Intensive tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Nr2

This study tour is designed for school groups that have already studied the history of the Holocaust and the Second World War. The carefully planned itinerary, including visits to Krakow and its Jewish Quarter, the Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum, and a two-day programme at Auschwitz-Birkenau, will help students deepen their understanding of the topics explored in their history classes.
Duration: 5 days
Itinerary: Krakow – Oświęcim – Auschwitz-Birkenau

Trip highlights:

Krakow’s historic Old Town and royal heritage.
Jewish heritage of Kazimierz and the history of the former ghetto.
Schindler’s Factory Museum and Krakow under Nazi occupation.
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Holocaust remembrance.

Execution wall at the German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

The German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau

A panoramic view of the Royal Castle at Wawel in Kraków

The 16th-century Remuh Jewish cemetery in Kraków

Itinerary

Day 1: Krakow

Morning: Transfer from the airport to the accommodation. Check-in and Lunch.
Afternoon: Guided tour of the Krakow's Old Twon – historic capital of Poland. The itinerary includes: Europe’s largest medieval square (Rynek), the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), St Mary’s Basilica, home to Veit Stoss's magnificent altarpiece; the Gothic courtyard of the Collegium Maius; the historic streets of the Old Town; the Cathedral on Wawel Hill, the final resting place of the Polish kings and the Wawel Castle.
Evening: Dinner and overnight stay in Krakow.

Day 2: Krakow

Morning: Guided tour of Kazimierz – Krakow’s former Jewish quarter. The itinerary includes a visit to the Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga), which combines Gothic and Renaissance styles – now a museum of Judaism – followed by the 16th-century Jewish cemetery adjacent to the Synagogue Remuh. Visit to the site of the former ghetto in the district of Podgórze: surviving sections of the ghetto wall; the memorial site of the Eagle Pharmacy (Pod Orłem) and the "Empty chairs" memorial.
Afternoon: visit to the exhibition "Krakow under Nazi occupation 1939 – 1945" at Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum.
Evening: Dinner at a Jewish restaurant accompanied by a concert of klezmer music. Overnight stay in Krakow.

Day 3: Krakow – Auschwitz-Birkenau – Oswiecim

Morning: Transfer by coach to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
The exhibition in the blocks at Auschwitz I – Stammlager: the "Death block", the execution wall, a gas chamber and a crematorium – the only ones of their kind to have been preserved.
Afternoon: Auschwitz II – Birkenau, the site of the mass extermination of the Jews: prisoners’ barracks, the ruins of the gas chambers and the memorial in honour of the victims.
Evening: Check-in at the accommodation in Oświęcim. Dinner followed by a meeting with a survivor of the ghetto or a "Righteous Among the Nations of the World", one of the people who helped Jewish residents of the city survive during the Holocaust.

Day 4: Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Musuem

Morning: Time for individual exploration of selected parts of the exhibition.
Options for this part of the programme:

Visit to the central bathhouse, known as the "Sauna"– the very building that new prisoners passed through as they arrived at the camp. This exhibition examines the procedure by which humans were reduced to the numbers tattooed on their forearms. The "Sauna" also houses an exhibition entitled "Before they left", featuring private photographs of the Jews from the Będzin ghetto, offering an insight into their lives before the Holocaust.
Tour of the Yad Vashem (Jerusalem Institute of Memory) exhibition "Shoah" in Block 27 providing a moving insight into Jewish life before the war, the ideology of the German Nazis and the extermination of the Jews perpetrated across German-occupied Europe. The exhibition also includes a room devoted to the 1.5 million murdered Jewish children, and a room housing the "Book of Names", in which are written all the names of Holocaust victims that the Institute has been able to collect.
Tour of selected national exhibitions.
Tour of the exhibition of works by Marian Kołodziej, prisoner no. 432, in the St Maximilian Centre close to Auschwitz II–Birkenau.
Tour of the exhibition on the history of the Jewish community in the town of Oświęcim on display in the Jewish Centre in the former synagogue in Oświęcim.
Meeting with a member of the museum’s scientific staff, or a workshop on selected themes from the history of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.

Evening: Dinner and overnight stay in Oświęcim.

Day 5: Departure

Morning: Transfer to the Krakow airport. Departure.

Included Services

Services included in the price:

2 night's accommodation in Krakow
2 night's accommodation in Oświęcim
4 dinners (3-course menu with coffee, tea and mineral water, served at the hotel and in old town restaurants according to the program)
All transfers as per above mentioned itinerary
Private English speaking guide as per the itinerary
Entrance fees for all sightseeing

Price on request. Please complete the non-binding enquiry form below to receive your personalised offer.

FAQ

What educational themes are covered during the tour?
The programme explores Jewish life before the Holocaust, the impact of Nazi occupation, the history of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the importance of preserving historical memory.
Is the programme flexible?
Yes. Depending on your group's interests and requirements, the itinerary can be adapted or extended. Please contact us to discuss the available options.

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