Day 1: Arrive Gdansk
Witamy w Polsce (Welcome to Poland!). Upon arrival at Gdansk airport clear immigration and make your way to the hotel, check in and relax. The rest of the day is free for you to walk around the city and take in the passion the city has to offer. Areas like Ulica Dluga, Chlebnicka, Dlugi Targ and Grunwaldzka are filled with restaurants which serve everything from Oriental and Russian to Italian and fast food.
Overnight in Gdansk
Day 2: Gdansk
After breakfast its a day to explore the city on your own.
Highlights:
St Mary's Cathedral, a local landmark which towers over the city. The largest church in Poland, St Mary's was almost completely destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt.
Within the church of St John is Gdansk's Church Clocks Museum, an unusual and interesting- collection. Painstakingly restored at the end of World War II, the Royal Way is marked by a series of impressive old gates, fountains and medieval buildings.
Among the gates are the Golden Gate, the Green Gate, the High Gate and the Crane Gate. The Crane Gate, one of Gdansk's most well-known sights, dates back to the 15th century and was, for hundreds of years, the largest crane in Europe. It stands 30 meter high and was renovated after the Second World War. Other sites are National Museum, Central Maritime Museum and many more.
Gdansk's proximity to the sea- and the local rivers- makes water sports its most popular form of outdoor activity and here's plenty of scope for sailing, yachting and canoeing.
Gdansk being a seaside town, seafood restaurants predominate. Polish food, with its filling dumplings, meat and potatoes, is popular, but Gdansk is swiftly acquiring its full complement of international restaurants. Overnight in Gdansk
Day 3: Gdansk - Warsaw
Check out from your hotel in Gdansk and catch an early train to Warsaw just 6 hrs away. Arrive in Warsaw and make your way to the hotel. Check in and relax a while. Evening you can walk around the city and do some shopping too.
After shopping you can opt to try out the Indian cuisine at Arti, Buddha, Bombay Masala and so on which are centrally located in the city. Overnight in Warsaw
Day 4: Warsaw – City tour + Evening Chopin Concert
Post breakfast its time to see around the wonderful city of Warsaw. Enjoy this city tour which includes all the 'must see' monuments and sights of Warsaw: Lazienki Park, Theatre Square with Grand Opera and former Town Hall Buildings as well as Belvedere Palace, the Ghetto Memorial. You will also drive through the most famous and elegant avenues in Warsaw and see Nowy Swiat and Krakowskie Przedmiescie avenues, the Presidential Palace, University of Warsaw, Holy Cross Church with Chopin's heart, Copernicus Statue. During previous centuries monarchs constructed the beautiful palaces you can admire today around you. Later you will also go to the Old town to see St. John's Cathedral with its magnificent Gothic interiors, St. Ann's Church and the Castle Square with the Column of King Sigismund III Vasa. You will also see the Old Town Market Square and the City Walls.
Evening: visit the Chopin concert: Its the best way to get close with the music of the gratest polish composer, Frideric Chopin. You are picked-up from your accommodation and transported to the Castle Square from where you have only 5min walk to the Concert place that is located in one of the reconstructed buildings attached to the Royal Castle. You will have a bit of time to take a walk around the Old City of Warsaw to feel the mood of this magical place. Concert starts at 18:00 hours sharply so it is great to be there few minutes before and be inspired bamazing views of nature in the garden behind the concert place. After the concert you will still have a bit of time for yourself because return transfer will wait for you at 20:00 hours at the Castle Square. Overnight in Warsaw
Day 5: Warsaw – (Optional) Day tour to Lodz (9hrs tour) (PRIVATE)
Visit Lodz, the historical city which nowadays stands as the cradle for Polish culture and artists including Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda. Take a day trip to one of the most outstanding Cities in Poland. It is energy, history, culture and business in one place and not enough words to express all what Lodz is about. Home place of great polish artists, actors, musicians, academicals center with best in Poland Movie School, historical business hub of Europe and City of cross cultures It's short but so impressive history made Lodz very important cultural center of Poland. Visit the Palace of Israel Poznanski , Creator of textile business in Central Europe , what is now a City Historical Museum, walk along the paths of greatest polish actors, musicians and poets like Arthur Rubinstein, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, Julian Tuwim and many more or take a walk along polish Walk of Fame. Visit the museum of one of largest textile factory in XIX century Europe what is now a complex of business, commerce and culture , Manufaktura or other industrial centers converted into museums or cultural sites, look for outstanding murals referring City's history or uncover hippie site of the City or it's hard WW II history.
Overnight in Warsaw
Day 6: Warsaw – (Optional) (any one)
Enjoy this extraordinary tour all about communism on board of a communist Van. Tour for 3hrs with transportation by former military Communist Van , English speaking guide, Entrance to Museum 'Life Under Communism', Traditional aperitif (vodka shot, traditional soft drink Oranzada, cookies)
Visit the most important sites of Jewish history on this private Jewish Heritage Tour of 4 hrs. See the site of the former Jewish Ghetto and learn about how 500,000 of Warsaw's Jewish inhabitants lost their life during the holocaust.
Day 7: Warsaw / Krakow
After breakfast you can check out and proceed to the train station to take your train to Krakow which is just 2.5hrs away. Krakow is a city rich in culture, history and architectural beauty.
In the afternoon opt for a Wieliczka Salt Mine tour which starts at around 3 pm As you walk down the 360 steps into the salt mine, you have the impression you are entering a vast underground city, complete with huge caverns and underground lakes. This underground world has earned a place on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list thanks to the creativity of the miners who carved chapels out of the walls, hundreds of metres below the surface. You will visit the largest of the chapels, dedicated to St Kinga, the patron saint of salt miners. This subterranean church is richly decorated with chandeliers, sculptures and religious figures carved out of salt. As you follow the 2.5 kilometre walk, you'll pass statues dating back to the 18th century depicting mythical, historical and religious figures. The last stop in the mine is the souvenir shop and snack bar. From here, the lift carries you back to the surface. Overnight in Krakow
Day 8: Krakow - Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz is one of the best-known concentration camps in the world; it is a place of genocide where approximately 1.5 million people were killed during WWII. The tour includes a visit to Auschwitz I - the administrative centre of Auschwitz death camp and Auschwitz II, designed and constructed as an extermination facility. The place has remained a living monument of death. Every year, millions of visitors from around the world walk through the gate bearing a fallacious inscription: Arbeit macht frei -Work sets one free .Defeating the same route as prisoners for over half a century ago. The programme of the visit comprises the introduction to the origins of the camp, its history and the everyday life of its prisoners. The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex was established in 1940 and throughout the five years of its inglorious operation over 1.5 million Jews, Poles, Italians and Frenchman perished here. It should be emphasized that the prisoners of Auschwitz originated from every country in Europe. The museum was founded in 1947, combining the area of KL Auschwitz (Auschwitz I) in Oswiecim and the Birkenau camp (Auschwitz II) in Brzezinka; it comprises approximately 150 buildings and 300 ruins. The original roads, fences, watchtowers and railway ramps have been preserved. The buildings house the collection of original exhibits and documents. In 1979, the concentration camp was designated as one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.. Overnight in Krakow
Day 9: Krakow - Czestochowa The Black Madonna
This tour takes you to a place which receives around 5 million visitors a year ( including over 150 thousand pilgrims on foot). After arriving at the monastery, we visit the chapel of the miraculous painting of the Black Madonna, which is the embodiment of the attachment to the Cult of Mary so typical of the Catholic faith in Poland. Next we visit the Basilica, which is the main church of the monastery. You can also visit the 600th-Anniversary Museum and the Treasury on your own, if you wish, or attend Mass while others on the tour have a break for lunch and a visit to a souvenir shop. On the way back we alter our route slightly to admire the most spectacular limestone rock formations typical of the Krakow-Czestochowa Uplands. This allows us to visit the only remaining castle of the so called Eagle Nest Trail at Pieskowa Skala.
Day 10: Krakow - Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains
Travel to Zakopane, a mountain resort nestled at the foot of the Tatra mountains and boasting breathtaking views of Poland's countryside. 9hours tour with splendid natural scenery, pistes and hiking and a rich folk culture along with visit the Tatra Museum or the village of Chocholow, famous for its 150-year old wooden log cabins and a serene atmosphere.
Day 11: Depart Krakow
Today it's time to say good bye (Do widzenia!) to this marvelous country, as you head to the airport to take your flight home. Hope you have had a great holiday!!
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