Pieskowa skala castle and czestochowa including the black madonna day tour from krakow

Follow the Eagles Nest Trail to Czestochowa to see the "Black Madonna", a Gothic painting of Our Lady at the monastery of Jasna Gora. Returning to Krakow you will stop at the Renaissance Castle in Pieskowa Skala which is home to the Museum of the National Wawel Art Collections.

In the city of Czestochowa is Poland's national shrine and the icon which has drawn pilgrims from across the globe for centuries.

The monastery of Jasna Gora is home to the miraculous "Black Madonna", a Gothic painting of Our Lady, which after Rome, Lourdes and Mecca makes Czestochowa one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the world today. Your visit to the monastery includes the Miraculous Picture Chapel and the Basilica.

Also, you can visit the 600th-Anniversary Museum, the Arsenal and the Treasury on your own, if you wish, while others on the tour have a break for lunch and buying souvenirs.

Your journey back to Krakow takes you along the Eagles Nests Trail, an historic strategic system of watchtowers and castles. Today most of these are in ruins. However, not all of them have been destroyed completely and you will see some that have managed to endure the rigors of time.

On the way back from Czestochowa there will be stop over in Pieskowa Skala to visit a well-preserved Renaissance Castle along the Eagle Nests Trail. High on a cliff over the valley of the Pradnik river, this 14th century fortification was rebuilt in the 16th century as a Renaissance residence. Today it is home to the Museum of the National Wawel Art Collections.