Final-year school trip to Wrocław and Kraków: the Rynek, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Wawel and Auschwitz-Birkenau (7 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and drive to Saxony

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to Germany (about 600 to 800 km, i.e. 7.5 to 9.5 hours excluding breaks depending on the departure point).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Two drivers take turns at the wheel; lunch at your own expense at a motorway service area.
• Overnight stop in the Leipzig or Dresden area, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 2: Arrival in Wrocław

• Departure after breakfast and drive to Wrocław (about 300 to 420 km, i.e. 4 to 5 hours).
• Lunch at your own expense, then the Rynek, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, and its Gothic town hall.
• Hunt for the bronze dwarfs (krasnale), several hundred of them scattered around the city.
• Ostrów Tumski at dusk, when the lamplighter lights the gas lamps by hand.
• Check-in at the accommodation for one night, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 3: Wrocław, Wieliczka and arrival in Kraków

• Visit to the Racławice Panorama, a huge circular painting from 1894 (on request).
• A look at the Centennial Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Departure in the late morning and drive to Kraków (about 270 km, 3 hours), lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine, with its chapels and statues carved in salt (on request).
• Check-in at the accommodation in Kraków for three nights, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 4: Royal Kraków and Kazimierz

• Visit to Wawel Castle and Cathedral, where the kings of Poland were crowned (on request).
• The Main Market Square (Rynek Główny), the Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica, from which the hejnał is played every hour.
• Visit to the interior of St Mary’s Basilica and its Veit Stoss altarpiece (on request).
• Lunch at your own expense, then a walk through Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter, and a visit to Oskar Schindler’s Factory in Podgórze (on request).
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Day of remembrance at Auschwitz-Birkenau

• Drive to Oświęcim (about 70 km, 1 hour 15 minutes).
• Guided tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: the Auschwitz I camp, then the Birkenau site.
• Lunch at your own expense on site (hotel packed lunches recommended).
• Return to Kraków in the late afternoon.
• Dinner and supervised evening, with a time for discussion between pupils and teachers.

Day 6: Drive to the overnight stop

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and departure around 8 am.
• Daytime drive to Germany (about 550 to 650 km), with two drivers taking turns.
• Lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Overnight stop in the Dresden or Leipzig area, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 7: Return to Belgium

• Departure after breakfast, around 8 am.
• Daytime drive back to Belgium (about 600 to 800 km), with two drivers taking turns and regular breaks.
• Lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.