The Award Winning Leader in Escorted Worldwide Rail Holidays
Free standard class return tickets to London from your local station, on selected 2019 European holidays by rail when you book between 15th February 2019 and the 10th May 2019.
Reflect on a region's fascinating past as we explore unified Berlin, and discover Poland, including the medieval squares and castles of Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw. Take a poignant trip to Auschwitz and visit unique salt mines as we reveal the history, music and people of beautiful Poland.
We meet at our Dedicated Departure office at St Pancras and travel to Brussels in Standard Premier Class on the Eurostar. Changing trains we travel on to Berlin, where we spend the next two nights. On Day 2 we embark on a guided tour of Berlin, visiting some of its most famous sights, such as the Brandenburg Gate and parliament building, the Reichstag. The rest of your day is then at leisure. On Day 3 we leave Berlin, continuing onwards through Poznan to Wroclaw, where we arrive in the afternoon.
This morning we enjoy a boat trip on the River Odra. In the afternoon, we take a walking tour of Wroclaw, which is known for its canals, river and for being home to over 100 bridges. The oldest part of the city is Ostrow Tumski Island, with its stunning cathedral. Across the river are the Baroque university and the Old Market Square, home to the Gothic City Hall and some magnificent burgher houses, which were the houses of some of the most privileged and wealthy citizens of medieval Wroclaw.
On Day 5 we travel by train (Standard Class) to the unspoilt city of Krakow, one of central Europe's hidden treasures, where we stay four nights. The city is filled with beauty, much of it original as Krakow survived World War II largely unscathed. The skyline of Krakow is filled with towers and spires - part of a city-wide display of architectural diversity, where 1,000 years of changing influences have left behind fantastic examples of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque style. At the heart of the city is the largest fully-intact medieval square in Europe, in the centre of which is the incredibly beautiful Renaissance Cloth Hall. Standing proudly over the square is the elaborate St Mary's Church, where every hour a trumpet sounds from the main tower, commemorating a bugler who was shot by arrow here in by invaders in 1241. The narrow cobbled streets of the city's Old Town are packed with treasures, many of which we discover on our afternoon walking tour which includes Wawel Hill, home to the castle where Polish kings lived and the cathedral where they are buried.
Day 6 is free for you to spend at leisure in Krakow, one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe..
This morning we board a coach to the Polish town of Oswiecim, the town the Germans called Auschwitz. Here we take an emotional, moving tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum; Nazi Germany's infamous concentration camp that has been preserved as a permanent memorial and poignant reminder of the crimes against humanity that were perpetrated here.
We visit both the original camp 'Auschwitz I', where prisoners would enter under the chilling 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign, as well as 'Auschwitz II: Birkenau', the larger and more recognisable camp where the original railway and platform remain to this day.*
*We appreciate that this excursion may not be for everyone. Feel free to spend a day at leisure in Krakow if you so choose.
We leave Krakow by coach and head to the Salt Mines of Wieliczka, the oldest operational mines in Europe and now a UNESCO World Heritage monument. Here we take a guided tour of the intricately carved underground chambers, including a magnificent cathedral and a statue of Pope John Paul II, Krakow's favourite son. Everything we see within the mine is the handiwork of the original salt miners.
This evening we enjoy a short walk through Krakow's Jewish District, passing several of the synagogues that were once the thriving centre of life for a previously much larger Jewish community. For dinner we dine at a local Jewish restaurant, a fascinating and delicious insight into the cuisine and culture of the Polish Jews.
Today we travel north to Warsaw (standard class Rail) where we check into the Intercontinental Hotel for a three night stay. The city of Warsaw, home of Frédéric Chopin, has many fine examples of imposing Stalinesque architecture, grand, wide avenues and expansive parks.
The historic centre of Warsaw is just a short distance from our hotel and contains many picturesque buildings, almost all of which have been painstakingly and lovingly restored using the original stone and guided by 18th century paintings by Bellotto.
We enjoy a fascinating sightseeing tour of Warsaw today, including Castle Square, King Sigismund's Column, St John's Cathedral and the Old Town's Market Square. Warsaw is positively brimming with history and architecture, it really is a delight to discover all of its charms. Following the tour, the rest of your day is at leisure to fully explore the delights of Poland's capital.
Spend your day in Poland at leisure, you are free to further explore Warsaw in your own time and may wish to take a stroll through Lazienki Park to Chopin's Monument. Alternatively, our hotel is well-placed to explore the Old Town, with its Royal Route, Castle and Market Square all nearby.
Today we travel to Hanover by rail, where we enjoy a farewell meal together at our hotel tonight. If you have chosen our fly home option, you fly home from Warsaw today after breakfast. On Day 13, we transfer to Brussels via Cologne to join the Eurostar back to London.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.
An escorted experience and all travel arrangements
Comfortable accommodation in your destination
Delicious meals included
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Enhancing your tour
Please note: This tour may be suitable for reduced mobility passengers, please call for further information.
All our four trips with Great Rail Journeys have had the
following criteria at the top of their list:
The venues, carefully chosen, give the holidaymaker a rainbow
choice: so varied with regard to continent or country, weather and
climate, and of course panorama.
The planning and organisation at the venues enable highlights in
the tour to be visited and viewed with a minimum of effort.
The high quality of the hotels we have visited, and the transfer
of our luggage to them - not only to the hotels but to the rooms
too - is done with careful precision.
There are comfortable trains that seem to transport the
holidaymaker effortlessly to their destination.
Then there is the knowledgeable Tour Manager, fully prepared to
guide you through the journeys and smooth your transfer into one's
hotel, and add their own brand of polished visionary to the
holiday. Your Tour Manager is adequately supported by the foreign
guides which makes travelling with Great Rail Journeys a highly
pleasurable experience.
WE WILL BE BACK!
Visit fantastic UNESCO World Heritage Sites
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The definitive guide to our 2019/20 summer & winter rail holidays to a wide range of destinations in Europe.
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