krakow, Budapest & Zagreb

• Discover UNESCO World Heritage-listed Krakow, the beautifully preserved capital of the medieval kingdom of Poland, and vibrant Budapest

• Uncover the complex history of peoples in central Europe, from Magyars, Slavs and Ottomans to the influence of Jewish culture in Budapest and Krakow

• Enjoy exceptional art collections, including Leonardo da Vinci in Krakow, Budapest’s Museum of Fine Art, and private collections in Zagreb

• Delightful historic towns, including Pecs and its World Heritage-listed necropolis, the citadel of Varazdin, for centuries a bastion against the Turks, and Zakopane

• Beautiful landscapes, from the verdant hills of southern Poland to the High Tatras Mountains, vineyards of southern Hungary and rugged Croatia

SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2026 – ARRIVAL (D)
Krakow is surprisingly well connected by air and flights from Australia arrive in the middle of the day or early afternoon. Individual transfers from the airport to the hotel are available for all participants on this tour; contact us for further details. In the later afternoon, after time to settle into the hotel, we meet in the lobby for an orientation stroll of Krakow, before drinks and a light dinner together. Evening at leisure. Overnight Krakow.

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER – ROYAL KRAKOW (B, D)
Prior to the rise of Prussia and the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland was a major European power. It was often called upon to halt the Ottoman advance into Central and Eastern Europe, making the King of Poland a key defender of Christendom. Krakow was the capital of this kingdom, and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed centre showcases this history. This morning, after a talk in the hotel by your tour leader, we explore a glorious past on a walking tour of the Royal Route, the processional route of kings and princes. We begin at St Florian’s Church – where the patron saint of Poland’s relics are kept and where kings were crowned – and follow the road through the medieval centre, stopping to visit St Mary’s Cathedral, home to a spectacular fifteenth-century Gothic altarpiece, the world’s largest. Our walking tour continues to Wawel Hill, where we visit the Royal Crypts and Wawel Castle, the residence of the royal family from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. After free time for lunch, we visit Prince Czartoryski Museum, one of Poland’s finest collections of Old Masters, which includes Leonardo da Vinci’s stunning Lady with an Ermine. Returning to the hotel, there is time at leisure before we meet for dinner in a fine local restaurant. Overnight Krakow.

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER – NOVA HUTA AND TYNIEC ABBEY (B)
This morning we look at a different side of Poland’s history, with an excursion to Nova Huta. In 1945, the people of Krakow voted in a referendum against the plans of the new Soviet authorities, leading to the creation of a new and monumental proletarian neighbourhood. The intention was to water down the anti-Soviet voting bloc. This new town, Nova Huta, was created almost from scratch and is one of the only complete towns designed in a Soviet Realist style, with grand, tree-lined avenues extending from its central square. After visiting Nova Huta, we continue by coach to the surrounding countryside to visit Tyniec Abbey, a Benedictine monastery perched above the Vistula River. It was substantially rebuilt and expanded in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. After touring the abbey, we return to Krakow, where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Krakow.

TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER – JEWISH KRAKOW (B, D)
Krakow had a significant Jewish population from at least the thirteenth century, and the community thrived there for much of the city’s golden age, shaping Krakow’s culture and appearance. We begin today with a walking tour of the former Jewish Quarter, Kazimierz, a vibrant region that preserves Krakow’s Jewish history despite the attempts by the Nazis and their allies to erase it. In the early afternoon, there is an optional visit to the nearby Schindler Enamel Factory, whose role in protecting Jews during the Holocaust was made famous by Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. Today the factory is a museum dedicated to history and everyday life in Krakow during occupation. The later afternoon is at leisure, before we meet for dinner at Klezmer Hois, a restaurant in a former Jewish ritual bathhouse that preserves the ambience of pre-war Krakow. Overnight Krakow.

WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER – ZAKOPANE & HIGH TATRAS (B, D)
We leave Krakow this morning for the High Tatras, the most elevated part of the Carpathian Ranges that divide central and eastern Europe. After a scenic drive into the mountains, we arrive in Zakopane, Poland’s Aspen, where elegant wooden chalets preserve the traditions of the local alpine Goral culture. After time to explore the town, its traditional crafts and local cuisine, we continue higher into the mountains to Tatranska Lomnica, where we stay at an Art Nouveau “Grand Hotel” that evokes the luxurious spirit of the early twentieth century. Dinner and overnight at Tatranska Lomnica.

THURSDAY 01 OCTOBER – BANKSÁ ŠTIAVNICA (B, D)
This morning we continue through the Tatras Mountains across Slovakia to Hungary. En route, we visit Banksá Štiavnica, a town that grew wealthy in the Renaissance through an abundance of metal ores, especially after the expansion of mining by the German Fugger dynasty in the fifteenth century. The town preserves the feel of the Renaissance mining boom, with elegant burghers’ houses lining its streets and squares and local magnates investing in the city’s civic and religious architecture. After a walking tour of the town and a break for lunch, we continue by coach to Budapest, our base for the next four nights, where we have dinner together. Overnight Budapest.

FRIDAY 02 OCTOBER – BUDA CASTLE (B)
Budapest grew from two separate towns, Buda and Pest. Buda, built on the high ground above the Danube, was a natural fortification and it became the main residence of the kings of Hungary from the middle of the thirteenth century. The castle was radically expanded in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and much of what we see today reflects the grandeur of this period. This morning we take a walking tour of Buda, starting with a visit of the elegant Gothic Matthias Church and continuing to the palace through the narrow streets of Buda Old Town. After visiting the recently renovated St Stephen’s Hall – the audience hall of the former kings of Hungary – we have a break for lunch in the area. In the afternoon, we visit the National Art Gallery, housed inside a wing of the castle. The excellent collection traces the development of Hungarian art across the centuries, with a particular emphasis on the growth of a Hungarian style under the influence of the Barbizon and Impressionist schools. Returning to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Budapest.

SATURDAY 03 OCTOBER – MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS & LISZT’S APARTMENT (B)
Lovers of art history have probably come across the Szépművészeti Múzeum somewhere in their textbooks, and Hungary’s premier collection of European art deserves its place there, with masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Hans Holbein, Durer, Velasquez and more. This morning, we visit this institution for a guided tour of its many highlights of European art, followed by time to explore its extensive collections at leisure. After a break for lunch there is the option to continue with your tour leader to visit some of the house museums in the elegant neighbourhood between Museum and the Opera (near the hotel), including the apartment that Franz Liszt lived and worked in while the (founding) President of Hungary’s Academy of Music. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Budapest.

SUNDAY 04 OCTOBER – JEWISH BUDAPEST (B)
Like Krakow, Budapest was once a thriving centre of Jewish culture and intellectual life, which has had a long influence over the city’s culture. Today we explore this history, starting with a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter and the spectacular Dohány Street Synagogue. Built in the Moorish Revival style of the nineteenth century, and designed by a Viennese architect who incorporated architectural forms from Catholic basilicas, the beautifully decorated building is Europe’s largest synagogue and the centre of Hungary’s Neolog community. This liberal sect of Judaism favoured integration into broader society from its inception in the nineteenth century. After a break for lunch, there is time at leisure and you may wish to visit the nearby National Museum, which has an exceptional horde of Roman silverware. In the later afternoon, there is the option to visit the Ludwig Museum, an excellent collection of modern and contemporary art from Europe and America, with your tour leader. Overnight Budapest.

MONDAY 05 OCTOBER – TO PÉCS (B, L)
Today we leave Budapest for the south of Hungary. Our first stop is the intriguing Memento Park outside of Budapest. Public sculptures are often political, representing the powers that be, and following independence from the Soviet Union, a decision was made to remove many of the symbols of Communist rule from the city. Memento Park preserves many of these monumental sculptures, including a giant boot of Stalin, from a sculpture that was mostly destroyed by the populace in the 1956 uprising. After visiting this eerie reminder of the past, we continue towards Pécs, a town around which Central Europe’s wine industry commenced in Antiquity and which today is one of Hungary’s premier wine districts. Before arriving in Pécs, we enjoy a vineyard lunch and a wine tasting. Arriving in the charming medieval town, the later afternoon and evening are at leisure. Overnight Pécs.

TUESDAY 06 OCTOBER – MEDIEVAL PÉCS (B)
Southern Hungary had been incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in a similar way to how the Balkans were incorporated, with the history and architecture preserving this divergence from Central Europe. We unpack the many layers of Pécs on our walking tour today, including the remains of the Roman city, a cathedral created from a converted mosque, and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed paleochristian necropolis. This exceptional burial ground contains a surprisingly broad range of early Christian tombs and artistic motifs that reflect the fascinating and diverse cultural influences on central Europe in Late Antiquity. After a walking tour of the town and its monuments, and a guided tour of the necropolis, the afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the atmosphere of this elegant provincial centre. Overnight Pécs.

WEDNESDAY 07 OCTOBER – VARAŽDIN (B)
Today we leave Hungary for Zagreb, stopping to visit Varaždin, a heavily fortified town that played a key role in Austro-Hungarian defense against the Ottomans from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. Fires in the sixteenth century led to most of the town being rebuilt, and the palaces, churches and streetscapes we explore are almost perfectly preserved from this period. After a guided walking tour of the town, and a break for free time and lunch, we continue by coach to Zagreb, the final base for our tour. Overnight Zagreb.

THURSDAY 08 OCTOBER – ZAGREB (B)
Zagreb’s history is complex: a settlement was initially founded around a cathedral established by the King of Hungary at the end of the twelfth century, but it merged with a nearby town and gained independence after sheltering a Hungarian king against the Mongols. Even after the two settlements had merged, the city’s history was embroiled in the political interests of Hungary, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Serbia and later Pan-Slavonian nationalist movements. This morning, we explore this history on a walking tour of the city centre. In the afternoon, we visit two excellent art collections: the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters, donated to the city by one of its bishops, and the Gallery of Modern Art alongside it, which grew from the collection of the Croatian Art Society founded in the nineteenth century. Returning to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Zagreb.

FRIDAY 09 OCTOBER – MEŠTROVIĆ & MODERNISM IN ZAGREB (B, D)
This morning we focus on Croatia’s most celebrated modern artist, Ivan Meštrović, who was recognised from a young age by his contemporaries as one of the greatest sculptors of the early twentieth century. His career, from exhibiting as a Secessionist artist in Vienna in 1905 through to his role as “Prophet of Yugoslavism”, as well as teaching modernist sculpture at prestigious institutions in the US after WWII, saw a continuing evolution of his style and influence. We follow the artist’s career through his masterpieces that are now displayed in his atelier, offering insight into Croatia’s changing relationships to Western Europe in the twentieth century. The afternoon is free to explore Zagreb, with the option to visit the Mimara Museum with your tour leader. This private collection of fine and decorative art includes Ptolemaic and Chinese antiquities and European art from Rembrandt to Degas. In the early evening, we enjoy a farewell dinner at a fine local restaurant. Overnight Zagreb.

SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER – DEPARTURE (B)
The tour concludes in the hotel after breakfast. A transfer to the airport or Zagreb Main Railway Station (Zagreb Glavni kolodvor) is available for all tour participants; contact us for further information.

Holiday Inn Krakow City Centre 4* Krakow, 4 nights
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/krakow/
Comfortable, modern hotel in the heart of historic Krakow.

Grand Hotel Praha 4* Tatranska Lomnica, 1 night
https://www.tmrhotels.com/grandhotel-praha/en/
Elegant period hotel in in the beauty of the High Tatras

Hotel K&K Opera 4* Budapest, 4 nights
https://www.kkhotels.com/hotel/kk-hotel-opera-budapest/
Modern hotel in a central, elegant and quiet district

Hotel Palatinus 4* Pecs, 2 nights
https://palatinusboutiquehotel.hu/en/
Delightful boutique hotel in the historic centre of Pecs

Hotel Dubrovnik 4* Zagreb, 3 nights
https://www.hotel-dubrovnik.hr/
Deluxe rooms, just a short walk to major sites and museums

NB: hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• 14 nights’ accommodation at 4* hotels

• All breakfasts and 7 lunches or dinners

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, and tipping

• Talks by and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout

• Services of an English speaking tour manager throughout

• An individual arrival transfer from Krakow airport to the group hotel, and departure transfer to Zagreb Airport or Zagreb Main Railway Station

A $1,500pp deposit is required at the time of booking to hold your place on tour.

A second deposit of $2,000 is due on 29 May 2026.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 13 July 2026.

When you book on one of tours, we ask you to accept our terms and conditions. You can read our terms and conditions here.