Krakow Preserved

Fly from your selected airport to Kraków and transfer to your chosen accommodation, the 3-star Hotel Wyspianski or 4-star Vienna House by Wyndham Andel’s Cracow, for a four-night stay.

A walking tour of the city begins with ‘Stare Miasto’ old town and view St. Florian’s Gate, the last remaining medieval gate into the city; and the 13thcentury Rynek Glówny (market square), the heart and soul of the city; where landmarks include the soaring towers of St. Mary’s Basilica, and majestic façade of Cloth Hall, a Renaissance era trading post, now a museum. Continue to the fortress complex of Wawel Hill. With 14th century origins, and many later additions, its numerous buildings reflect the eras in medieval, Baroque, and Renaissance architecture. Visit the Royal Castle chambers, and Wawel Cathedral, the coronation (and burial) site of Polish monarchs. Transfer to the Stained Glass Museum, which showcases the city’s centuries of stained-glass art, and still creates pieces in a historic workshop. End the day with a tasting of four different vodkas/liqueurs.
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Travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration camps, now a haunting memorial to the horrors of its history, its rail tracks and watchtowers still intact and affecting. Visit the museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, covering the hectares of Camps 1 & 2 of the complex with hundreds of buildings and ruins, several housing exhibitions of the conditions in which prisoners lived.
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A morning tour of the ‘Kazimierz’ (Jewish quarter) reveals a blend of modern life and medieval setting. A 16th century synagogue is one of many in Szeroka Street; the Galicia Museum records local Jewish culture; Ghetto Heroes Square is symbolically furnished with 70 empty iron chairs; and the Remuh Cemetery wall is built from tombstones broken in World War ll; but the cobbled streets and squares (where “Schindler’s List” was filmed) are now the backdrop to lively bars, eclectic shops, and a feast of restaurants. Continue to visit Schindler’s Enamel Factory, a museum exhibiting the relics of five years under Nazi occupation. Optional late afternoon excursion to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine (pre-bookable), 1,000-feet deep, and 1,000 years old. No longer a working mine, it is now a subterranean city of salt, and UNESCO World Heritage site, where a labyrinth of stairways and miles of tunnels link 3,000 chambers and chapels; several salt-laden lakes; shops, restaurants, and the Miners’ Tavern; astonishing salt statues of saints, soldiers, and workers; and the Salt Cathedral, where huge chandeliers highlight wall carvings and timber rafters, and weddings and concerts complement regular Sunday services.
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Transfer to Krakow airport for your return flight.
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