Polish Highlights - all "must-see" places in 10 days across Poland

“Polish Highlights” - ten days immersed in Polish culture, history and tastes

Day 1– August 22, 08

You arrive in Warsaw with time for a short evening stroll through the Old Town, followed by a Welcome Dinner in a restaurant and an overnight stay at a hotel. (D)

Day 2 – August 23, 08

After breakfast we will have a guided tour of Warsaw including the Barbican, the Royal Castle, the Old Market Square, the Royal Route, Krakowskie Przedmieście, and Łazienki with its splendid gardens and the Palace on the Water. Dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D)

Day 3 - August 24, 08

After breakfast we travel to Częstochowa. We will visit Jasna Góra, the famous monastery and the most important place for Polish Catholicism. The tour includes the Paulinians’ Hill, the Treasury and the Chapel with the famous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D) 

Day 4 – August 25, 08

After breakfast we continue on to Oświęcim. We’ll visit Auschwitz, the Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim, the biggest Nazi concentration camp from World War II. In the afternoon there will be an excursion to the Ojców National Park with its picturesque Jurassic landscape and caves, followed by either a visit to a cave or to Pieskowa Skała Renaissance castle. Next, on to Krakow, dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D) 

Day 5 – August 26, 08

After breakfast we have a guided tour of Kracow including the Main Market Square, St. Mary’s Basilica and the historical trade pavilions of the Cloth Hall, the Royal Route, the Collegium Maius, and Wawel Hill with its renaissance Royal Castle and Cathedral. Then a walk round the old Jewish Quarter Kazimierz, a place especially cherished by lovers of antiques. Dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D)

Day 6 – August 27, 08

After breakfast we proceed to Wieliczka and visit the famous Royal Salt Mine with numerous underground chambers, chapels and salt sculptures. In the afternoon we continue on to Zakopane and enjoy a city sightseeing tour and a funicular ride up Gubałówka mountain, where you can admire a full panorama of the Tatra mountains. Dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel.
(B,D)

Day 7 – August 28, 08

After breakfast we’ll have an excursion to Sromowce Nizsze to the Raftsmen marina and a raft trip through Pieniny Mountains on Dunajec Gorge (or two hours break in Krościnko – the “capital” of that mountain region). Then drive back to Zakopane through these picturesque mountains with stops in Debno to visit the famous 15th century wooden church with rich polychrome, and in Niedzica to admire its ancient castle with gothic and renaissance architecture. In the evening we’ll have a special dinner in a regional restaurant with live folk music. Overnight stay at a hotel in Zakopane. (B,D)

Day 8 – August 29, 08

After breakfast we travel to the town of Sandomierz, a fine example of renaissance architecture. The visit includes a walk through the streets of the Old Town, a visit to the castle and finishes at St. Jacob’s Church and Dominican Monastery. We then drive to Lublin for dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D)

Day 9 – August 30, 08

After breakfast we drive to the town of Kozłówka to visit of the famous Polish “Museum of Socialism” with its gallery of the art of socialist realism. We’ll continue on to Kazimierz  Dolny with a visit to its picturesque old town on the River Vistula, known as a place especially cherished by artists, and a panoramic tour of the town. Then we continue to Warsaw where we’ll have dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. (B,D)

Day 10 – August 31, 08

After breakfast we’ll transfer to the Warsaw airport and our departure. (B) 

Price: from 1680 USD/ person
/discounts for groups/

Date: August 22, 2008; other dates are available on group request.

Price includes: transfers by luxury coach according to the tour program, service of a professional English speaking Tour Director, accommodation for 9 nights in selected 3*/4* hotels, breakfasts (9) and dinners (9), services of local English speaking guides in visited cities, reservations for all entrance tickets according to the program, taxes and porter services at the hotels.

Additional information and fees:
- additional services for pre- and post-tour stay on request, single room and double bed available on request; 
- additional, personal service orders with tips (approx 10%) not included, driver and tour director tips on your decision;
- lunch average price - 10-12 $/ lunch;

Cracow- an ancient magic city.
Cracow offers a wide spectrum of museums, art galleries full of exhibitions, theatres, historic cellars, clubs, cafes & restaurants with live music, is an exciting destination for the travelers on the world map!
The city’s cultural heritage is mirrored in its intellectual achievements – the Jagiellonian University is the oldest in Poland. The student population of the city numbers almost 100,000 and this large student population fires a lively nightlife scene that burns brightly in the atmospheric cellar bars away from the tourists above. Cracow has sharply contrasting seasons with cold, snowy winters and fresh springs and autumns. Visitors should beware of the locals’ use of the word fresh – an optimistic reference to blatantly cold weather. The labyrinthine cellars of the Old Town are an ideal place to escape the winter chill. However, come summer, the quintessential Cracow experience is relaxing in a pavement café on the main square enjoying one of the long and balmy nights.

Cracow (Krakow) is now well established as a major tourist destination. At the height of summer, Poland’s fourth largest city throngs with tour groups, all manner of tourist tack and countless pavement cafés that seem to occupy every cobble of the main square. Out of season, late at night or even in the first slivers of morning light, it is clear why so many people flock to visit. This magical city, situated in the southeast of the country, between the Jura uplands and the Tatra Mountains, on the banks of the Wisla (Vistula) River, has one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Dozens of churches cover almost every architectural period and are surrounded by monasteries and abbeys – walking through the Old Town streets is like drifting back through the musty pages of a historical novel.

Cracow – a tourist horn of plenty
Cracow, Poland's former royal capital, is one of the most attractive spots on the tourist map of Europe. This is a place where legends, history and modernity intertwine. The city, which lies on the banks of the Vistula River, is famous for its priceless historical monuments of culture and art.

A delightful town on the Wisła River, with over 120 historic buildings, some over 800 yearsold. Museum and galleries testify to vibrant cultural life. Guided tours of the cellars beneath the main square. Stunning ravines close to the old town.

Sandomierz undoubtedly has always been a European city as itpreserved the various marks of the history of Europe and it belongs to its cultural heritage. Sandomierz a town whose roots reach back over ten centuries, is picturesquely situated on the edge of Kielecko - Sandomierska Upland, declining in theform of huge slopes into the Vistula valley.

Formerly Sandomierz belonged to the biggest towns in Poland. As sedes regni principalis it used to be aduke’s seat and a royal residence. Bound up with Christianity for ten ages, together with a nearby Zawichost it was also a communication link of international trade route, leading from Western Europe through Wrocław, Cracow, Wiślica and Sandomierz to Rus and further eastwards until Mongolian Empire. Sandomierz and Zawichost guarded the main ford across the Vistula.

Welcome to Warsaw interesting and happening city in Europe!
Today the city has undergone a huge transformation process. Many old buildings gave way to modern sky scrapers and dilapidating old town was restored. Worth seeing subsection includes sample walks around Warsaw and has suggestions on trips outside of Warsaw.

Warsaw – a charming capital
Warsaw is a city with many faces where tradition intermingles with modernity. From the terrace on Zamkowy Square, where the Royal Castle and St. Anne's Church are located, is a view of the new Świętokrzyski Bridge. The dominating silhouette of the city centre belongs to the Palace of Culture and Science, which today shares the city skyline with numerous office towers. You can feel the breath of history in the Old Town, on Nowy Świat Street and everywhere where the city's roots have been preserved.

We hope you enjoy your stay in one of the most interesting and happening places in Europe!
This site enables you to make the most of your travel to Warsaw. It offers export recommendations for sights to visit, places to stay, car rentals, excursions, restaurants as well as provides useful practical traveller’s information. Hotels, car rentals and excursions can be now reserved online using our fast and reliable service. If you wish to contact us regarding personalized trip to Warsaw or Poland please e-mail us and one of our reservation clerks will get back to you with useful information.

our first choice! the capital of Polish Tatras.
From here, you can reach virtually every single mountain nook in Tatras. Starting your day with a thrilling climb, continuing emotions in a great theatre, ending in one of Zakopane's numerous bars and pubs, your stay here will certainly be remembered. Tourists will find many attractions in Zakopane, starting with walks through the picturesque mountain valleys, wild terrain bicycle rides and horse rides and line railway rides to Kasprowy Wierch, Gubałówka and Butorowy Wierch. In winter the enthusiasts of white madness come to Zakopane to ski down the professionally prepared routes. On the lighted, evened-out with ratracks slopes of Nosal, Gubałówka and Polana Szymoszkowa you can see people skiing till late evening, sometimes even night hours. Krupówki, the cult walking place of Zakopane, is crowded all day and evening long. You can rest from the bustle of everyday life and regain your vigour here.

Lublin with its 350,000 inhabitants is the largest Polish town east of the Vistula and an important centre of science, culture and business. The old town with its picturesque medieval streets is worth a closer look. Lined with beautiful 15th and 16th century houses, the town square has many atmospheric cafés scattered around. The old town hall was remodelled in neoclassical style in the 18th century. The Lublin castle dates to the 19th century, but its massive round tower and chapel are respectively from the 13th and 14th centuries. Today the Museum of Polish Painting, Folk-art and Archaeology occupy them. Lublin used to host one of the major Jewish communities in Poland. The monument on Plac Ofiar Getta commemorates Jews murdered by the Nazis during WW II. Not far away from the centre, in the district of Majdanek, the German occupants created in 1941 one of the largest extermination camps; after the war the site was turned to a museum and a big memorial to the victims was erected.

Where cultures meet. The Old Town has preserved its medieval urban layout with many churches, burgher houses and gates. The Lublin royal castle’s showpiece is the Holy Trinity chapel (14th c.) with the unique Russo-Byzantine frescoes. Many museums. The suburban skansen presents old rural architecture and collections of artifacts from the region between the Vistula and the Bug River.

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.

A delightful town on the Wisła River, with over 120 historic buildings, some over 800 yearsold. Museum and galleries testify to vibrant cultural life. Guided tours of the cellars beneath the main square. Stunning ravines close to the old town.

Sandomierz undoubtedly has always been a European city as itpreserved the various marks of the history of Europe and it belongs to its cultural heritage. Sandomierz a town whose roots reach back over ten centuries, is picturesquely situated on the edge of Kielecko - Sandomierska Upland, declining in theform of huge slopes into the Vistula valley.

Formerly Sandomierz belonged to the biggest towns in Poland. As sedes regni principalis it used to be aduke’s seat and a royal residence. Bound up with Christianity for ten ages, together with a nearby Zawichost it was also a communication link of international trade route, leading from Western Europe through Wrocław, Cracow, Wiślica and Sandomierz to Rus and further eastwards until Mongolian Empire. Sandomierz and Zawichost guarded the main ford across the Vistula.