From Krakow the Polish capital of art & literature, through undiscovered Silesian region with Wroclaw, the Cultural Capital of Europe 2016 and the golden city of Prague you will be charmed by the beauty of architecture and diversity of European heritage. The tour leads through the most impressive cities of Europe highlighted with mosaic of cultures, different culinary adventure and emotions not to be forgotten.
Day 1) Tuesday. KRAKOW
Day 2) Wednesday. KRAKOW – AUSCHWITZ – KRAKOW
The morning sightseeing tour will feature Wawel, the Royal Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland’s monarchs. You will also visit the Wawel Cathedral, the place of the cult of St. Stanislaw and St. Jadwiga, Queen of Poland. Its 18 chapels are true architectural masterpieces. The giant bell, Zygmunt from 1520 ranks with the world’s largest. This is the place where Polish kings were crowned and buried. Walk to Old Town with its restored Main Square of picturesque houses and palaces. See the magnificent wooden altar at St. Mary’s Basilica, by Wit Stwosz. In the middle of the square is famous Cloth Hall from 1349, with many shopping stalls inside.
After lunch we drive to Auschwitz-Birkenau to visit the Martyrdom Museum of the former Nazi concentration camp, the infamous factory of death.
Day 3) Thursday. KRAKOW – WIELICZKA – KRAKOW
Afternoon drive to the Wieliczka Salt Mine*, one of the largest tourist attractions in Poland, is registered on the UNESCO list and visited by over a million tourists every year. Since the 13th century, brine welling up to the surface has been collected and processed until getting sodium chloride (table-salt). In this period, wells began to be sunk, and the first shafts to be dug to extract the rock salt. In the late 13th to the early 14th century, the Saltworks Castle was built. Wieliczka is now home to the Kraków Salt-Works Museum with underground chambers, grottoes, and chapels carved from salt.
* Lift service at Wieliczka Salt Mine (subject to confirmation on spot)
Dinner with a folkloric show will be served at a local restaurant in Wieliczka, before we drive back to Krakow.
Day 4) Friday. KRAKOW – WROCLAW
After breakfast drive to Wroclaw to admire its beautiful historical buildings recognized as a gem of Gothic Renaissance urban architecture in Poland.
Wroclaw, before 1945 commonly known as Breslau, is one of the oldest and the most beautiful cities in Poland. Situated at the foot of the Sudetes mountain range, by the Oder River, criss-crossed by its numerous tributaries and channels, it is an exceptional city of 12 islands and more than 100 bridges. Wroclaw fascinating history reflects the foretime of the entire Central Europe with its mixed heritage and architecture influenced by Bohemian, Austrian and Prussian traditions.
Day 5) Saturday. WROCLAW – PRAGUE
Your journey winds its way through picturesque landscape to reach Prague, the equally ancient capital of today’s Czech Republic.
Prague Old Town is the most beautiful square in Prague. The elegant tower of the Town Hall with the world famous astronomical clock, the proud silhouette of the fairytale Týn Cathedral, the monumental Church of St. Nicholas and countless multicoloured houses of many styles lend this place a unique atmosphere, which will captivate all those who decide to take a look at its charm. Jan Palach Square located on bank of the Vltava River is dominated by the Rudolfinum concert hall and Prague Castle panorama on the left river bank.
Day 6) Sunday. PRAGUE
The remarkable complex of Prague Castle, one of the largest castles in the world. Built in the 9th century, it has served as the country’s traditional seat of power. The area incorporates palaces, museums, monasteries, and halls for knighthood ceremonies. Visit the Cathedral of St. Vitus, the coronation site for Czech kings. Continue to the Jewish Quarter, named Josefov Town after Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, who emancipated Jews in 1781. The Old-New Synagogue, founded in the 13th century is Europe’s oldest active synagogue. It is also the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin-nave design. Follow to the Pinkus and Maisel synagogues (holidays permitting).
Dinner will be served on the board of the cruise ship with beautiful panorama of Prague.
Day 7) Monday. PRAGUE – KATOWICE
Morning drive back to Poland. Stop by to visit Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec, two workers’ settlements both built at the beginning of the 20th century, for workers of the nearby mines. It is an outstanding example of architectural revitalization. Nikiszowiec is all made of the red brick and full of tenant houses while Giszowiec was created as a garden city with small, different houses, each designed for two families.
Taste typical dishes for Silesia region and enjoy food at a unique atmosphere of 20 years of the last century.
Day 8) Tuesday. KATOWICE – KRAKOW
Visit the Silesian Museum, an art & industry museum with underground galleries & a restaurant. A building complex erected from a former coal-mining site demonstrates a prime example of contemporary architecture and regional identity. Now it houses a splendid exhibition of paintings by such great Polish artists, as Jan Matejko, Stanislaw Wyspianski or Jacek Malczewski.
Day 9) Wednesday. KRAKOW