Landscape of Southern Poland / Krakow - Zakopane - Pieniny & Tatra mountains /

7 day Round Trip: 3 days in Cracow (Kraków) + 4 days Zakopane

During this tour you will visit an ancient magic city of Cracow with its wide spectrum of museums, art galleries full of exhibitions, theatres, historic cellars, clubs, cafes & restaurants with live music and Zakopane in Tatra Mountains which is considered the winter capital of Poland.

Day 1
Arrival in Cracow, an evening stroll along the Old Town. Welcome dinner in a regional restaurant, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 2
Breakfast, guided tour of Cracow: the Main Market Square, St. Mary’ s Basilica and historical trade pavilions of the Cloth Hall, the Royal Route, Collegium Maius, Wawel Hill with its renaissance Royal Castle and Cathedral; a walk round the Old Jewish Quarter - Kazimierz, Steven Spilberg came here to shoot Schindler’ s List a multiple Oscar winner. Kazimierz is also a place especially cherished by lovers of antiques. Dinner in a regional restaurant with live folk music, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 3
Breakfast, excursion to Wieliczka - a visit to the famous Royal Salt Mine with a numerous underground chambers, chapels and salt sculptures. Additional program + option 1 or option 2. Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel.
Option 1./ An excursion to Ojcow National Park with picturesque Jurassic landscape and caves, visit to a cave to Pieskowa Skala renaissance castle.
Option 2./ A visit an Auschwitz - Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim the biggest Nazi concentration camp from the II World War.

Day 4
Breakfast, transfer to Zakopane in Tatra Mountains. Guided tour of Zakopne: Gubalowka Hill, old church and cemetry on Peksowy Brzyzek, famous Krupowki street. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 5
Breakfast, guided tour to Morskie Oko Lake in the heart of Tatra Mountains or Koscieliska Valley. Return to Zakopane, dinner, evening at leisure, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 6
Breakfast, excursion to Sromowce Nizsze to raftsmen marina, raft trip through Pieniny Mountains on Dunajec Gorge, drive back to Zakopane through picturesque mountains, stops in Debno to visit famous 15th wooden church with rich polychrome, Niedzica to admire picturesque castle with gothic and renaissance parts, lunch in a local restaurant, return to Zakopane, evening at leisure, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 7
Breakfast, free time by individual arrangements, departure.

The final price depends on standard of accommodation, number of visiting persons and date of your visit.
Let us know these details to get the best price grzegorz.b@excitingpoland.com  

Cracow
The Royal City of Poland from 1038 to 1596. To this day Cracow is regarded as the spiritual and intellectual center of Poland and the emblem of national identity. Cracow is home to many higher schools, including the oldest Jagiellonian University. Lajkonik a symbol of the city. A fellow in oriental dress rides a wooden horse. A traditional parade is held on the Market Square after the Corpus Christi Feast. Wawel Dragon another symbol of Cracow. A legend has it that the dragon used to live in a cave at the foot of the Wawel Hill.

Wawel
Seat of Polish dukes and kings; today the most beautiful museum in Poland.

Wawel Cathedral
Gothic basilica housing numerous treasures. The Zygmunt Chapel, is a gem of the Renaissance. Above hangs the mighty Zygmunt Bell weighing 8 tons. Cathedral Museum, Wawel.

Grand Square
One of the largest squares in Europe, a quadrangle of 4 ha. Laid out in the Middle Ages, the Grand Square has been for centuries the focal point of life in Cracow.

St. Mary’s Church
A threenave Gothic structure housing one of the largest Gothic altars in Europe, carved in wood by Wit Stwosz. A call is trumpeted every hour from the church’s tower.

Cloth Stalls
The first cloth stalls were erected on the Grand Square in the 13th century. Today they house numeous souvenir shops and, on the first floor, the Gallery of Polish Fine Arts from the 19th century.

Barbican and St. Florian’s Gate
A precious example of medieval defensive architecture.

Collegium Maius
The oldest university building in Poland. Today it is the Museum of the Jagiellonian University – about 2000 historic instruments used in astronomy, some of them from the time of Copernicus, physics, chemistry, cartography, works of art are displayed. Tyniec Benedictine monastery standing on a limestone rock overlooking the Vistula River, with remnants of the oldest structures from the 11th century.

Old Synagogue
Erected in the 15th century, this Gothic synagogue is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Poland. ul. Szeroka 24.

Czartoryskis Museum
A collection of paintings beginning from the 13th century and including the “Lady with an Hermine” by Leonardo da Vinci and the “Landscape with the Good Samaritan” by Rembrandt van Rijk. An armory with a collection of militaria. ul. św. Jana 19.

National Museum
The main building houses a huge collection of Polish contemporary art since the turn of the 19th century, militaries from Middle Ages on, a gallery of handicrafts, oriental artifacts, a collection of clothing and accessories form the 16th century.

Manggha
Japanese Center of Art and Technology, established in 1994 to promote the knowledge of Japan.

Another historical municipality in the outskirts of Cracow, Kazimierz, is now one of the city’s most attractive districts. Dotted with old buildings which give a special ambience to the area, Kazimierz was home to the larger part of the Jewish population of Cracow till 1939. Here, we find the famous Remuh Synagogue and the Alte Schule, Poland’s oldest synagogue, today an important museum of the district. Worth a visit is also the Templ founded by the local Association of Progressive Jews and the Wolf Popper synagogue. Kazimierz is one of the major sites where historical monuments and artifacts’ of Christian and Jewish cultures are gathered. Here, both ethnic groups settled centuries ago and left their traces which are still visible today. Every year in June/July, a Festival of Jewish Culture is held in the Kazimierz district, attracting hundreds of performers and thousands of spectators from all over the world. Here, in the labyrinth of the narrow streets of Kazimierz, they can travel into the distant world of a fascinating, once-existing culture.

Europe's oldest salt mine is located in Wieliczka, where 25 million tones of salt have been mined over the last 1,000 years. The mine is in operation to this day. Due to the therapeutic microclimate, exhausted mine shafts are used as sanitarium facilities today. Conferences and balls are also held in the subterranean chambers. There is even an underground restaurant. Unused excavation sites have also been adapted to house a mining museum with objects dating as far back as the 11th century. The caves and several chapels are decorated with numerous salt sculptures. The most unusual site is a 17th century underground church, within which everything is carved from salt – from the chandeliers to the figure of its patron saint, St. King.

Wieliczka at the outskirts of Cracow has been the salt-mining centre since the 13th century. The length of its shafts and tunnels totals 350 kilometres. Besides, there are above 2,000 underground excavating chambers. The salt mine, still in operation, has been included on UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The three upper levels out of the overall 9 are open to tourism. The 4.5 kilometre route extends to a depth of 136 metres below the ground, passing 20 chambers and numerous underground lakes on its way. Many chambers are decorated with intricate salt carvings. In the St Kinga’s Chapel where regular concerts are held, there is an altar carved from salt. The mine museum tells about the history of salt mining. A local curiosity is the sanatorium situated 211 metres below the ground where asthma and bronchitis are treated. While in the environs of Wieliczka, it is also worthwhile visiting the castle (Zamek Żupny) dating from the 14th century with a museum, displaying, among other objects, an interesting collection of old saltcellars.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Brief:
Age: over 800 years old
Length of galleries: over 300 kilometres
Tourist route: over 2,000 metres
Visitors: 700,000 per year, from all continents
Unique features: underground lakes, chambers and pits, chapels and sculptures carved in salt rock, wooden bridges and passages
Highlights: the Chapel of the Blessed Kinga, the patron of salt miners, hewn out by hand from solid salt
Underground town: on several levels at depths ranging from 60 to 100 metres. It includes a sanatorium, post office, cinema, restaurant, souvenir shop and concert halls.

Winter capital of Poland situated at the foot of the Tatra, the highest mountain range in Poland. The center of the city is at an altitude of 832 m. Excellent staging area for trekking in the Tatra mountains.

Sabała
This legendary fiddler, story-teller and one of the first mountain guides was honored with a statue. As a young man he used to be a mountain robber and poacher. ul. Zamoyskiego/ ul. Chałubińskiego.

Kościeliska Street
is a natura heritage park of highlanders’ architecture, with so-called old church from mid 19th century. The church is wooden, shingle roofed, with three altars and sculptures carvedby the highlanders and glass paintings.

Krupówki
is the main street of the city. The Tatra Museum, focusing on the history and ethnology of the region, is located at Krupówki.

Po Krokwią Hill
World Cup Ski Jumping competition in January.

Wooden Jaszczurówka Chapel
from early 20th century is a good example of so-called Zakopane style of architecture; St. Witkiewicz Museum in „Koliba”.

Antałówka
A hill (elevation 940 m) with thermal sources and Aquatic Park. Highlander’s folklore dress, dialect and music in Zakopane and nearby villages of Kościelisko, Witów, Chochołów, Ciche, Ząb, Poronin and Bukowina Tatrzańska.

Władysław Hasior Gallery
arranged in the studio of the late set designer, sculptor, painter and poet. Tatra Mountains Tatra National Park inscribed in the UNESCO’s List of World Biosphere Reserves. Numerous trails lead to mountain lakes, valley, waterfalls and caves. Good climbing, cave exploring and trekking area in the summer and skiing grounds in the winter. A fee is charged for entry into Tatra National Park. Swiss pine, edelweiss and crocus, the harbinger of spring, are typical plants in the Tatra. Chamois, gophers and golden eagle live high in the mountains, while in the lower parts common species, such as deer, lynx and wildcat, can be spotted along with brown bears. Morskie Oko This mountain lake situated at an altitude of 1395 m is a favorite destination in the Tatra. Trout live in greenish water with a transparency of up to 15 m. A historic shelter is located nearby. Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich A valley offering a magnificent view of Alpine landscape with barren rocks and peaks overhanging mountain lakes. The plant cover is limited to mosses, lichens and grass. Siklawa The biggest waterfall in the Tatra (approx. 70 m high). Impressive during a heavy rainfall, the waterfall attracts many visitors. Giewont A peak of 1909 m with an iron cross 15 m high on the top. Its shape is reminding a sleeping knight. Easily accessible from the south. Dolina Kościeliska One of the most beautiful and easily accessible Tatra valleys. Horse-drawn carriage or sledge rides available.

Gubałówka
A hill 1120 m high, easily accessible on foot or by cable car, Excellent conditions for skiers and snowboarders in the winter. Take the chair-lift from Butorowy Wierch on your way down to enjoy a vast view of Tatra Mountains.

A fine array of hiking trails run to the mountain tops, to crystal clear mountain lakes, wondrous waterfalls, valleys and caves. Mountain-bikers can choose from several well marked bike trails. The trail connecting the town of Zakopane with the mountain lake Morskie Oko is 66 kilometres long both ways.

Zakopane itself is the most significant winter sports resort in Poland. In the past, numerous international sports events took place here, for example, the world championships in ski-jumps, world championships in biathlon or world cup in slalom. Ski trails of various difficulty levels await skiers.