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Gdansk

After breakfast its a day to explore the city on your own. Gdansk's been around for more than a millennium now, and has plenty to show for its medieval churches, interesting museums, parks and monuments galore. One of Gdansk's most famous monuments is the impressive 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. Gdansk's other churches especially St John's, with its wonderful Renaissance altar, and St Nicholas Church, with its baroque choir stalls- are also worth a visit. The 14th century brick building of St Catherine's Church, home to a vast, 11 meter long mural by Milwitz, is another of Gdansk's beautiful churches. The church has a baroque bell tower, whose bells a carillon of 37  ring out on the hour, every hour; it's a tradition which has been continued since 1989, the 50th anniversary of the start of World War II. Within the church 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

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.

As Poland's capital, Warsaw has attracted all the big international names in shopping and is also an oasis for travellers looking for smart clothes at reasonable prices. Still, the city continues to retain its old world charm, and there are plenty of smaller stores tucked on the back streets with treasures waiting to be discovered.

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

Warsaw

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. Overnight in Warsaw

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 you could 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

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 theintroduction 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

Krakow - Czestochowa The Black Madonna (optional)

The 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.

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!!