Tours

ACCOMPANYING PERSONS PROGRAM

Tuesday, September 2012

Tuesday 11 September 2012
Optional Tour 1
The pearl of Wawel Hill

This morning you will be met by your driver and local English-speaking guide for a half day sightseeing tour of Wawel Hill. The tour will include the visit of Royal Castle and the Wawel Cathedral. Wawel Cathedral is the national temple, having witnessed most of the royal coronations, funerals, and celebrations. There are many little chapels and shrines throughout the cathedral, as well as towers and crypts. The highlight  of Wawel Castle  is the tour of temporary exhibition: Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine. At the end of the tour we can drop to the Royal Cripts and Sigismund’s tower.

Meeting point: Main Library at  the AGH UST
Time: 9:00 am.
Duration: 3 hours
Min. number of participants: 10 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes
Price: 160 PLN/pax
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 25 August of 2012
How to pay: by 31 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Tuesday 11 September 2012
Optional Tour 2
The traces of Jews in Kraków

This morning you will be met by your driver and local English-speaking guide for a half day sightseeing tour of Kazimierz with a visit of Tempel synagogue in Szeroka street and Jewish Ghetto area in Podgórze. During the tour you will see and visit many of the locations that were used for the filming of Schindler's List including Otto Schindler's factory.

Meeting point: Main library at  the AGH UST
Time: 9:00 am
Duration: 5 hours
Min. number of participants: 10 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes
Price: 160 PLN/pax
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 25 August of 2012
How to pay: by 31 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Tuesday 11 September 2012
Optional Tour 3
The traces of Krakow Saints

Today your English speaking guide and a driver will pick you up from the hotel to follow places of Krakow Saints.
The tour will include the visit of the Royal Wawel Cathedral where the former Cardinal Karol  Wojtyła  was the Archbishop of  Krakow, known as the Pope John Paul II.  You will visit also the St. Mary's Church with its famous 15th century altar made by Wit Stwosz and Skałka Church where the first polish martire, bishop St. Stanisław Szczepanowski was murdered. Next you will drop to the St. Anna’s Church where the famous polish professor was buried there.
At the end of the tour you will be transferred to the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in quarter of Krakow- Łagiewniki.
After the sightseeing tour you are returned to your hotel.

Meeting point: Main library at  the AGH UST
Time: 9:00 am
Duration: 4 hours
Min. number of participants: 10 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes
Price: 120 PLN/pax
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 25 August of 2012
How to pay: by 31 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Tuesday 11 September 2012
Optional Tour 4
Jagiellonian University quarter

Today you will visit one of the oldest University in Central Europe established in 1364 by King Kazimierz the Great. Among its students were Nicolaus Copernicus, king John III Sobieski and John Paul II. The tour includes: visit of Collegium Maius – the oldest University’s building, Church of St. Anne whose history has been inextricably linked to that of the University, Collegium Novum and Nowodworski College. The tour  ends with a tour  of the Mariacki Church as a witness to the culture of the city’s inhabitants.

Meeting point: Main library at  the AGH UST
Time: 9:00 am.
Price: 80 PLN/pax
Duration: 3 hours
Min. number of participants: 10 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: No (walking tour)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 25 August of 2012
How to pay: by 31 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

PRE AND POST CONFERENCE TOURS

8, 13 or 14 September 2012
Kraków (city tour)
Optional tour 0
Hightlights of Krakow

Today you will be met by your driver and local English-speaking guide for a half day sightseeing tour of Krakow, one of the oldest and most beautiful cities of Eastern Europe. The tour will include the visit of Royal Castle(drop to the temporary exhibition: Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine) and the Cathedral which is located on Wawel Hill. The highlight  of Krakow is the magnificent Market Square which is the largest such medieval example of its kind in Europe. You  can not leave Kraków without a visit of St. Mary’s Church famous of its stunning alter made by Vit Stosz and a bugle call played in hour on hour.
The tour ends with a visit of the Jagiellonian University Complex including Collegium Maius.

Meeting point: on request
Time: on request
Price: 200 PLN/pax
Duration: 3,5 hours
Min. number of participants: 5-10 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: No
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 25 August of 2012
How to pay: by 31 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Thursday 13 September 2012
Optional tour 1
Auschwitz - Birkenau State Museum

Today you will visit the infamous Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camp by private vehicle with sightseeing and short movie (15 min.). In no place all over the world were people so closely united in suffering as here, in Auschwitz – Birkenau. The site of the Nazi concentration camp marked the tragic death of four million people from 28 nationalities. After the visit you will be returned to Krakow.

Meeting point: Main library at  AGH UST
Time: 2:00 pm.
Price: 200 PLN/pax
Duration: 6 hours
Min. number of participants: 5 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: No
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August of 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Thursday 13 September 2012
Optional tour 1A
Private tour
Auschwitz - Birkenau State Museum

Today your English speaking guide will pick you up from the hotel to visit the infamous Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camp by private vehicle with sightseeing and short movie(15min.). In no place all over the world were people so closely united in suffering as here, in Auschwitz – Birkenau. The site of the Nazi concentration camp marked the tragic death of four million people from 28 nationalities. After the visit you will be returned to Krakow.

Meeting point: your place of destination in Kraków
Time: 1:30 pm.
Price: 1000 PLN/pax
Duration: 6 hours
Min. number of participants: 1-2 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes (by Mercedes E class)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August of 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

Friday 14 September 2012
Optional tour 2
Zakopane – Rafting River- Chochołów

Enjoy a full day of sightseeing (up to 10 hours) with your English speaking guide and private vehicle  to the Tatra Mountains National Park and the town of Zakopane-the highest town in Poland. If weather permits you may wish to take a  traditional cruise on the wooden rafts along the Dunajec river admiring peaks of the Pieniny mountains and mountain scenery.
On the way back to Kraków you may drop to the local woodcarver in his workshop.

Meeting point: Main library at  AGH UST
Time: 8:30 am.
Price: 280 PLN/pax
Duration: 9 hours
Min. number of participants: 5 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes (by Mercedes Vito or larger)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August of 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
Refund available based on bad weather condition

Friday 14 September 2012
Optional tour 2A
Private tour
Zakopane – Rafting River- Chochołów

Enjoy a full day of sightseeing (up to 10 hours) with your English speaking guide and private vehicle  to the Tatra Mountains National Park and the town of Zakopane-the highest town in Poland. If weather permits you may wish to take a  traditional cruise on the wooden rafts along the Dunajec river admiring peaks of the Pieniny mountains and mountain scenery.
On the way back to Kraków you may drop to the local woodcarver in his workshop.

Meeting point: your place of destination in Kraków
Time: 8:30 am.
Price: 1200 PLN/pax
Duration: 9 hours
Min. number of participants: 1-2 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes (by Mercedes E class)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
Refund available based on bad weather condition

Thursday 13 September 2012
Optional tour 3
Wieliczka Salt Mine

This morning you will embark on a sightseeing tour to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wieliczka Salt Mine only ten miles southeast of Krakow. Salt was discovered here in the 11th century and thereafter mining rights and hence incomes were strictly controlled by the crown. 
You will descend 150 feet into the network of chambers and lakes that have been carved out over the centuries. The highlight of the mine is the underground Chapel of the Saint Kinga. Your guide shares a tremendous amount of history and legend with you.
After sightseeing you will be transferred back to your hotel in Krakow.

Meeting point: Main library at  AGH UST
Time: 8:30 am.
Price: 250 PLN/pax
Duration: 3 hours
Min. number of participants: 5 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes (by Mercedes Vito or larger)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund


Friday 14 September 2012
Optional tour 3A

Private tour
Wieliczka Salt Mine

This morning you will embark on a sightseeing tour to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wieliczka Salt Mine only ten miles southeast of Krakow. Salt was discovered here in the 11th century and thereafter mining rights and hence incomes were strictly controlled by the crown. 
You will descend 150 feet by private elevator into the network of chambers and lakes that have been carved out over the centuries. The highlight of the mine is the underground Chapel of the Saint Kinga. Your guide shares a tremendous amount of history and legend with you.
After sightseeing you will be transferred back to your hotel in Krakow.

Meeting point: your place of destination in Kraków
Time: 15:30 am.
Price: 1400 PLN/pax
Duration: 3 hours
Min. number of participants: 1-2 pax
Entrance fee: included
Transport: Yes( by Mercedes E class)
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 15 August of 2012
How to pay: by 20 August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund

If you desire to create your own Pre or Post Conference Tour please do not hesitate to contact: agnes@viptour.com
I will do my best :)

 

TOUR OF POLAND

13-17 September 2012

Tour of Poland
Day 1 
Kraków – Auschwitz -  Wrocław
Krakow – the capital of Poland is one of the important centers for Polish culture.  The city was relatively unharmed during World War II.  Therefore, much remains of the history, art and civilization of Poland. 
Starting 8:30 am you will drive with your driver and English speaking guide to the infamous Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
Auschwitz, the site of the German Nazi concentration camp, has been preserved as a memorial for the 4 million people of 28 nationalities who perished here. 
Throughout the years of the holocaust, the camp was expanded to include 3 main camps; Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz.  Another 40 lesser camps have been scattered throughout the general area.
Many of the original buildings still stand in this most infamous of Nazi death camps with about a dozen of the surviving prison blocks still remaining.  Some house a museum; several others provide general exhibitions; and some of the blocks are dedicated to victims from particular countries, which perished at this location.
After lunch you will continue the journey to  the city of Wrocław, the capital of Lower Silesia.
From the many open-air cafes and popular beer taverns you may admire the beautifully restored Old Town. Some of the bars have functioned  in the Main Square since the 13th c.
The dominant accent of the city skyline is the architectural complex of Ostrów Tumski including the Gothic Cathedral Romanesque elements from 1149.
Another impressive site is the University‘s main assembly hall – “The Aula Leopoldina” decorated with sculptures, stuccoes and trompe oil paintings by J.A.Siegwitz, F.J.Mangoldt and J.K.Handke
This evening you will enjoy dinner in the local restaurant to get the feeling of the authentic Polish cuisine.

Day 2
Wrocław – Częstochowa - Warsaw

Before leaving Wrocław let’s drop to the National Museum to be impressed by the largest collection of polish paintings “The Panorama Racławicka Battlefield” an immense work done by J.Styka and W.Kossak.
Lunch will be served in a local restaurant on- route.
Stop in Czestochowa, located 74miles from Warsaw, to visit the famous Pauline Monastery as Jasna Gora which houses the Black Madonna, the holiest icon in Poland.  This 15th century painting brings pilgrims from all over Poland, some on foot.  After your tour you will continue to your hotel in Warsaw

Day 3
Warsaw
Today, enjoy a full day sightseeing tour (eight hours) in Warsaw with your local guide and private vehicle.  The beginning of Warsaw's story can be found throughout the Old Town, with its Gothic churches, defensive walls, and fairy tale facades of the Renaissance and Baroque tenement houses.  It is a tragedy that the Nazis destroyed Warsaw's city charter, a magnificent historical document, but the Old Town complex was painstakingly reconstructed after the war. 

Visit the Royal Castle, a symbol of Polish Statehood; and the 14th century Cathedral of Saint John.  Afterwards follow the Royal Route from Castle Square to the 18-acre Lazienki Park.  See the Chopin Monument and visit the magnificent neoclassical Lzienki Palace, the summer residence of the last Polish king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski.  The palace was faithfully reconstructed after the war and now houses fine 18th century furnishings.  Afterwards, return to your hotel. 

Day 4
Warsaw – Puławy – Kazimierz Dolny – Lublin

Touring today includes the visits In eastern part of Poland.
Puławy Palace was the estate of Adam K Czartoryski and his wife Izabela Czartoryska nee Fleming which was  turned to the first public museum in Poland and a forum of political debate. There Izabela, a passionate art collector exhibited masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine.
Kazimierz Dolny has been a merchant town for ages founded by King Kasimir the Great in the 14th century. During the time became also well-known holiday resort and favourite plase of polish artists. In the afternoon we will continue the journey to Lublin, where we overnight. There Izabela, a passionate art collector exhibited masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine (nowdays in the Wawel castle).

Day 5
Lublin – Łańcut – Albigowa – Zalipie - Kraków 

Lublin located at the borderland of Poland and Ruthenia, from the end of 14th century. It was a scene of one of the most important events in polish history- the Polish-Lithuanian Union signed  in July 1569. The historic part of the town has been preserved, together with  the market square, Old Town Hall  and burgher houses. The highlight of  the tour is a visit of the castle with the Gothic Chapel of the HolyTrinity .
Important, but gruesome part of the tour is the visit of the State Museum of Majdanek the former Nazi concentration camp.
Let’s enjoy the visit of Łańcut – the  estate of Potocki family and his Distillery Museum of Liquers, Rosoglios and Rum with a tasting many kinds of local liquors.
On a way back to Kraków we will stop for a lunch in a country house in Albigowa and Zalipie

Your journey concludes today as you are transferred back to Kraków.

Meeting point: Main library at  AGH UST
Time: 8:30 am.
Price: 4250 PLN/pax
Min. number of participants: 5 pax
Transport: Yes( by Mercedes Vito or larger)
Accomodation: 4 overnights in **** hotels
Entrance fee: included
Assistance of an English speaking guide
Meals: FB
How to register: by email: agnes@viptour.com by 1st August of 2012
How to pay: by 15 of August 2012 (You will get the confirmation with bank details)
No refund