Arrive at the airport for your flight to Krakow. We transfer by coach to the four-star Novotel Krakow Centrum for three nights, with breakfast. This evening we will gather with our tour manager for a lovely welcome dinner, where you will get a chance to meet other travellers joining the tour on their own.
Morning After breakfast we enjoy a guided walking tour of Krakow’s historic centre. Rynek Glowny, the medieval main square, is lined with grand pastel-coloured buildings dating back centuries and always busy with locals going about their business. In the centre of the square is the Cloth Hall, a splendid colonnaded Renaissance building that’s been the centre of the textile trade since the 16th century. Today it’s full of colourful stalls selling amber jewellery and other local crafts, and also houses an art gallery. Overlooking the square is Saint Mary’s Basilica, richly decorated with a stunning carved wooden altarpiece and a vaulted nave painted with stars. The 14th-century stained glass is particularly ornate. When the sun shines through, a kaleidoscope of colour decorates the chancel below. Listen out for a trumpeter sounding an hourly warning from the top of the taller of the basilica’s two ornate spires. We visit the Wawel Royal Castle district, built on a low hill on a bend in the Vistula inhabited since the Palaeolithic period. The complex includes the cathedral, royal apartments, state rooms, crown treasury and armoury. In the royal apartments you’ll see the impressive range of rooms that have been restored to their original Renaissance and Baroque glory, overflowing with fine furniture, works of art and one of Europe’s largest – and best – collections of tapestries. There will be free time to explore the rest of the complex, including the three-tiered Italianate Renaissance courtyard. Afternoon This afternoon there’s an opportunity to tour the famous 13th-century Wieliczka Salt Mines, a spectacular subterranean attraction adorned by statues and even a chapel, all sculpted from rock salt that looks like marble; your tour manager will advise you about timings and cost. Alternatively, you may choose to join a street food tour to sample Polish specialities and explore Krakow’s Kazimierz neighbourhood with a local guide.