Poland
Warsaw and Krakow and other cities and historical places of interest.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHOPIN
Memoirs of the Polish Composer and Virtuoso Pianist
Frederic Chopin
1810 – 1849
Frederic Chopin, probably more than any other national, is Poland’s pride and cultural hero. That he is recognized and beloved by the world has opened great opportunity to step back in musical history and become one with his time. Of course, Poland’s history is a mélange of the noble and the cursed, and we know your visit will have a lasting impression.
1st day Arrival and Overnight in Warsaw
Arrival at Frederic Chopin Airport. Your personal escort will greet and assist as you transfer by coach to your city hotel. If the time of day is just-right, a city introductory tour can be arranged. Dinner at the hotel or at a selected restaurant in the centre of Warsaw.
**NOTE: This tour program can also start in Krakow, Katowice or other major city, depending on the flight itinerary.
2nd day Warsaw – Chopin's City and Overnight Stay
Breakfast at the hotel
9am: Guided tour of Warsaw: Beautiful Lazienkowski Park with the Art Nouveau monument of Frederic Chopin and the beautiful palace and gardens of the kings. (There is a 1:1-scale replica of Szymanowski's Art Nouveau statue in Warsaw's sister city of Hamamatsu, Japan).
A sharp contrast is the Warsaw Ghetto and Umschlagplatz, from where thousands of Poland’s Jews were deported to the concentration camps. Now visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Palace of Culture and Science and Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street. This boulevard is considered Warsaw’s Champs Elysees, a Royal Street, as it is known. There is the option to visit The Chopin Family Drawing Room at The Academy of Fine Arts. It was a part of Chopin Family's House before they moved abroad. The Old Town (inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List) is followed by St. John's Cathedral (entrance) and the Main Market Square. The Old Town was fully destroyed during World War II and reconstructed, thanks to the commitment of
the whole Polish nation.
13.00 Relax and enjoy our lunch at one of the restaurants in the city’s centre.
14.30 Now to visit Holy Cross Church, with the pillar containing Chopin's heart.
Continuing the great composer’s theme visit, we become engrossed at the Chopin Museum in Ostrogski Castle. Thorough and careful renovation has been completed in early spring of 2010.
16.30 Leisure in the centre of Warsaw. A highly recommended optional event is to attend a concert this afternoon in Warsaw's Grand Theatre or in Lazienski Park.
20.00 This evening we highly recommend the option to have dinner with concert at one of the excellent local restaurants. .
3rd day Warsaw – Zelazowa Wola – Szafarnia – with Overnight in Torun
7.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
8.00 Departure for Zelazowa Wola – Frederic Chopin’s place of birth to visit the Chopin House Museum. Here, too, total restoration has been completed in spring 2010 for the 200th anni-versary of his birth. Depending on the season of your visit, there can be a concert here of his music.
11.00 Departure for Torun, one of the most beautiful cities of Poland, picturesquely located on both banks of the Vistula River, at a site of intersection of ancient trade routes for 800 years and as part of the Hanseatic League.
14.00 Lunch at a local restaurant.
15.30 Travel now to the Regional Chopin’s Center in Szafarnia, established in rememberance of Chopin’s visits here in his childhood.
17.00 Return to Torun for the visit through the medieval town, inscribed on The World Heritage List of UNESCO. Here is the home of Copernicus, the world famous Polish astronomer. Then to the cathedral, built during 1250-1500, and the town’s fortified walls, with its Leaning Tower. Visit the house where Frederic Chopin lived during his stay in this city.
20.00 Check-in at the hotel and dinner at the restaurant.
4th day Torun – Czestochowa – Krakow
7.00 Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
9.00 Departure for Krakow via Czestochowa. Here is the national shrine to the The Black Madonna of Częstochowa, third largest Catholic shrine in the world.
13.00 Late lunch at the restaurant in Czestochowa.
14:30 Then starts our guided tour of this most important pilgrimage place, with the Monastery of Jasna Gora and the Black Madonna. This visit is offered as an optional part of the program.
17.30 Departure for Krakow.
20.00 Arrival to Krakow. Check - in the hotel.
Dinner with the typical Polish menu at the hotel or in one of the Jewish menu restaurants that offer as well, joyous Klezmer music.
5th day Krakow – Kazimierz Jewish district and Wieliczka – The Salt Mine
8.00 Breakfast at the hotel.
9.00 Krakow's guided tour. Wawel Hill with the castle (optional entrance) and its beautiful yard and The Cathedral (entrance). Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture of The Old Town (Stare Miasto), the biggest Market Square in Europe (Rynek Glowny), The Town Hall, Collegium Maius – the ancient building of The Jagiellonian University – the exhibition includes Chopin's piano, called 'Pleyel', on which he performed in 1848 (entrance), The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), Saint Mary’s Church (Kosciol Mariacki – entrance) with the famous Wit Stwosz's altar. A treat will be the antique walls with Florianska Gate and The Barbican. Part of the tour experience is a multimedia presentation about, “Polish Gold, and that is: AMBER, loved by women through the ages for the richness of their jewels.
13.30 Lunch at the restaurant in Krakow.
15.00 Visiting the former Jewish district – Kazimierz. This part of Krakow was a centre of religious and social life of the Jewish community in Krakow until the Nazi deportations. Two synagogues will be included. The a short stop at The Schindler Factory on the way to The Salt Mine in Wieliczka, 10 km from Krakow.
17.30 This is one of the oldest salt mines in the world, a visitor stop through the ages by dignitaries coming to Krakow. Their names are inscribed for posterity, and in 1978, UNESCO declared the salt mine as a World Heritage Site.
20.00 Dinner at the traditional Polish restaurant in Wieliczka, with a folkloric music concert. Return to the hotel and a restful night in Krakow.
6th day Krakow – Pieniny and Dunajec – Debno Podhalanskie – Wadowice – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – Krakow
7.30 Breakfast at the hotel.
8.00 Departure by coach for Sromowce Wyzne, stunning in its natural forest and mountain beauty.
10.00 Something very special! Rafting on traditional rafts down The Dunajec River, across Pieninski National Park. [Attention: If we encounter rain rafting will be replaced with a visit to Zakopane, capital of this mountain region. It’s a lovely town, affording a cable and railway ride to Gubalowka, with stunning views of the Tatra Mountains.
13.00 Lunch at a local regional restaurant.
14.00 Transfer to Debno Podhalanskie to visit the wooden Gothic church, a national treasure and also on the UNESCO World Heritage List for protection.
15.00 Transfer to Wadowice, birthplace (1920) of Pope John Paul II. The visit includes a stop at his family home and church of his baptism.
18.30 Onto the Bernardine Monastery complex in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. When Jerusalem was lost to the Muslim Turks, this site became the most important substitute as a pilgrimage destination. With 42 churches and chapels of all shapes and sizes, and the central basilica and Franciscan monastery, the vast complex of buildings scattered among woods it is the largest religious site in Europe and Poland’s second most important historic destination for pilgrims.
19.30 Departure for Krakow.
20.00 Dinner at the restaurant. If available, there will also be a concert of Chopin's music during or after dinner.
7th day Departure from Poland
Breakfast and then check-out at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport. Departure from Poland, hopefully, with rich and lasting memories of this beautiful country and its eternal hero, Frederic Chopin.