Warsaw’s rebuilt Old Town and Kraków’s untouched medieval core make an unmatched contrast for a first trip to Poland — a UNESCO World Heritage square raised brick by brick after 1944, the Warsaw Uprising Museum, the royal gardens at Łazienki and Wilanów, and two full days in Kraków that include a guided visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
Day 1
Arrive in Warsaw, Old Town Welcome
Land at Warsaw Chopin Airport, settle into a hotel steps from the Old Town, then join an evening walking tour along the Royal Route before dinner in the Market Square.
🚷 Airport Transfer — Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW)
On arrival · ~$21 USD, private car for up to 4 passengers
A pre-booked private transfer meets you in the Arrivals Hall with a name sign for the 20-minute ride straight to the Old Town — no need to find a taxi rank after a long flight.
Welcome Pickups · welcomepickups.com
🛎️ Overnight — PURO Warszawa Stare Miasto
From $150–190 USD / night, for 2 people
A design-forward hotel in a restored townhouse on Canaletta street, inside the Old Town walls and a two-minute walk from the Market Square — your base for the first three nights.
PURO Warszawa Stare Miasto · +48 22 177 60 00 · purohotels.com
🚶 Old Town & Royal Route Walking Tour
~2.5 hours, evening · Pay-what-you-wish, typically $15–25 USD / person
A guided walk from the Copernicus Monument down the Royal Route past the University of Warsaw and the Presidential Palace, through Zygmunt’s Column and the rebuilt Market Square to the Barbican — the fastest way to get oriented on night one.
Walkative! Warsaw · freewalkingtour.com/warsaw
🍜 Dinner in the Old Town
Est. $30–50 USD / person
On your own — the Market Square and Freta Street are lined with milk bars and Polish restaurants serving pierogi and żurek within a five-minute walk of most Old Town hotels.
Day 2
Royal Castle & the Warsaw Uprising Museum
A full day split between the seat of Polish kings and the story of the city’s near-total destruction and rebuilding in the 20th century.
🏯️ Royal Castle
~1.5–2 hours · 30 PLN (~$8 USD) / person
The reconstructed residence of Poland’s kings on Castle Square, rebuilt brick by brick after being leveled in 1944 — the Canaletto Room and the Great Assembly Hall are the highlights inside.
Royal Castle in Warsaw · +48 22 355 51 70 · zamek-krolewski.pl
🕯️ Warsaw Uprising Museum
~2–3 hours · 35 PLN (~$9 USD) / person, free on Thursdays
An immersive, artifact-heavy museum covering the 63-day 1944 uprising against German occupation, housed in a former tram power station on Grzybowska Street — one of the most-visited museums in Poland and essential context for the rest of the trip.
Warsaw Rising Museum · +48 22 539 79 05 · 1944.pl
🍜 Dinner in Warsaw
Est. $30–50 USD / person
On your own — the Powiśle district along the river has a growing restaurant scene a short taxi ride from the Old Town.
Day 3
Łazienki Park & Wilanów Palace
A green, palace-filled day south of the center — the city’s largest park in the morning, its finest Baroque residence in the afternoon.
🦅 Łazienki Park & Palace on the Isle
Park free · Palace on the Isle 50 PLN (~$13 USD) / person
Warsaw’s largest park (76 hectares), landscaped for King Stanisław August around a neoclassical palace built over an artificial lake — look for the free-roaming peacocks and the Chopin Monument, where free open-air piano concerts run on summer Sundays.
Royal Łazienki Museum · +48 22 50 60 024 · lazienki-krolewskie.pl
🏛️ Wilanów Palace & Gardens
~2 hours · 70 PLN (~$18 USD) / person, includes the gardens
King Jan III Sobieski’s 17th-century summer residence, one of the few Warsaw landmarks to survive World War II intact — Italian, French, and English-style gardens surround a palace interior filled with original frescoes and portraiture.
Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów · +48 798 290 977 · wilanow-palac.pl
🍜 Dinner in Warsaw
Est. $30–50 USD / person
On your own — a last night in the capital before tomorrow’s train to Kraków.
Day 4
Warsaw to Kraków & the Kazimierz Quarter
A mid-morning express train covers the roughly 300 km south to Kraków in under three hours, leaving the afternoon free to explore the historic Jewish quarter.
🚉 Train — Warsaw to Kraków (EIP Express)
~2h 45min · From ~$33 USD / person, one-way
PKP Intercity’s Express InterCity Premium (EIP) service runs roughly hourly between Warszawa Centralna and Kraków Główny, both stations an easy walk or short taxi from each city’s Old Town — reserve seats a few days ahead for the best fares.
PKP Intercity · intercity.pl
🛎️ Overnight — Hotel Wentzl
From $150–190 USD / night, for 2 people
A boutique hotel built into a 16th-century townhouse directly on Kraków’s Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) — as central as it gets, with the Cloth Hall and St. Mary’s Basilica outside the front door. Your base for three nights.
Hotel Wentzl · +48 12 430 26 64 · wentzl.pl
📗 Kazimierz Jewish Quarter Walking Tour
~2.5 hours · Pay-what-you-wish, typically $15–25 USD / person
A guided walk through Kazimierz, Kraków’s pre-war Jewish quarter, past synagogues, cemeteries, and film locations from Schindler’s List, continuing into Podgórze to Ghetto Heroes Square — sobering, essential context before tomorrow’s trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Walkative! Kraków · freewalkingtour.com/krakow
🍜 Dinner in Kazimierz
Est. $25–45 USD / person
On your own — Plac Nowy and Szeroka Street have some of Kraków’s best casual dining, from zapiekanki stalls to Jewish-Polish restaurants.
Day 5
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum
A full-day guided trip to the site of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp — heavy, and one of the most important stops on any trip to Poland.
🕯️ Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour
Full day (~7 hours) · From €47 (~$51 USD) / person, includes transport & guide
Round-trip coach transport from central Kraków (about 90 minutes each way) with a licensed guide leading a roughly 3.5-hour walking tour through both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau — headsets, entry, and an English-speaking guide are included. Guided access must be booked well in advance.
DiscoverCracow.com · +48 12 346 38 99 · discovercracow.com
🛎️ Overnight — Hotel Wentzl
From $150–190 USD / night, for 2 people
Second night at the same hotel on the Main Square.
Hotel Wentzl · +48 12 430 26 64 · wentzl.pl
🍜 Dinner in Kraków
Est. $30–50 USD / person
On your own after a long, emotional day — the Main Square has restaurants open late for a quiet dinner back in the city.
Day 6
Kraków Old Town & Wawel Castle
A full day in Kraków’s medieval core, spared the destruction Warsaw suffered — Europe’s largest medieval market square, then the royal hill that gives the city its name.
⛪️ Rynek Główny, Cloth Hall & St. Mary’s Basilica
Basilica 20 PLN (~$5 USD) / person · Cloth Hall stalls free to browse
Europe’s largest medieval town square, ringed by the 16th-century Cloth Hall’s trinket stalls, with St. Mary’s Basilica’s Gothic altarpiece inside and the hourly hejnał bugle call sounding from its taller tower — a tradition unbroken since the 13th century.
St. Mary’s Basilica · mariacki.com
👑 Wawel Royal Castle & Cathedral
~2 hours · State Rooms 95 PLN (~$24 USD) / person, includes audio guide
The seat of Polish kings for over 500 years, on a hilltop above the Vistula — the State Rooms hold Renaissance tapestries and royal portraiture, while Wawel Cathedral next door is where most of Poland’s monarchs are buried.
Wawel Royal Castle · +48 12 422 51 55 · wawel.krakow.pl
🍜 Farewell Dinner in Kraków
Est. $35–55 USD / person
On your own — a last night to try Kraków’s fine-dining scene around the Main Square before tomorrow’s train back to Warsaw.
Day 7
Return to Warsaw & Depart
A morning express train back to Warsaw leaves enough time to connect to an international flight home.
🚉 Train — Kraków to Warsaw (EIP Express)
~2h 45min · From ~$33 USD / person, one-way
The same Express InterCity Premium service back to Warszawa Centralna — book an early departure to leave a comfortable buffer before your flight.
PKP Intercity · intercity.pl
🚷 Airport Transfer — Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW)
~$21 USD, private car for up to 4 passengers
A private car meets you at Warszawa Centralna for the short ride out to Chopin Airport — allow at least two and a half hours before an international flight.
Welcome Pickups · welcomepickups.com
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