Poland

Called the Padua of the North and the Pearl of the Renaissance, Zamosc is a UNESCO World Heritage List site, and there are few cities in the world that have been included on the list as a whole! What gives the city its unique character is its Renaissance model town-planning layout, which has remained unchanged since its creation in the 16th century. Zamosc is also the cultural centre of a picturesque area known as the Roztocze, and it hosts regular and occasional events both on a regional and an international scale.
Patterned after the Italian concept of the “ideal city”, the beautiful city of Zamosc has retained much of its inimitable atmosphere. It was founded by a powerful nobleman, Jan Zamoyski, and constructed according to a plan by the architect Bernardo Morando, a Paduan native who had moved to Poland in search of work. Morando succeeded in creating an impressive work, a model example of a late 16th-century Renaissance town.

The original layout and fortifications have been preserved to an exceptional degree, while numerous buildings successfully combine both Italian and central European architectural conventions. During the spring and summer, Zamosc holds a number of cultural, sports and trade events, making it even more attractive to visitors. Most of these events take place in the Great Square.

Zamosc is a great base for a vacation in the adjacent Roztocze region. Within a dozen kilometres of the town you can enjoy the beauty of the Roztocze National Park as well as five other scenic parks. These unspoiled open spaces offer many possibilities to relax, hike and to take short bicycle rides.

The capital of Lower Silesia (Dolny Slask) has a huge Old Town built on several islands connected by over 100 bridges. Apart from its unique location, Wroclaw amazes with its volume of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. Several musical and theatre festivals, as well as its busy nightlife, attract innumerable visitors from all over Poland and abroad. Wroclaw's extremely complicated history, combining the cultural influences of Germany, Bohemia, Austria and Poland, has left its mark on the atmosphere of the city.
Wroclaw is the principal city of Lower Silesia, a voivodship situated in the south-western corner of Poland, adjoining the German and Czech territories. Its population of 660,000 makes it the fourth largest city in Poland.

The Old Town is comparable to Krakow's in beauty and size, and includes the Gothic St. John's Cathedral, the Renaissance houses near the Market Square, the Baroque university and lots of fine examples of Art Nouveau and Functionalism.

Apart from these sights, Wroclaw captivates with its marvellous location on the Odra River, its branches and tributaries that have resulted in a great number of bridges needed to join the islands. Despite Wroclaw's failure to become the host city for the Expo exhibition in 2002, it has undergone a significant boom in terms of tourism. The intense promotion of the city resulted in a rising number of visitors.

The uniqueness of the city is due in part to its long and entangled history. Situated on the interface between ethnically diverse areas, Wroclaw has been part of the Polish, Czech, Austrian and German states. It has inherited the spirit of German Breslau (a previous name of Wroclaw), which partly disappeared when the Germans left the city, and that of Polish Lwow, whose population was resettled here after World War II. Wroclaw is also an important cultural and academic centre of the region, with a large student community that animates the city’s nightlife.

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Since the village of Bialowieza is only a kilometre from the heart of the Bialowieza National Park, itself a protected site on the Unesco World Heritage List, it is often used as a starting point for excursions into this magnificent woodland. Some of the interesting things to see in the little village include the Palace Park, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Natural History Museum. Bialowieza has many places that offer food and accommodation at very reasonable prices.
Lying in the direct vicinity of Bialowieza, the Bialowieza National Park preserves the largest remaining area of original lowland forest in Europe. The primeval forest covers a total of approximately 105 sq km, of which 4 km is under strict protection. Wolves, wild boar, elks, stags and lynx can be seen as well as huge, five-hundred-year-old oak trees.

The village is more than a gateway into the Bialowieza National Park, there is a 19th century rectangular Palace Park featuring some 90 species of trees and bushes, and housing the Natural History Museum. If you have some time to spend in Bialowieza before your tour into the national park, this museum is a great way to learn about the local habitat and the animals living in it. On display are hunting trophies as well as geological, ethnographic and geographical artefacts. You can also climb a viewing tower, which offers a beautiful prospect of the village, dominated as it is by well-preserved wooden buildings.

Worthy of a visit are the two churches of Bialowieza – the 19th century Russian Orthodox Church and the neo-Gothic sanctuary built in the 1930s.

If you decide to visit Bialowieza Forest we can arrange for you

- tailor made tours: See polish object on the list of UNESCO

This cheerful maritime city owes its present grandeur to a thousand year of Polish-German history, with a significant period when the town was a key member of the Hanseatic League. Reflecting those times is the exclusive architecture of the Old Town, including the largest brick Gothic church in the world. Home of Lech Walesa, in 1980 it witnessed the birth of the Solidarity movement, bringing the end of Communism in Eastern Europe.
Situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, Gdansk is the capital city of Pomeranian Voivodship. Together with two other cities, Sopot and Gdynia, it forms a conurbation known as the Tricity with a total population of 750,000 (Gdansk itself has 470,000 inhabitants). While Gdynia serves mainly as a port and Sopot as a seaside resort, Gdansk is popular among visitors with its thousand-year history and impressive architecture.

Its Old Town attracts almost as many people as that of Krakow or Warsaw. In the past the city enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, which together with its participation in Hanseatic League, led to great prosperity. During its Golden Age, the turnover of Gdansk was bigger than that of London's East India Company. Later periods in Gdansk’s history were complicated and sometimes even dramatic.

At present this maritime capital of Poland is an important cultural and academic centre. The economy is developing quickly and moving into new fields: the traditional shipping and amber trade is being joined by the petrochemical, electronic and telecommunication industries. The seaport and international airport make the city a significant transport hub.

If you decide to visit Gdansk we can arrange for you

- city break Gdansk

and private escorted tours:

- Peninsula Hel

The charming Old Town of Torun is of such international importance that it has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its red-brick Gothic architecture resembles the historic district of Gdansk, but with a much different atmosphere as Torun proves to be much friendlier, cosier and less spoilt by the influx of visitors. Its lively centre is full of diverse cafes and pubs, offering a refreshing stop after sightseeing. Torun specialises in a traditional gingerbread that will give your stay an additional, spicy flavour.
After the Second World War this calm medium-sized city in northern Poland became a huge centre of industry, specialising in producing artificial fibres. Nowadays most of the factories have closed and the city instead has grown into a popular tourist destination. The Old Town boasts a large number of sights, predominantly dating from the Middle Ages, such as St Mary's Church, the Cathedral of St John and the Town Hall. The panorama of the historical quarter as seen from the left bank of the river or the bridge, especially when illuminated in the evenings, is really stunning.

As with most Polish cities, Torun has a tangled history. It is characterised by the several hundreds of years it was ruled by the Teutonic Order of knights and its participation in the Hanseatic League. Over a hundred years of German administration left also traces on the urban and architectural nature of the city.

Torun, while being the hometown of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, also continues its tradition of being a strong scientific centre, especially in astronomy through one of the leading departments of the local university. In the Old Town you may visit a planetarium, while in Piwnice near Torun is an observatory containing the biggest telescope in Poland.

Apart from playing its role of tourist destination and academic centre, Torun is a place full of a vibrant cultural and artistic life, hosting important festivals like the Kontakt festival of theatre and the Probaltica festival of music.

If you decide to visit Torun we can arrange for you

The highest mountain range between the Alps and the Caucasus. Here you will find rocky peaks covered with snow all year round, sharp ridges, picturesque lakes, waterfalls and valleys that together make this place possibly the most spectacular in Poland. There are about 250 km of trails and a wide range of slopes to satisfy the most demanding of hikers and skiers. A stay in the town of Zakopane at the foot of the mountains is recommended for those who love admiring beautiful landscapes and original folk culture.

The Tatras, a part of the Carpathian Mountains, are the youngest in this part of Europe and were formed at the same time as the Alps - as evidenced by their severe rocky shapes. The highest top on the Polish side is Rysy (2 499 m above sea level). The Tatras are home to many animals, including lynxes, eagles, chamois, marmots and brown bears. To protect the local wildlife, all of the mountain area was included in the Tatra National Park and on the UNESCO Biosphere List.

If you decide to visit Zakopane and Tatra Mountains we can arrange for you

The capital of Poland was practically rebuilt from scratch after World War II. Warsaw's vibrant business downtown takes pride in its many skyscrapers and ambitious plans to build more. The catchy skyline is still dominated by the enormous Palace of Culture and Science – Stalin's donation to the nation. Warsaw is a world in itself, with an eastern European flavour. Do not miss the beautiful Old Town, the Royal Route, the Chopin museum, several magnificent palaces and the former Jewish ghetto.
Warsaw, Poland's capital since the late 16th century, is by far the biggest and fastest developing Polish city. Its population is estimated at 1.75 million and, as a powerful economic and cultural centre, the city attracts great numbers of people from all over the country in the pursuit of education or better job opportunities. According to some sources, some 18 new people move to the city daily. Warsaw is also visited every year by thousands of tourists from all over the world, especially during the summer.

The present character of the city is determined by three important factors: World War II, over 40 years of communist rule and the present years of transformation with its in-flow of foreign capital and investment. As any other European capital, Warsaw is full of striking contrasts. Historical monuments that were newly rebuilt after World War II coexist with numerous examples post-war housing estates of grey concrete tower blocks and ultra-modern glass office buildings built since 1989. Similarly, the hassle and bustle of its lively city centre, the constant flow of traffic and the crowds of people contrast with the serenity of the many beautiful urban parks.

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Probably the most beautiful and fascinating city in Poland. The attraction is not just the splendid architecture and the treasures of art – reminders of the times when Krakow was a royal capital city – but also the unique ambience of the former Jewish district and the masterpieces of Polish Art Nouveau. However old and beautiful it is, Krakow is not limited to its monuments and museums. Thanks to an amazing density and variety of bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants, Krakow sparkles with life. Anyway, there is no point in merely talking about its attractions – everyone should see Krakow with their own eyes.

Krakow, with a population of over 950,000 people, is Poland’s third largest city. Although it ceased to be a capital city in 1596, it still plays the role of cultural centre for Poland. Fortunately, it escaped World War II with no major fighting or bombing, and it remains almost unscathed even after fifty years of communist rule while concrete blocks of flats were built outside the city centre.

Krakow is also an important academic city, famed for its ancient university of consistent and continuing repute. But above all, the city is known as the most popular tourist destination in Poland, with the former royal Wawel castle being rated among its major attractions. The majority of monuments are situated in the Old Town, framed by the ring-shaped park, known as “Planty”. In the centre of the Old Town there is Europe's largest market square, with the “Sukiennice” (the Cloth Hall) dating from the 14th century and one of the best-known landmarks of Krakow. The charming and exuberant atmosphere of the city attracts visitors in every season.

If you decide to visit Krakow we can arrange some local tours and day trips.

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