Homeland of St. J.Paul II

Day 1: ARRIVAL TO POLAND

Arrive in Poland. Our Polish tour leader will meet you at the Warsaw airport. We will transfer to the hotel. Check-in to hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay. 
 

Day 2: WARSAW

After breakfast we will explore the Polish capital and its main sights. We will stroll through the Lazienki Royal Park with its famous monument of Frederic Chopin, before visiting the Island Amphitheatre and the neoclassical Palace on the Water. We then move to the old Jewish quarter where we will see the remnants of the former Jewish Ghetto and Holocaust memorials such as Umschlagplatz and Ghetto Heroes Monument. In the Old Town, which is a UNESCO Heritage Site, we will stroll through the cobbled streets leading from the Royal Castle to the Market Square, through Barbican to the New Town, soaking up the medieval atmosphere. We will finish with a visit to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. After dinner we will stay overnight in Warsaw.
 

Day 3: CZESTOCHOWA - AUSCHWITZ-BIRKNEAU

After breakfast we depart for Czestochowa. We will visit the Jasna Gora Monastery which is famous for the paintings of the Black Madonna and has been attracting pilgrims from around the world since the fourteenth century. The Virgin Mary was proclaimed the Queen of Poland by King Jan Kazimierz. We visit the Basilica, the Chapel of Our Lady with the revered Black Madonna, the Treasury, and the Armoury. We then continue to Oswiecim to visit the former concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau which is now a museum in Oswiecim, a unique UNESCO site in that it was the largest extermination camp in the world and a worldwide symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by the Nazi’s in 1940 on the outskirts of the industrial town of Oswiecim and, during Hitler’s occupation of the area, it became a scene of one of the world’s largest mass killings, predominantly targeting people of Jewish origin. We arrive in Krakow in the late afternoon. We have dinner and stay overnight in Krakow.
 

Day 4: KRAKOW

After breakfast we explore Krakow, the former royal capital, which fully deserves its position on the first UNESCO World Heritage List ever published. We take a sightseeing tour of the Old Town including the Royal Way with all of its monuments before visiting St. Mary's church with the majestic wooden altar carved by Veit Stoss, and the medieval Cloth Hall in the heart of the main square. The tour ends on Wawel Hill as we take a guided visit to the Royal Cathedral and a walk around the outside of the Royal Castle. We then visit the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz which leads to the entrance of the Synagogue Remuh and its small historic graveyard. We have dinner and stay overnight in Krakow.

 

Day 5: WIELICZKA - LAGIEWNIKI 

After breakfast we take an excursion to the nearby world-famous Wieliczka, which is home to a unique salt mine over 300 m deep. We will explore its magnificent underground chapels, lakes, and chambers carved from salt. Wieliczka is the oldest salt mine in the world still in operation. We return to Krakow where we then visit Łagiewniki and the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy. The church became a destination for pilgrimages after it was visited and consecrated by Pope John Paul II. We have dinner and stay overnight in Krakow.
 

Day 6: KALWARIA ZEBRZYDOWSKA - WADOWICE 

After breakfast we take a trip to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a baroque sanctuary and famous for the Ways of the Cross which interlink the churches and chapels scattered among the hills and which were visited by Karol Wojtyła. He used to come here as a young boy from nearby Wadowice, and later as a priest, bishop, and finally as Pope, to walk along the Way of the Cross immersed in prayer. Wadowice is the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and on our visit here you can see the parish church and the house where he was born. Nowadays the house functions as a biographical museum, exhibiting mainly photographs depicting moments from the Pope’s life when he was still known as Karol Wojtyła. We return to Krakow in the afternoon were we have dinner and stay overnight.
 

Day 7: ZAKOPANE

After breakfast we venture to the mountain region of Tatras near Zakopane, a winter ski resort. It is famous for its wooden framework constructions of huts and villas which have beautiful decorative patterns and shingle-covered roofs. The advantages of the local climate were discovered in the nineteenth century and the town became a spa, popular to scientists, artists, musicians, poets, painters, and architects, who all travelled to Zakopane seeking relaxation and health treatments. We will visit Koliba to see the Zakopane Style Museum with its traditional wooden craftsmanship: pieces of furniture, tools, musical instruments, wooden spoons, ladles, leather shoes, stripes, traditional paintings on glass – these are just a few examples of exhibits in the museum. Next we will take cable car to the top of Gubałówka hill. This is a short journey lasting only ten minutes but provides an amazing panoramic view of the Tatras. Afterwards there will be free time for souvenir shopping. After a visit to Jaszczurówka Chapel, which is a typical example of Zakopane style, we will return to Krakow for dinner and an overnight stay.
 

Day 8: DEPARTURE FROM POLAND

After breakfast, we check out from the hotel and travel to the Kraków-Balice airport.