1

Couch Surfing is really valuable.

Why Kattowice of all cities in Poland? There are so many great places there, Kattowice seems to be rather industrial.

Do Warszawa, Gdansk, Kraków, Wroclaw, etc.

Also wouldnt miss out Berlin and Dresden (can be included on the way from Poland to Czech Republic). Berlin is really cheap and a hell of a city. I've lived in several places now, and I truly fell in love with Berlin, such a unique place to live. Dresden is beautiful.

Don't miss on Slovenia either. It's a beautiful country. Ljubljana is a small but really nice capital. Maribor is the European capital of Culture 2012.

Croatia isnt only Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian coast has to be wonderful, Zagreb seems like a very interesting city. I will check that all out in the fall.

From Nice to Lisbon there is sooo many great things to see.

Marseille goes without explanation, Nîmes (Roman history), Montpellier is a nice student city and a good place to relax in the Camargue or its beaches for a bit ( or go hiking for day trips, e.g. St. Guilhereme le Désert, Lac de Salagou) I used to live in Montpellier and really enjoyed my time there, Narbonne (more Roman history), Minerve and other rememnants of the pays cathare, Côte Vermeille (so beautiful, kinda lost a part of my heart to that area, hiking from Collioure to Portbou, but its also beautiful by bus or car on the coastal highway),Figueras (Dali's birth and deathplace with his museum, which is so unique, its probably one of the best museums I ever visited), Barcelona (such a terrific city), Madrid and Salamanca, or if you go the other way from Languedoc to Carcassone (the ultimate castle thing in France? though its a reconstruction..), Toulouse (la ville rose, not so much going on in the nights, at least, when I was there in the winter, however a beautiful place), Albi (beautiful little place, a reminder of the power of the church back in the days), Bordeaux, Biarritz, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid, Salamanca.

2

Katowice only because it is nearby to Auschwitz - only using it as a base to get to/from Auschwitz. I have a number of reasons for choosing various cities for example have already done Berlin/Dresden, Marseille and much of France as well as Slovenia. Travelling direct from Nice to Lisbon as have limited time.

3

Timing is an issue. You are only allowed 90 days in the Schengen zone before having to leave for 90 days. Now, those are the technical rules, but i have never personally been challenged on it. I have both stayed longer than 90 days and reentered in under 90 days without the batting of an eyelid.

4

okay, but you can go from Kraków to Auschwitz as well and additionally soak up the spirit of the city.

5

Yes I was aware of the Schengen zone situation however a number of Eastern countries and Switz aren't included as the Schengen zones I believe. Also neither is Morocco and Egypt which we plan to visit. How far from Krakow to Auschwitz?

6

Sorry that is not true anymore

Switzerland as well as most of the other Continental European countries are part of the Schengen zone.

Countries that are not part are
Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia (and Kosovo), Montenegro, Albania, Turkey, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, United Kingdom, Ireland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

but well you'll manage to spend one month outside the Schengen area

Train from Kraków to Auschwitz is 1 h 40, costs 4 Euros. There are certainly also a lot of Busses.

7

I agree about basing yourself in Krakow for Auschwitz. Its only a short hop and Krakow is a fantastic lively city.

8

Great thanks, will look a bit more into Krakow then.

9

You won't regret choosing Krakow over Katowice, for one it is much easier to visit Auschwitz from there, for seconds it is a much more beautiful city. Katowice is, erm, alright I guess, not what most would call a destination in itself.

10

My experience of Katowice stems from my former better half booking us flights with Wizzair to Krakow/Katowice airport, bit cheeky of the airline in my opinion given that Katowice airport isn't that close to Katowice, let alone Krakow. The night before that flight reminded me why I normally don't leave travel arrangements to others. Ha ha.

11

Yeah. Why don't you use your bike and save a lot more money?

12

#11

Always an option but it was February and for me the snow in that neck of the woods is a little think for biking it.

13

Hi....
What mode(s) of transport do you intend using?

14

#11 Meant thick not think by the way. Oops.