School trip to Poland: Poznań, Warsaw, Kraków, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wrocław (10 days)

Day 1: Journey to Poznań

• Departure from your school at the agreed time, early in the morning.
• Journey to Poznań with two drivers on board: our drivers drive for 3 hours at most, then take a 30-minute break.
• Arrival in Poznań in the evening, check-in at the accommodation, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2: Poznań, then Warsaw

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Walk around the Old Market Square and, at noon, the mechanical goats of the town hall.
• Visit to the Brama Poznania interactive centre on the beginnings of the Polish state (on request).
• Afternoon: drive to Warsaw (about 4 hours).
• Check-in, dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 3: Warsaw

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Walk through the rebuilt Old Town, a UNESCO site: Castle Square, the Market Square and the Mermaid statue.
• Visit to the Warsaw Rising Museum (on request).
• A moment of remembrance at the Ghetto Heroes Monument.
• Visit to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (on request).
• Dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 4: To Kraków

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Interactive exhibitions at the Copernicus Science Centre (on request).
• Drive to Kraków (about 4 hours).
• Check-in, dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 5: Kraków on foot

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• A day without the coach, entirely on foot: compulsory rest time for the drivers.
• Walk through the old town: the Main Market Square, the Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica, where the hejnał rings out every hour.
• Guided tour of the Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral (on request).
• Afternoon: Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter, and its synagogues.
• Dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 6: Wieliczka

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Guided tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine and St Kinga’s Chapel, carved out of salt (on request).
• Afternoon: supervised free time in Kraków, then preparation for the next day’s visit with the teachers.
• Dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 7: The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Drive to Oświęcim (about 1 hour 30 minutes).
• Guided tour of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau with an educator-guide from the Memorial (on request).
• A moment of silent remembrance and laying of flowers or candles at the International Monument in Birkenau.
• Return to Kraków, dinner, then a discussion time with the teachers so everyone can share what they felt.

Day 8: To Wrocław

• Breakfast, then drive to Wrocław (about 3 hours).
• The Market Square, the Gothic town hall and a hunt for the bronze dwarfs in the old town.
• Check-in, dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 9: Wrocław

• Breakfast at the accommodation.
• Visit to the Racławice Panorama (on request).
• Ostrów Tumski, Cathedral Island, and the Centennial Hall, a UNESCO site.
• Visit and workshops at Hydropolis, the water knowledge centre (on request).
• Dinner and overnight stay at the accommodation.

Day 10: Back to Belgium

• Breakfast, then the journey home with two drivers on board and regular breaks (at least 30 minutes every 3 hours).
• Return to school late in the evening.