After checking into the hotel, you will have time to freshen up after the flight. We will then meet at the hotel lobby and go on an introductory tour in the heart of the city: The old town square. 

In 1987 UNESCO recognized the square as a World Heritage Site. One of the largest and most beautiful squares in Europe, it is home to the famous Cloth Hall, an impressive Renaissance building, and St. Mary’s Basilica, which has the largest Gothic altar in Europe. We will wait patiently for the hour to end: from the tallest church tower, which was used as a watchtower in the past, we will hear the sound of the famous trumpet that warned of the attack of the Tatars in the 13th century. 

The trumpet sound stops suddenly, in memorial of the watchman who was found dead with an arrow in his throat.

After the tour, we’ll have dinner together at a local Polish restaurant, accompanied by a Polish folk performance. 

Overnight : Krakow

We will start the day with a walking tour in the Jewish quarter Kazimierz (in the west of Krakow). We will tour the museums and synagogues, from the oldest Alta Shul synagogue to the Ramah synagogue, the old cemetery and others.

Kazimierz is a marvelous example of commemorating Jewish life and culture. Serving as the hub of Jewish community life these days, it is also a well-known entertainment center for Polish people and tourists. To end this part of the tour, we will visit the famous Galicia Jewish Museum.

From there we will go across the river and visit the Jewish ghetto area, close to the Jewish Quarter, where the Jewish people of Krakow were concentrated until their annihilation. We will visit the famous pharmacy, which was and still remains under Polish ownership, despite its location within the ghetto area, and we’ll hear the story of a noble Polish man, Righteous Among the Nations, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, and the aid he gave to the Jews in the ghetto. 

We will carry on towards the ghetto walls and to the story of another noble man, a German who was also recognized as Righteous Among the Nations: Oskar Schindler. We will visit the Oskar Schindler's Factory Museum in the building used as a factory during the war.

We will return to Kazimierz and, time permitting, allow some free time for a walk around the Jewish quarter. It is an area popular with the people of Krakow, with many restaurants, cafes, pubs and more. Most festival events take place in this district. 

Overnight: Krakow

We begin this day with a ride to the town of Oswiecim, the site of Auschwitz 1 concentration and death camp. We will visit the camp for about 2.5 hours and after a short break continue to tour Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau. At the end of the tour, we will hold a communion ceremony. 

After the tour, we will drive to the town center and visit the Jewish center in Oswiecim. Later we will return to the hotel in Krakow and have some time to rest, a communal dinner and a group meeting.

of the tour, we will hold a communion ceremony. 

Overnight : Krakow

Day 5: The historic center of Krakow and the Jewish festival.    

In the morning, we will go to Wawel Hill, the site of the King’s palace at the time when Krakow was Poland’s capital. We will visit the cathedral where the kings of Poland are buried. On this tour, we will get to know the history of the Kingdom of Poland, and take the Royal Road to the old town. 

On our way, we’ll visit one of the oldest universities in Europe, The Jagiellonian University, attended by Nicolaus Copernicus.

We will end the morning tour in the same square we saw on our first tour, but this time for strolling and shopping.

After meeting again, we will drive to one of the natural wonders near Krakow - the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine. We will take a 2-hour tour in this underground city carved in salt, and go back to Krakow. 

In the second part of day 5, as well as for the next two days, you will have time to enjoy the festival independently.

Overnight: Krakow

Please feel free to ask us to make any ticket reservations for you for the various events. Also, feel free to walk around and take in the festival atmosphere. Your guide will be available during these days to assist and advise you on any matter you wish.  

Those who wish to go on a private tour to see their family’s town will receive our full assistance, from checking the family documentation, ascertaining whether a house still exists, or whether the graves of family members at the cemetery survived, as well as providing transportation and an English speaking guide. 

Overnight : Krakow

In the morning, we will take the train to the capital of Poland, Warsaw. We will begin our visit in Warsaw at the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

In the second part of the day, we will get to know the Polish capital.

We will start with a leisurely walk along Nowy Swiat street, pass by the Copernicus statute, the church where Chopin’s heart is interned, Warsaw University (where Menachem Begin studied law), the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, commemorating Polish battles, including the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Castle Square and the old town square.

After strolling for a while in the old town, we will see the Warsaw Uprising Monument, a significant uprising in the city’s history. From there the buses will pick us up.

Overnight:  Warsaw

There is no better place to get to know the Jewish people of Warsaw than the Okopowa cemetery. 

In the morning we will visit the cemetery, used for over 200 years, and get acquainted with the diverse Polish Jewish communities: the Orthodox and Hassidic Jews, the Moderns, the Bond and others. We will see the mass graves of the Warsaw Ghetto and we will see some newer graves of Warsaw Jews who passed after the Holocaust, as this cemetery is still in use by the local community. We will gladly assist those participants whose family members are buried in the cemetery to find the graves of their loved ones.

Next, we will visit two institutions that were part of the Jewish community before the war: The Korczak orphanage and the Nozyk Synagogue, the only one that survived the war. At the synagogue we will meet with people from the current Jewish community and hear a first-hand account of the lives of Jews in Warsaw today. 

The second part of the day will be dedicated to Warsaw Ghetto, the largest ghetto in Europe.

We will visit the remains of the ghetto walls, pass by the famous bridge that divided the ghetto in two, by the residential home of the heads of the Judenrat, the Jewish hospital and the notorious Umschlagplatz (a square where Jews were concentrated before they were shipped off to their death in Treblinka), the Memorial Route ofJewish Martyrdom and Struggle in Warsaw, the bunker of Mordechaj Anielewicz (who led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) on 18 Mila Street and the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes.

In the morning we’ll visit the town of Tykocin. Up until the mid-19th century, most residents in this town were Jewish. We will see one of the most impressive synagogues in Poland (1641) and tour the area where Jews lived for years. We will hear the story of how the Jewish community of Tykocin was exterminated after the Germans invaded, and see Lopuchowo forest and its three mass graves, where the Jews from Tykocin and other places were massacred.

From there, we will go to the camp of Treblinka, where most of the Jews of Warsaw were exterminated. In the course of 13 months, the Germans murdered nearly 900,000 Jews in this camp. 

The site has memorial stones for every Jewish community in Poland  exterminated during the Holocaust. 

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We will be glad to help you, if asked, to find the memorial of the city / town your family came from.

We will hold a communion ceremony there and then return to Warsaw for a goodbye dinner and a summary meeting.

We will depart after breakfast.

We will be happy to help with any information or request to those of you who stay in the city for a few hours or more.