Day 1: Warsaw
Arrive in Warsaw and transfer to your hotel. The afternoon is free to begin exploring the Polish capital at your own pace. In the evening, meet your tour guide and fellow travelers for a welcome briefing and optional group dinner. Depending on your arrival time, take a walk through the city center to see the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw’s most controversial landmark — a Stalinist skyscraper that offers panoramic city views from its 30th-floor observation deck.
Day 2: Warsaw tour + evening arrival Krakow
Begin with a morning panoramic tour of Warsaw, covering the key sights: the UNESCO-listed Old Town with its reconstructed medieval streets, the Royal Castle, Lazienki Park with its Chopin Monument, and the former Jewish Ghetto area with its monuments to the 1943 Ghetto Uprising. After lunch, depart Warsaw and travel south towards Krakow, arriving in the evening. The journey provides your first look at the Polish countryside. Check into your hotel and enjoy a free evening in Krakow.
Day 3: Krakow tour
Spend the day exploring Krakow, Poland’s former royal capital and a city of extraordinary beauty. Your guided tour includes Wawel Hill, the spiritual seat of Poland, where the Royal Castle and Cathedral have witnessed coronations and burials of Polish monarchs for over 500 years. Walk the Royal Route to the Main Market Square, the largest medieval plaza in Europe, to see the Cloth Hall, St. Mary’s Basilica, and the Town Hall Tower. The afternoon is free to explore the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, cross the Vistula to the Podgorze district, or simply enjoy the cafes and shops around the market square.
Day 4: Wieliczka Salt Mine + Auschwitz-Birkenau
An early departure takes you to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO World Heritage site just outside Krakow. Descend into a vast underground labyrinth carved from salt over eight centuries, with the magnificent Chapel of St. Kinga as its crowning glory. In the afternoon, continue to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp, now a memorial and museum. A guided tour of both Auschwitz I and Birkenau II provides essential historical context. Return to Krakow in the evening. Note that this is a full and emotionally demanding day.
Day 5: Czestochowa + Wroclaw
Depart Krakow and head north to Czestochowa, Poland’s spiritual capital. Visit Jasna Gora Monastery, home to the Black Madonna icon, the country’s most revered religious artifact. This 14th-century Pauline monastery has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries and famously withstood a Swedish siege in 1655. After a lunch break, continue west to Wroclaw, arriving in the late afternoon. A brief orientation walk introduces you to the Market Square before free time in the evening.
Day 6: Wroclaw + Poznan
Begin with a morning tour of Wroclaw, visiting Cathedral Island (Ostrow Tumski), the city’s oldest quarter, and the magnificent Market Square with its Gothic Town Hall. Hunt for the famous Wroclaw dwarfs as you explore the streets. At midday, depart for Poznan, arriving in the afternoon. Tour Poznan’s Old Market Square, arguably the most beautiful in Poland after Krakow’s, with its colorful Renaissance merchants’ houses and the famous mechanical goats that emerge from the Town Hall tower at noon. See the Imperial Castle and the Poznan Cathedral, the oldest in Poland.
Day 7: Poznan + Torun
Depart Poznan in the morning and travel to Torun, the remarkably well-preserved Gothic city on the Vistula River. Torun’s medieval Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a masterpiece of brick Gothic architecture. Your walking tour includes the Copernicus House, where the great astronomer was born, the imposing St. John’s Cathedral, and the Leaning Tower — Torun’s answer to Pisa. Don’t miss sampling pierniki, the famous gingerbread for which Torun has been renowned since the Middle Ages. Enjoy an evening in this atmospheric city.
Day 8: Torun + Gdansk
Continue north through Pomerania to Gdansk, the historic Baltic port city. Arrive by midday and begin your tour of the Main Town. Walk the Royal Route from Upland Gate to the magnificent Long Market, passing the Golden House and the Arthur’s Court. See the Neptune Fountain, the symbol of Gdansk, and the medieval Gdansk Crane on the Motlawa embankment. Visit the Long Bridge (Dlugie Pobrzeze) and Mariacka Street with its amber galleries. The afternoon and evening are free to explore Gdansk’s excellent seafood restaurants and lively bars.
Day 9: Gdansk + Malbork Castle
In the morning, visit the European Solidarity Centre in the Gdansk Shipyard, where the movement that brought down communism was born. Then travel to Malbork, approximately one hour away, to visit Malbork Castle — the world’s largest brick castle and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, this massive fortress was the seat of the Grand Master and the capital of the Teutonic Order’s monastic state. The scale and intricacy of its Gothic architecture is breathtaking. Return to Gdansk for a final evening on the Baltic coast.
Day 10: Gdansk departure
Your comprehensive Polish circuit concludes after breakfast. Transfer to Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport for your departure flight, or extend your stay to enjoy more time on the Baltic coast.
