Welcome to Poland! Upon arrival to Krakow, your Learning Journeys guide will be waiting for you at Krakow Airport for transfer to your hotel to check-in. Overnight in Krakow

After breakfast at the hotel, you will spend the morning exploring the sights of the city of Krakow with a professional private guide. The tour includes Wawel Castle with the cathedral, as well as the main market square with the Cloth Hall and St. Mary’s Church. You will also have the chance to unwind and taste some traditional liqueurs in a famous historic café. Krakow is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe whose ancient Old Town with its medieval layout has been listed as a class “O” historic monument. Ensconced in the very heart of the city is the Market Square, the biggest medieval square in Europe, and the heart of Kraków’s cultural, social and trading life. Standing in the middle of Market Square is the yellow Sukiennice cloth hall where you will find stalls just as visitors would have discovered them in the 13th Century. In the modern day, souvenirs, works of folk art and amber jewelry are sold. In the gothic St. Mary’s church, you will find the biggest and one of the most beautiful medieval alters in all of Europe, the work of Veit Stoss. Next to the Old Town is the UNESCO-listed Wawel Royal Castle. This seat of Poland’s rulers and kings stands atop a hill overlooking the Vistula. This sight of many alterations over the centuries depicts a medley of styles: from Romance and Gothic to Renaissance and boasts one of the most priceless collections of ornamental Arras tapestries in the world – the great Renaissance Gobelin tapestries. You will have an afternoon visit in local villages/towns where you will be hosted by a local family. For dinner tonight, you will eat in the private home of a local family! Learning Experience: Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner Overnight in Krakow

This morning, breakfast at the hotel will be followed by exploring the local market! Your guide will show you all of the local goods and foods and educate you on local market life. In the afternoon, it’s time to visit the amazing Wieliczka Salt Mines on a private journey! This tour delivers a great experience of the medieval galleries and halls hewn in rock and salt deposits. The world famous Wieliczka salt mine, whose beginnings date to the Middle Ages was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The mine boasts an astonishing labyrinth of underground galleries and chambers close to 300 km in length. The public can visit a 3,5 km section lying at a depth of between 64m and 135 m as it winds through innumerable chambers, lakes, and chapels featuring salt-sculpted figurines, bas reliefs and chandeliers. The Chapel of St. Kinga is especially beautiful, which given its dimension is perhaps more deserving of being called an underground salt church. Learning Experience: Local Market, Wieliczka Salt Mine Meals included: Breakfast Overnight in Krakow

In the morning, you will have a workshop at the local community center to meet with locals! The workshop will afford the opportunity to ask questions and gain fresh insight into Polish life. Discussions will include Polish traditions, foods, and local crafts. You will also try the most popular local dishes such as pierogi, Bigos and zurek and many more! In the afternoon, you will embark on a journey to a local farm to experience everyday Polish life. Learn how to make an “Obwarzanek” on your own! The history of obwarzanek krakwoski dates back to the Middle Ages. The name “obwarzanek” refers to a special production process and that features a distinctive technique of boiling dough. At Krakow Obwarzanek museum you will witness the entire process and we will show you how to do your own obwarzanek! Learning Experience: Obwarzanek Workshop Meals included: Breakfast, lunch Overnight in Krakow

This morning’s adventure leads to Zakopane. This most famous of mountain resorts in Poland is also its winter capital, and is celebrated for its unique wooden architecture. The sightseeing tour of Zakopane includes Old Cemetery, and Kościeliska street – where a complex of wooden buildings is typical of the Podhale region, which originated in XIX century. Walk along Krupówki where the charming pedestrian streets are lined with restaurants and pubs. Check out the souvenir stands that offer wooden sculptures and wool sweaters, folk handicrafts and the delicious highland cheese ‘oscypek,’ and absorb the captivating views of the Tatras that stretches from Gubalowka Mountain. Lunch in a traditional Highlander inn with all local specialties. Zakopane is one of Poland’s prime tourist destinations, retaining its charm and attracting thousands of foreign visitors. The town and its stunning scenic surroundings, located in the Tatrzanski National Park in the heart of the magnificent Tatra Mountains, offer numerous strolls, hiking and cycling opportunities in the surrounding valleys and peaks. Zakopane is well-known for its unique wooden architecture, style of decoration and tasty regional dishes. Chochołów, an old village close to Zakopane, which is today an open-air ethnographic museum where you can meet with a local wood sculptor in his workshop. Afterward, you will have a free afternoon to explore Krakow! Learning Experience: Zakopane- Meet with Local Wood Sculptor Meals included: Breakfast,Lunch Overnight in Krakow

Today, you will visit Zalipie and Tarnow for a workshop. These small villages provide an opportunity to see the architecture of the local houses! Zalipie is home to some of the most vivid folk art in all of Poland. An invitation to a workshop with local Zalipie decorators awaits you where you will learn how to paint on furniture, china and glass. Local experts will show you how to use colors and tools to create your own decorations which you can take home with you as souvenirs (wooden knifes, spoons and forks and others). There will be no limits to your imagination in this art of the heart. After this experience, will head back to Krakow. Learning Experience: Zalipie Workshop Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch Overnight in Krakow

Don’t leave yet! Extend your journey on one of our numerous photography, art and culture programs throughout Europe! Need to head back? We look forward to welcoming you on another Learning Journeys immersion. Choose to journey back to Poland or consider one of our journeys abroad in Greece, France, Germany, South Africa, Costa Rica, and more! Meals included: Breakfast