Warsaw and Kraków Christmas markets as a group: the illuminated Royal Route, Wawel and Wieliczka (9 days)

Day 1: Journey to Germany

• Early-morning departure from the place of your choice.
• Drive to eastern Germany.
• A break of at least 30 minutes every 3 hours of driving, for everyone’s safety.
• Arrival in the early evening and overnight stop in Germany, in the Berlin area.
• Dinner at the hotel (on request).

Day 2: Arrival in Warsaw

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Poland via Poznań.
• A break of at least 30 minutes every 3 hours of driving, for everyone’s safety.
• Arrival in Warsaw in the late afternoon and check-in at the hotel for 2 nights.
• Group dinner of Polish specialities: żurek, pierogi and bigos (on request).

Day 3: Warsaw, old town and Royal Route

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of the old town, rebuilt after the Second World War and listed by UNESCO, and of the Royal Castle (on request).
• Free time at the old town Christmas market, between Castle Square and the Barbican.
• Chopin concert in the historic centre (on request).
• In the evening, a walk along the Royal Route, from Krakowskie Przedmieście to Nowy Świat, under the Christmas lights.

Day 4: From Warsaw to Kraków

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to southern Poland.
• Stop in Częstochowa to visit the Jasna Góra shrine and its icon of the Black Madonna (on request).
• Arrival in Kraków in the late afternoon and check-in at the hotel for 4 nights.
• First evening at the Christmas market, at the foot of the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice).

Day 5: Kraków old town and Wawel

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of the old town: Rynek Główny, the Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica with its Veit Stoss altarpiece (on request).
• Every hour, listen for the hejnał, the trumpet call played from the tower of St Mary’s Basilica.
• Visit to Wawel Royal Castle and Cathedral (on request).
• Visit to the exhibition of szopki, Kraków’s glittering Christmas cribs, inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list (on request).
• Free time at the Christmas market on Rynek Główny: grzaniec (mulled wine), grilled oscypek cheese and gingerbread.

Day 6: Free day in Kraków

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Free day in Kraków, without the coach (driver’s rest day).
• A stroll along the Royal Route, from the Barbican to Wawel, and among the stalls of the Cloth Hall.
• Group dinner of Polish specialities: żurek, pierogi and bigos (on request).

Day 7: Wieliczka and Kazimierz

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Coach excursion to Wieliczka, about fifteen kilometres from Kraków.
• Guided tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO site, and the Chapel of St Kinga carved out of salt (on request).
• In the afternoon, a walk through Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter, with its synagogues, cafés and Plac Nowy.
• Group dinner with klezmer music in Kazimierz (on request).

Day 8: From Kraków to Germany

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Germany.
• A break of at least 30 minutes every 3 hours of driving, for everyone’s safety.
• Arrival in the early evening and overnight stop in Germany, in the Dresden area.
• Dinner at the hotel (on request).

Day 9: Return home

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Return journey with regular breaks.
• Return to your home area in the late afternoon or evening, depending on your departure point.