THE TOUR INCLUDES: Top Category seats for 5 performances (as listed) 9 nights deluxe accommodations (Warsaw: Hotel Le Régina; Wroclaw: Sofitel Old Town; Krakow: Hotel Wentzl) Full breakfast daily, 4 lunches and 4 dinners Private guided tours in each city (Old Town Warsaw with Chopin sites, Zelazowa Wola, Wroclaw, Swidnica, Jasna Gora, Krakow with Kazimierz, Wielisczka Salt Mine, optional Auschwitz-Birkenau tour) Private airport-hotel transfers On site Tour Direction Comprehensive Tour Guidebook, with travel and performance info and a daily itinerary Cost: $6745 US Single Supplement: $950 US Deposit: $2500 US Balance due: August 1, 2009 Optional Auschwitz-Birkenau: $200 US

OPTIONS FLIGHTS We will be happy to make any flight arrangements, including reward travel with your preferred carrier, for $75 per person. Inbound flight should be booked to arrive in Warsaw mid-morning on September 29; the outbound flight should depart from Krakow on October 8. AIRPORT-HOTEL TRANSFERS We include airport-hotel transfers (group) on the published tour dates. Transfers are not included for early arrivals or extended stays, although we can easily make these arrangements for you. TOUR ADDITIONS The itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and desires. Please call us to discuss any changes or amendments you wish to make. INSURANCE We strongly recommend that all tour members purchase cancellation insurance upon registration. We can assist you with this, though you are welcome to purchase a policy at your own discretion. If you would like information on the policies offered by our supplier, please contact us for details, or click HERE for an insurance brochure and application.

A nation of incredible beauty with a musical soul, Poland is a relatively untapped tourist treasure. We will visit Warsaw, with its rich cultural heritage and uncontrived cosmopolitan charm, Krakow, the true heart of Poland, with an unrivalled beauty and history which dates to the Stone Age, and Wroclaw, the cultural light of Silesia and an intellectual centre with a tumultuous history. With Tour Director and Warsaw native Jan Muranty, we will visit the major historic sights in each city, stay in refined hotels and enjoy the very best local cuisine. In Warsaw, we will hear the music of Chopin as well as Handel's "Water Music" at the Royal Castle. In Krakow, we hear Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, and in Wroclaw, Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. We think this tour is an excellent survey of Eastern Europe's largest, yet perhaps best-hidden gem.

Warsaw has come a long way since its near complete destruction in the Second World War. This vibrant, busy city has slowly been emerging as a new cultural diamond of the East and forms the centre of modern Poland. And while shiny skyscrapers, new restaurants and funky clubs shoot like mushrooms from the soil, Warsaw's many historic buildings serve as a reminder of this city's glorious past.

Over a thousand years of history has left the Silesian jewel of Wroclaw with a colourful culture and an atmosphere to match. The city is full of cozy cafés, excellent restaurants, and charming hotels. It is the economical, cultural and intellectual capital of Lower Silesia, located in southwestern Poland. Its perch upon the Odra river and the veritable maze of islands and bridges that make up the city have gained it the title of the "Venice of Poland".

Krakow, Poland's glorious former capital, still has the air and appearance of a city born to greater things. Indeed, few European cities can muster such an impressive and authentic Old Town, a captivating mix of Gothic, Renaissance and baroque buildings that is all the more precious for having survived the Second World War, and Communism, almost unscathed. Overlooking it all is Wawel, the riverside hill where the kings of Poland were crowned, lived and buried for more than 500 years, and which still occupies a special place in the country's turbulent history. Music, too, has always played a large part in the city's daily life, from Early Music and opera to jazz. And fortunately for us, the city is regarded as the gourmet capital of Poland, which we will have the great pleasure of judging for ourselves.

THE ITINERARY

Monday, September 28
Departure from North America for Warsaw.

Tuesday, September 29
Arrivals in Warsaw and transfer (included) to the deluxe Hotel Le Régina in the Old Town. In the evening, gather for introductions and to meet Tour Director Jan Muranty, who hosts a Welcome Dinner in the hotel's superb La Rotisserie restaurant.

Wednesday, September 30
Today Jan leads us on a guided tour of Warsaw's Old Town, painstakingly restored after being completely destroyed during WWII and now a UNESCO Heritage site. Our tour includes the Market Square, the Barbican, St John's Cathedral, the Royal Castle, the Saxon Gardens, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Palace of Culture and Science, Royal Route, Holy Cross Church and the Visitation Nuns Church, where Chopin studied and was a part-time organist. Lunch is included at the Restaurant Senator. This evening we attend a private recital featuring the music of Chopin and Wieniawski.

Thursday, October 1
Enjoy the day at leisure in Warsaw. This evening, as part of the Handel Festival, we attend a performance of Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks in the Ballroom of the Royal Castle.

Friday, October 2
Today we leave for Wroclaw, stopping first in the village of Zelazowa Wola where Chopin was born. The charming family home, set in a peaceful park, is now a museum. Arriving in Wroclaw, we check in at the Sofitel Wroclaw Old Town. This evening we enjoy dinner (included) at the hotel.

Saturday, October 3
Today Jan gives the city tour of Wroclaw, featuring the Old Town, with centuries of architectural wonders. We visit the Market Square and see the Raclawice Panorama, a monumental painting which adorns the internal walls of a rotunda. We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant following the tour. This evening we attend a performance of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love at the beautiful Wroclaw Opera.

Sunday, October 4
After check out, we make the short drive to Swidnica to see the Church of Peace, an architectural marvel that was a gift of tolerance bestowed on the Protestant communities in Silesia by the Catholic Habsburg Empire. We then move south to Krakow, the cradle of Polish culture, stopping first in Czestochowa, the Largest Catholic pilgrimage center in Eastern Europe, to visit the magnificent monastery of Jasna Gora, with its famous Black Madonna. Lunch is included. In Krakow we check in at the charming Hotel Wentzl on the Main Market square. This evening we attend a performance of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades in the new Krakow Opera House.

Monday, October 5
Today Jan leads us on a walking tour of Krakow, from the city's medieval gate to the castle. In between, we take in the Barbican, the Church of St. Mary's, the Market Square and the city's many hidden treasures. Next will be Wawel Hill, the spiritual home of the nation and the culmination of the Royal Way, where we see the splendid Castle and cathedral. This evening we enjoy a special dinner at the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the most stunning and unique sights in the country, where we see the marvelous salt art created by the skilled miners, while The Miners' Orchestra provides the soundtrack to our evening.

Tuesday, October 6
Late morning we visit the Collegium Maius, one of Europe's first universities and the alma mater of the astronomer Copernicus. We then visit the former Jewish district of Kazimierz, which thrived for nearly seven centuries before being decimated by the Nazis. Today it thrives once again, and we stop here to enjoy lunch. Afterward, the evening is at leisure.

Wednesday, October 7
Enjoy the day at leisure in Krakow. Those wishing to make an optional day trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp will be accommodated. This evening we enjoy a Farewell Dinner before a concert or operatic performance (tba).

Thursday, October 8
Transfers to the airport in Krakow are included.