Original World™
is the travel division of Original World View, LLC.We offer in-depth travel experiences all over the world.
Small Group & Custom Private Tours for individuals, businesses and organizations.
Poland Small Group Tour click here
Poland Private Tour
Sample Itinerary: Select yor own dates. This itinerary can be modified.PRETOUR SUGGESTION: Vist Berlin 2-3 days.
Day 1Ê Arrival in Warsaw
You are met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Afternoon is at leisure to explore the city on your own or to relax after overseas flight.Day 2Ê WarsawÊcity tour and Chopin Recital
This afternoon, explore Warsaw on a half-day city tour. Once a vibrant and glorious capital, Warsaw suffered heavy damage during World War II, and the Germans virtually destroyed it after the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Its rebirth and rebuilding since the end of the war is inspirational, as you`ll see on your visit to the historic reconstructed Old Town, surrounded by 14th- and 15th-century walls. Located on the left bank of the Vistula, the Queen of Polish rivers, Old Town`s narrow winding streets, charming houses, churches, and cobblestoned old marketplace will enchant you. And, you`ll enjoy the fact that the Old Town is closed to all trffic except pedestrians and horsedrawn cabs.Visitors will travel down the Royal Road, with the Royal Palace at one end and beautiful Lazienkowski Park at the other, where open-air Chopin concerts are held in the summer.
You will also stand before the Heroes of the Ghetto memorial, a large but simple slab of dark granite in the heart of the prewar Jewish ghetto. In the early evening, you can attend a Chopin piano recital , enjoying the music of PolandÕs best-known and most beloved composer. Your guide can give suggestions on where to dine on your own, or we can book a good restaurant for you in advance. Warsaw is teeming with kawiarnia ( cafes ), which move outdoors in the summer.
Day 4Ê Warsaw/ Wilanow Palace
Morning: tour of the Wielki Theatre in Warsaw, which is also our Opera House. If program permits, we would book the opera performance for that evening.After the visit to the Theatre: Tour Wilanow Palace, affectionately dubbed the "Versailles of Poland," and still used for importand state occasions--President Carter stayed here during his 1977 visit. It is a beautiful baroque building, built in last quarter of the 17th century by King John III, one of Poland`s most famous kings. Now part of the National Museum, it houses a wonderful collection of antique furniture, precious, china, and ornate clocks. In the gallery of portraits, gain insight into Poland`s complicated history as you trace its regal ancestry back to the 16th century.
Day 5 Transfer Warsaw/Czestochowa/Cracow
After an early breakfast, drive to Cracow. Though the 200-mile transfer takes a full day (including stops), you will travel on one of Poland`s prettiest scenic routes. During the drive, you'll have a lunch stop at Czestochowa, and will visit the old Jasna Gora Pauline Monastery, site of the Black Madonna Shrine, a revered statue of the Virgin Mary said to have curative powers. Afternoon: Arrive in Cracow and check into the hotel.Day 6Ê Cracow/Wieliczka Salt MinesÊ
Morning exploration of Cracow, the seat of Poland`s oldest university and, until 1596, the capital of the country. In 1978, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Cracow survived World War II with little damage, and the city center stands today much as it did during its medieval days.This city has a very special ambience, it often gets compared to Prague, but the advantage over Prague is that it is much less touristy. Still not that commercialised as other European destinations. Bargain shopping abounds here: amber, silver and wooden craft or embroidery of high quality.
The city sightseeing will include: Market Square, the center of Cracow life for more than 700 years, the biggest market square in Europe, 200/200 metres.
Admire the elegant plaza ringed with churches and regal medieval buildings, and with the enormous Draper`s Hall as the focal point. The former cloth hall has been converted into a huge market with stalls offering handcrafts and souvenirs. T
hen walk alongÊ the Royal Route to Wawel Castle and Cathedral, where the former Cardinal Wojtyla (now known as Pope John Paul II) preached. Standing atop Wawel Hill on a bend in the Vistula River, the beautiful Gothic-Romanesque castle complex commands a view of lovely cityscapes punctuated with many exquisite chapels, and its bell tower contains one of Europe`s greatest bells. Possible: visit to the interiors of theÊRoyal Castle, and the Castle chambers adorned with tapestries woven in Brussels on the commision of the 16th c Polish kingÊSigismund Augustus.
Afternoon: Tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mines --working mines that have been providing the world`s most popular and important seasoning for more than seven centuries. Dating from the eleventh century, these fascinating mines are considered one of Europe`s great wonders, and are protected by UNESCO as a historic monument. Here are more than 2,000 caverns of underground beauty on nine main levels--breathtakingÊ chambers, galleries, and salt lakes. After exploring the mines, you may end the day with a typical Polish dinner in a local reastaurant, accompanied by a sample of Zubrowka, the famous Polish vodka.
DayÊ 7Ê Cracow/Auschwitz
A visit to Oswiecim, better known to Americans by its German name of Auschwitz-Birkenau, now the location of the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, set on the site of the largest of the World War II concentrationand exterminationÊ camps, memorializing a million of Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other enemies of the Nazi regime who died here.Ê Return to the hotel at mid-afternoon.Day 8 The Jewish District and Schindler's List
Tour Duration: up to 4 hours, on this tour you will visit the district of Kazimierz. Kazimierz used to be a separate city competing with Krakow, founded by the king Kasimir the Great in the 14th century. Throughout centuries it became the main spot for the Jewish population in Poland. Abandonded after World War II, it has recently become , a trendy and lively area where Jewish spirit is apparently coming back. The streets of Kazimierz were shot by Steven Spielberg in the famous "Schindler's List" movie. Afternoon independent.Day 9 Transfer to Prague, Bratislava, Budapest or Berlin, or to international airport for flight home.
includes: á Accommodations, dbl occ; Meals as specified in the program; á Private car (for 2-3 people) or air-conditioned coach/minibus; á English speaking guide throughout (for parties of 2-3 people the guide will also drive); á All entrance fees to museums, and sites included in the program.
Poland-Czech Republic-Vienna-Slovakia-Budapest-Romania-Bulgaria.
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