Allow us to present a sample itinerary for your group. This is just a starting point—once we understand your specific requirements, we will custom-design the program to perfectly align with your expectations. Let's create the ideal experience together! This tour introduces students to Krakow, former royal town, through its key historical landmarks, everyday life, and 20th-century history.
Highlights:
Theme:
Welcome to Kraków – Orientation through play
Morning: Arrival in Kraków and transfer to accommodation, check-in and time to settle in.
Afternoon: Group goes off for treasure hunt / city challenge in the Old Town. Students explore main sights in teams, follow clues, tasks, and creative challenges around the Main Square, Cloth Hall, St. Mary’s Basilica, and Planty Park.
Evening: Dinner, free time or optional walk to Wawel Castle for sunset view.
Theme:
Life, loss and resistance
Morning: Trip to Wieliczka – one of the oldest salt mines in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Students go underground to explore tunnels, chambers and lakes carved in salt and learn about the hard life of miners in the past.
Afternoon: Guided walking tour of Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) with synagogues, Jewish cemetery, street art, stories of pre-war life. Continue across the river to Podgórze (former Ghetto area), visit Ghetto Heroes Square, ghetto wall, Eagle Pharmacy and Schindler’s Factory Museum.
Evening: Ghost Tour – fun, spooky stories from Kraków’s medieval and dark past.
Theme:
Memory and respect
Morning: Depart by coach for Auschwitz-Birkenau (approx. 1 hr 15 min), guided visit to Auschwitz I and Birkenau. Educational and emotionally impactful tour with certified educator, bring light lunch or packed lunch.
Late afternoon: Return to Kraków and quiet time or short reflection activity at hotel.
Evening: Dinner in local restaurant and free time.
Theme:
Farewell Kraków
Departure: Breakfast and check-out, free time in the city for souvenir shopping (based on flight time) and then transfer back home.
Culture & History
Industry, Science & Technology (Day Trips)
Culture & Everyday Life
Leisure & Active Options
Wawel Royal Castle - A symbol of Polish statehood perched above the Vistula River; former residence of Polish kings, with courtyards, museums, and views.
Wawel Cathedral - Located on Wawel Hill, this Gothic cathedral is where Polish kings were crowned and buried.
Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) - One of Europe’s largest medieval squares, lively with cafés, street performers, and historic buildings.
Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) - A Renaissance торговый hall in the center of the square, once used for international trade and now filled with souvenir stalls and galleries.
St. Mary’s Basilica (Kościół Mariacki) - Famous for its two uneven towers and the hourly trumpet call (Hejnał Mariacki) played from the taller tower.
Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) - A historic neighborhood known for synagogues, Jewish heritage, museums, and vibrant nightlife.
Old Synagogue - The oldest preserved synagogue in Poland, now a museum of Jewish history and culture.
Planty Park - A green ring park surrounding the Old Town, built where medieval walls once stood.
Kościuszko Mound - A man-made mound honoring national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, offering panoramic views of Kraków.
Schindler’s Factory Museum - A museum in Oskar Schindler’s former factory, focusing on Kraków during Nazi occupation.
Kraków is one of the oldest and most important cities in Poland, located in southern Poland along the Vistula River. For centuries, it was the heart of Polish political, cultural, and religious life and is still seen as the country’s historical capital.
Key periods before World War II
Medieval period (10th–15th centuries): Kraków grew into a major trade and cultural center and became the capital of the Polish Kingdom in 1038. Wawel Castle was the seat of Polish kings.
Polish Golden Age (16th century): The city flourished as a center of learning, art, and science. Jagiellonian University (founded in 1364) became one of Europe’s leading universities.
Decline and partitions (17th–19th centuries): Wars, invasions, and later the Partitions of Poland (when Poland was divided between neighboring empires) reduced Kraków’s political importance. The city came under Austrian rule in the 19th century.
Major 20th-century events
World War II: Nazi Germany occupied Kraków in 1939. The city’s Jewish population was almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust, with nearby Auschwitz becoming the most notorious Nazi concentration and extermination camp.
Postwar period: Kraków survived the war with much of its historic center intact. Under communist rule, it became an important center of opposition and intellectual life.
After 1989: With the fall of communism, Kraków emerged as a major cultural, academic, and tourist city in a democratic Poland.
Why Kraków matters in European history
Kraków represents the rise of medieval European cities, the cultural achievements of the Renaissance in Central Europe, and the tragic history of World War II and the Holocaust. Its preserved old town and long intellectual tradition make it a key place for understanding Europe’s political, cultural, and moral history—past and present.
