EXCURSIONS
The schedules of the games will allow the participants to visit the most beautiful parts of the City and the outskirts accompanied by guides.
Below there are some examples of itineraries that can be visited with the guide:
The City of Cracow
The visit of the ancient Polish Capital begins from the Wawel,Castle that has a millennial history, and was the center for the Polish Kings. Here there is the Cathedral of S.Venceslao, with the tombs of the Kings and the ancient Royal Building. Crossing the ancient Real Street you arrive to the Old City, with the Market Square (Rynek Glowny), a medieval square which is among the greatest in Europe and the church of S.Maria Virgo Assume with its 2 towers, from where a trumpeter every houres plays a hymn. In the Old City there is also the university Jagellonica, one of the most ancient of Europe (1364) and its historical museum. Passing for Jozefa Dietla Street you reach Kazimierz (the Jewish district), the most preserved of Europe, with its synagogues and ancient cemetery. Here Steven Spielberg made the famous film Schindler's List.
Auschwitz e Wadowice
Auschwitz (Oswiecim) is 50km west of Cracow. Between 1940 and 1945 around 1 million people, mostly Hebrews, died there. The principal concentration camps were Auschwitz I and Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau. Auschwitz I was the most renowned concentration camp which has now been transformed into a museum. Auschwitz 2 and the remaining gas chambers are open to the public. On your return to Cracow you can visit Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II. The house where he was born has now become a museum and you can visit the 3 rooms on the first floor and the Basilica of Our Lady that in 1920, the year in which the pope was born, was only a small parish church. In 1999, the Pope nostalgically recalled a cream (kremowka) which has since become famous worlwide.
Salt Mines of Wieliczka
Wieliczka, which is near Cracow, is famous for its salt mines (Kopalnia Soli). With over five centuries of history (the first tourists arrived here in the XVI century) it is situated 135m underground. The extraction of salt began in 3500 BC. The mine has 9 levels that go down to a depth of 327m. There are over 300 KM of tunnels and burrows. The tour lasts around 2 hours and covers about 3KM of tunnels. Inside the mine you will find the greatest underground cathedral, built in 1896, with statues of the Madonna of Lourdes and Pope Paul II formed from the green salt. Then there is a magnificent and deep lake salted by the green water and a statue of Nikolaus Kopernicus, the famous Polish astronomer, that visited the mine in 1493. There is also a cafe and restaurant with toilets and washrooms.
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