month is free
Everyone has the same membership, with no extra fees for meetups. Membership fees keep the app running and support hosts. We don’t plan to raise the price or introduce premium tiers, because we care about staying an egalitarian, open community.
Join
Tell us a little about yourself and the kinds of meetups you’d enjoy. We’ll be in touch when we’re ready to welcome you to Flaner.
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Contact: kontakt@flaner.club