8 Kolobrzeska, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Christmas period is magical for most of us but it is even more enchanting in historical Old Towns with Christmas markets in the main touristic routes. Immerse yourself in beautiful Christmas decorations, lights, scents of orange, ginger and fir trees. Taste traditional Polish mouthwatering delicacies of Christmas Eve dinner and learn how to prepare traditional Polish "pierogi" dumplings. Stroll along streets of Kraków's Old Town to purchase amazing Christmas gifts in good prices. Discover unique Polish Christmas traditions and ways of celebrating this world favourite winter holidays in one of the most popular Polish agglomerations.
4 days / 3 nights
HB ( 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners)
December
1 city, 1 town
10-300
Calm
Up to 30 days*
Arrival. Meet & greet at the airport, transfer to your hotel, check-in. 3 h sightseeing of Kraków with a guide. Entrance to St. Mary's Basilica. Dinner with Polish Christmas delicacies in one of the Old Town restaurants. Return to your hotel.
Things you may not have known about Polish Christmas: 1. The most important day for us is the 24th of December – Christmas Eve. 2. We spend three days of Christmas with our families mainly at Christmas feasts (24th-26th of December). 3. Polish children find their presents under Christmas trees on 24th of December after festive dinner. Sometimes even Santa Claus brings them himself! In the south of Poland children also receive gifts from Baby Jesus or an angel. 4. We start celebrating main Christmas feast when the fi...
St. Mary's Basilica is one of the most famous monuments in Krakow and Poland. It is one of the largest and most important, after the Wawel Cathedral, church in Krakow. It is located at the north-eastern corner of the Main Square, on St. Mary's Square. Dating from the end of the 14th century, the basilica is preserved in the Gothic style. In the 15th century, chapels were added to the aisles. The greatest gem of this monument in Krakow is the altar of Veit Stoss from the end of the 15th century. It is the largest Goth...
Meal on Christmas Eve the 24th of December is Christmas dinner that should start traditionally when the first star appears on the sky. All family gathers together then and first reads the gospel about the birth of Christ and then family members share special Christmas wafer and give each other best wishes. Then they sit by the table which has white table cloth and underneath it there is some straw. On the table there are always 12 dishes. Traditionally these are lent dishes, so no meat allowed. The main dishes are fi...
Kraków is one of the oldest Polish cities. The city attracts a lot of tourists from around the world. We will start sightseeing from the Old Town. Kraków Main Square is Europe’s largest medieval market square. You will see most of the attractions simply by walking. Spectacular Cloth Hall surrounded by historic tenement houses, the most famous Krakow artistic cellar - Piwnica pod Baranami, as also as St. Mary's church. We will continue our trip along Florianska Street. You will see a lot of small shops in colorful, hi...
Breakfast. Transfer to Wieliczka Salt Mine enlisted at UNESCO World Heritage List. 3 h sightseeing. Return to Kraków. Free time in the afternoon to stroll along Christmas shops and stalls at the Main Makret Square and in the streets of Kraków's Old Town. Dumpling making workshops and dinner with traditional Christmas sweets in one of the Old Town restaurants.
The salt mine in Wieliczka is undoubtedly one of the greatest tourist attractions in Poland. Every year it is visited by almost two million tourists from all over the world. In 1978 it was entered on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. The Wieliczka salt mine has 9 levels and reaches a depth of 327 meters. The mine can be visited in various ways, you can choose from the classic Tourist Route, the Mining Route, which will allow you to get to know the specificity of work "downstairs" and the pilgrim ro...
Christmas fairs in Poland became wide-spread. We encounter such small Christmas shop gatherings in majority of bigger Polish towns and cities. Usually they start at the beginning of December before St. Nicholas day on the 6th of December, when children find some small presents in their shoes. At main market squares in towns and cities we will find stalls with gifts and Christmas delicacies. Focal points are usually massive municipal Christmas trees and nativity sheds with live sheep and donkeys which are usually crow...
Dumplings are one of the most popular Polish traditional dishes. You can taste them in almost all restaurants. As they are so tasty, why don’t you learn how to make them? Dumplings are known since the 13th century, there are numerous recipes for the dough and feelings that make this dish as versatile as Italian pasta. The dumplings workshop is also connected with various dumplings tasting where the best well known dumplings just must appear: with meat, cabbage and potato filling. The participants can observe and perf...
Christmas sweets are gingerbread cookies which should be prepared about 2-3 weeks before Christmas. On Christmas Eve dinner table we find poppy seed rolls and all kinds of cakes with poppy seed as according to tradition, eating poppy seed cakes brings luck for the whole next year. Apart from these two sweets we will also find gingerbread cake with chocolate coating glaze, nut gateau, dry fruit cakes and honey cakes. Therefore, even though you don’t find Christmas pudding in Poland, you won’t definitely miss it. Plea...
Breakfast. Transfer to Schindler's Factory Museum. 1.5 h sightseeing with a guide. Transfer to Oświęcim to Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi-German Concentration Camp Museum. 3-4 h sightseeing. Return to Cracow. Dinner.
The Auschwitz concentration camp (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was a complex of over 40 camps and sub-camps, built and controlled by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was established by Nazi Germany in mid-1940 in the suburbs of Oświęcim, which was then on the territory incorporated into the Third Reich. At the peak of the operation of the extermination camp in Auschwitz (1944), it was divided into Auschwitz I (established in 1940, in the buildings of pre-war barracks), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (...
The Schindler's factory presents an exhibition commemorating the fate of Krakow and its inhabitants during the occupation in 1939-1945. During World War II, Schindler employed Jews who were threatened with extermination. In 1944, together with his accountant, he prepared the famous "Schindler's List", on the basis of which he bought and then transported over 1,100 Jewish workers to the territory of today's Czech Republic, thus saving them from extermination. The place itself was popularized by 1993 film “Schinler’s ...
Breakfast. Free time in the morning for your own Kraków Old Town exploration or optional trip. Transfer to the airport. Departure.
Local guide for meet & greet at the airport and sightseeing
St. Mary's Basilica, Wieliczka Salt Mine, dumpling making workshops, Schindler's Factory, Auschwitz
Coach
Airport and hotel for sightseeing trips
Hotel, airport for departure
English, German, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian and others on request
City break
Yes, there is an interesting LEGO exhibition called History Land at the Old Railway Station (3 Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Square, 31-154 Kraków ) just 12 min walk from the Main Market Square. For kids we also recommend candy factory visit Ciuciu https://its-poland.com/attraction/candy-sweets-manufacture.
Cracow is the best well known Polish tourist city. It is a former capital of the country and also often called a cultural capital. Here you will find numerous UNESCO sites such as Cracow Old Town, Wieliczka Salt Mines, Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum an...
Cracow has really rare and precious surrounding. It is quite unique to have three national parks just a footstep from 1.5 mln people agglomeration. This provides an amazing opportunity for all nature lovers. You will discover 2 national parks with...
Kraków has really rare and precious surrounding. It is quite unique to have three national parks just a footstep from 1.5 mln people agglomeration. This provides an amazing opportunity for all nature lovers. You will discover 2 national parks with...
ITS Poland invites you to the Kielce - legendary land of witches and dinosaurs. St.Cross Mountains is the most interesting region in Poland in geological terms. It gained international publicity due to numerous international studies. Discover Kiel...