North - Eastern Poland Tour / Gdańsk - Wolf's Lair - Masuria region – Malbork /

7 Day north eastern poland Tour: Pomerania, Warmia & Masuria Region
Gdańsk - Sopot – Elbląg - Olsztyn –Lidzbark Warminski – Reszel- Wilczy Szaniec - Giżycko – Mikołajki – Malbork -Gdansk

During this trip you will visit Gdansk- Sopot, the Baltic’ Oasis with its charming wide, sandy beaches, historic places, vital nightlife, elegant restaurants, cosy cafes and Masuria Region, "the land of thousand lakes". Masuria provides the perfect environment is one of the most beautiful parts of Poland.

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

Day 2
Breakfast, guided tour of Gdansk - the majestic Old Town: the Golden Gateway, Neptune’s Fountain, Artus Court, the Uphagen House and Dluga Street, the wooden Crane on the River Motlava, a stroll along yacht harbor, Mariacka Street; the Solidarity Monument at the Gdansk Shipyard, the birthplace of the Solidarity movement. Next visit to Oliva for a recital of organ music in the Oliva Dome. Sopot - a lively bathing resort, popular for relaxation. Return to Gdansk, free time by individual arrangements, Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel.
* A special event in Gdansk is the Annual Dominican Fair held in August. Artisans, folk dancers and musicians take over the streets and plazas of Gdansk during its commemorations of St. Dominic.

Day 3
Breakfast, a cruise from Elblag to Maldyty by ship along the Elblaski Canal. The canal is known as a wonder of hydraulic engineering technology. Transfer to Olsztyn, dinner in a regional restaurant and overnight stay at a hotel in Olsztyn.

Day 4
Breakfast, a sightseeing tour of Olsztyn, followed by a visit to Lidzbark Warminski, the former residence of the Warmiński Bishops. Continuation of the trip with a visit to Reszel famous for its castle and fortress called Boyen. Dinner in a restaurant, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 5
Breakfast, transfer to the Wolf’s Lair near Ketrzyn. Half-day excursion to the most interesting sites in the region: The Wolf’s Lair –one of the former headquarters of Hitler, situated in the middle of the forest and consists of 30 buildings and 50 bunkers. Transfer to Gizycko, time at leisure. Dinner in a restaurant, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 6
Breakfast, cruise from Gizycko to Mikolajki - a center of the Masuria Region. Masuria is known as “the Land of a Thousand Lakes”, being one of the most beautiful parts of Poland. In addition to the natural beauty of the region, there are also many historic buildings, not least among which are medieval castles. A stroll around the village, dinner in a regional restaurant, transfer to Olsztyn and overnight stay in a hotel.

Day 7
Breakfast, transfer to Malbork – the city has been put on the UNESCO list as one of he most unique monuments: Malbork Castle - Europe’s largest Gothic fortress, the former residence of the Grand Master of Teutonic Knights. It also contains Poland’s largest collection of amber. Transfer to Gdansk, 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  

Gdańsk – the maritime capital of Poland and a large business, science and tourist center. Lech Wałęsa started to overthrow communism here. Sopot, the smallest town of Tri-City, was one of the most fashionable Baltic resorts before WWII. Gdynia, the youngest of the three cities, boasts commercial, passenger and navy ports. It was the largest and most modern port on the Baltic coast before WWII. The coat-of-arms of Gdańsk.

Crane
A symbol of the city – the Gothic harbor crane sitting on the Motława, its arm was capable of lifting up to 4 tons of weight to a height of 27 m. Today it houses a branch of the Central Maritime Museum. 

Mariacka Street
A charming street with restored characteristic forecourts; students and graduates of Music Academy often perform here. Old Town in Gdańsk.

St. Mary’s Church
A Gothic shrine from the 14th century designed for 25 000 worshippers, its astronomical clock was the biggest in the world; the tower (78m high) offers a magnificent view over Gdańsk.

Gdańsk Barbican
Remnants of the fortifications from the 15th century, comprise Executioner’s House interconnected with the Prison Tower. ul. Targ Węglowy,

Golden Gate
A Baroque structure, which replaced in the 17th century an earlier Gothic gate.

Green Gate
Green gate from the 16th century was the residence of Polish kings in Gdańsk. The Green Gate closes the Royal Route on the Motława side.

Town Hall
Town Hall of the Inner Town from the 16th century, initially a Gothic brick structure, later rebuilt in the Renaissance style. Its splendid interiors include the Read Hall of the Council. The seat of the Museum of Gdańsk History.

Artus Court
This Gothic stone house of merchants’ guilds with the biggest tile stove in Europe (10.5 m high, 520 decorated tiles) is standing next to Town Hall. Today it houses a branch of the Museum of Gdańsk History.

Neptune’s Fountain
This bronze statue in front of Artus Court epitomizes the maritime nature of the city.

Uphagen’s House
Old merchant tenement house with typical interiors from the 18th century. Today it houses a branch of the Museum of Gdańsk History and is open to tourists.

Granary Island
Only a few of the 300-some old granaries survived to this day. Between New and Old Motława River.

National Museum
National Museumwith a collection of Gdańsk paintings from 14th through 19th century and a gallery of Dutch painting, including the Last Judgment by Hans Memling, ul. Toruńska 1.

Cistercian monastery complex in Oliwa
Cistercian monastery complex in Oliwa with a cathedral built in 1200. Wonderful sound of organs from the 18th century blends with decorative sculptures: angels, suns and stars actually move during the concert.

Łaźnia Contemporary Art Center
Contemporary art exhibitions, quasi-artistic projects are presented and documentary films screened in the building of an old bath. Polish and foreign artists, acclaimed productions and young exploratory art.

Olsztyn – the capital of the Warmia and Masuria Region
Olsztyn, with its 160,000 inhabitants, is the largest town of the Warmia and Masuria region. The centre of the town, heavily damaged by the war was thoroughly reconstructed. Around the centre there are old burghers tenement houses with characteristic galleries.

The Teutonic Knights’ castle from the 14th century is a valuable cultural monument. Today it hosts the Warmia and Masuria Museum, with an additional display commemorating the activity of Nicolaus Copernicus during his stay in the town. Copernicus’ name appears also in connection with the planetarium named after him, which was built in 1973 for the 500th anniversary of the astronomer’s birthday. Other cultural monuments include a late- Gothic cathedral, the Tall Gate, fragments of town fortifications from the 14th century and the old Baroque Town Hall erected in the beginning of 17th century.

A historic verdant city in a picturesque setting on hills over the Łyna Riva and an university center. The Gothic castle of the Warmia Chapter, where Copernicus used to live, today houses the Museum of Warmia and Mazury. Summer organ music recitals are given in the Gothic Cathedral of St. Jacob. Other interesting sights in Olsztyn include the planetarium and astronomical observatory.

Lidzbark Warmiński founded by the Teutonic Knights was a residence of the Warmia bishops until mid 19th century. In 1350, the castle was reshaped to become a bishops’ palace. Cloisters surround the inner courtyard of the massive four-winged structure. Today it is a museum.
Lovely little town hidden in a beautiful North-East part of Poland called Mazury - the coutnry of 1000 lakes Lidzbark Warminski is a very old town. It was on the map of Europe in about 996. It received its City Title in 1308 from the Polish King Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk. There are many structures built in middle ages. The greatest treasures of my town are XV century castle, church and fortifications.

Kętrzyn is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,351 inhabitants (2004). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship (since 1999), previously in Olsztyn Voivodship (1975-1998). It is very roughly near latitude 54°N, longitude 021°E. It is the capital of Kętrzyn County.

Before 1945, Kętrzyn was in Germany's province of East Prussia, and was known as Rastenburg, which was rendered in Polish as Rastembork. After the war, the German residents who had not fled or been killed were expelled to western Germany. Along with the rest of southern East Prussia, the town was transferred to Poland. The town was renamed Kętrzyn in honor of Wojciech Kętrzyński, a Polish patriot from the area, and resettled by Poles.

Adolf Hitler's wartime military headquarters, the so-called "Wolf's Lair", was located in the forests east of the town. The ruins of the Wolfsschanze, blown up by the retreating Germans in 1945, are an important tourist attraction.

One of the most attractive Masurian resorts, small town and a mjor destination for sailing and water sport lovers. It offers boat trips on the lakes, water sports of all sorts, a yacht marina and alsobicycles for hire for those who wish to visit the nature reserve around Lake Lokajno. Mikołajki and Giżycko are the well- known sailing and canoeing centers. The Masurian Great District- there are the best canoeing and popular boats. Mikołajki is a center of Masuria Region. Masuria known as “the Land of a Thousand Lakes”, is one of the most beautiful parts of Poland. The lakes, rivers and forests that cover most of this region provide the cleanest air in the country, and there are excellent facilities for all kinds of water sports, in particular sailing. The clean water and gently sloping lake bottoms make bathing safe. In additional to the natural beauty of the region, there are also many, many historic buildings, not least among which are medieval castles, overnight in a hotel.

address:
Muzeum Zamkowe w Malborku
ul. Starościńska 1, 82-200 Malbork

Description:
Malbork with its extensive Gothic castle complex. The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights once lived in this fortress. “Light and sound” spectacles are held here as well as knights' tournaments for those who find looking at museum collections is not enough.

This 13th-century fortified monastery belonging to the Teutonic Order was substantially enlarged and embellished after 1309, when the seat of the Grand Master moved here from Venice. A particularly fine example of a medieval brick castle, it later fell into decay, but was meticulously restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the conservation techniques now accepted as standard were evolved here. Following severe damage in the Second World War it was once again restored, using the detailed documentation prepared by earlier conservators.

Treasures of the earth Amber, a fossilized resin from coniferous trees which also has therapeutic properties, has been collected on the shores of the Baltic Sea since at least the 1st century B.C. In the times of the Roman Empire, merchants came to Gdańsk from the Mediterranean basin in search of amber. The History of Amber exhibit at the Malbork Castle Museum presents marvelous examples of amber and amber jewelry.