Preserved & Restored

The boundless determination of its people ensured the restoration of Warsaw, Poland’s capital since the 16th century, after the Second World War with the aid of old photographs, paintings and architectural plans. The nation’s artistic heritage is reflected in the massive Royal Castle, baroque Wilanow Summer Palace and Lazienki Palace on the lake. The Historical museum sheds light on Poland’s complex past, of which the Jewish Ghetto is a thought-provoking reminder. Reflecting on the many famous Polish émigrés, the scientific museum in the home of Marie Curie, twice Nobel prizewinner (1903 and 1911), has also been selected for a visit.

Cracow was largely spared the ravages of the Second World War at a time when Warsaw, the new capital and centre of resistance, was severely damaged.

Pope John Paul II lived and studied in Cracow during the Nazi occupation and was later created Bishop. An excursion visits his birthplace at Wadowice where his former home is now a museum. It also includes the UNESCO World Heritage listed Bernadine Monastery at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. Much of the wealth of Cracow flowed from the 1000 years of operation of the Wieliczka Salt Mine whose salt sculptures are a unique feature of the underground caverns.