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Day
trips in the proximity of
Krakow.
Krakow is Poland's tourist Mecca,
and also a gateway to many other must-see sites
in the region (and beyond).
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The site of the Nazi notorious Auschwitz death camp
is an hour’s drive from Krakow. Between June
1941 and January 1945 about one million men,
women and children perished in the three
Auschwitz concentration camps–i.e. Auschwitz
proper, Birkenau and Monowitz–and their more
than forty sub-camps.
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With its mere 21.5 sq. km it may be the
smallest of Poland’s twenty national parks, but
the Ojcow National Park ranks among the most
attractive recreational areas in Europe, and it
is just a 15 minutes’ drive–i.e. 24
km–northwest of Krakow.
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Eagle-nest Castles is a legend-shrouded
chain of medieval strongholds picturesquely
elevated over the utterly scenic landscape graced
with profusion of fancy limestone rocks, gorges,
cavities, etc. Eagle Nests’ Route that connects
several of the most interesting castles and ruins
starts in Krakow and has its end in Czestochowa.
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Alps-like Tatra Mountains, or the Tatras
(Polish Tatry), is the highest range of
the Carpathian Mountains. Two hour’s drive from
Krakow one finds stunning views and pristine
nature as well as the best skiing in winter and
hiking, rock climbing, cave exploration, cycling,
paragliding, etc. through the rest of the year. And Zakopane, Poland is Europe's most popular mountain
resort north of the Alps.
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The holiest place of Poland and one of the
world’s most important destinations for
pilgrims. Every year several million
pilgrims–commoners as well as
celebrities–come here to pray before the
miraculous picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
The faithful has believed for ages that St. Luke
the Evangelist himself painted the divine icon on
a tabletop from the Holy Family’s house.
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UNESCO's World Heritage Site. 400-year-old vast
complex of 42 churches and chapels of all shapes
and sizes in addition to the central basilica and
the Franciscan monastery is biggest such compound
in Europe.
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As Poland's capital city, Warsaw boasts an array
of National culture institutions–The National
Opera, The National Theater, The National
Library, etc–and vies with Krakow for cultural
preeminence. There are also admirable restaurants
and vigorous nightlife.
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The Wooden Architecture
Route links 237 sites in the Malopolska
province known for ancient timber buildings such as churches, manor houses,
cottages, granaries, etc. In 2003 four of them have been entered in the UNESCO
List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Those four are
village churches in Sekowa, Binarowa,
Lipnica Murowana and Debno Podhalanskie.
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Six of Poland's national parks are
situated in the Krakow region. Two
of them, the Tatra Mountains National Park and the Babia Gora National Park,
have been listed as World Biosphere Reserves by the
UNESCO.
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