Having dispensed with their frontier borders and restrictive visa requirements as part of their accession to the EU, all these countries are now open and very welcoming to visitors. And now is the time to go, before they ditch their own currencies to join the sclerotic Euro monetary system and prices sky rocket as in France, Italy, Greece and Spain.
The rapidly expanding no frills section of airline industry has been quick focus on the tourist potential of traffic to the great central European cities now welcoming us, opening up routes to the historic, cultural and gastronomic delights of capital cities Bratislava, (Slovakia), Budapest, (Hungary), Prague, (Czech Republic), and Warsaw, (Poland), from convenient hubs such as London, Amsterdam and Berlin. New European airlines like Bratislava based SkyEurope are in the forefront of this rapid expansion, with daily flights to Bratislava, Budapest and Prague We can soon see cheap flights to Cracow, southern Poland's ancient university town and architectural gem.
The Baltic States are not far behind in the race for a slice of the lucrative tourism cake. Vilnius, the Baroque capital of Lithuania is tipped by many to become a summer hotspot for weekend breaks, (give it a miss in winter unless, like me, you enjoy snowy vistas, -10C temperatures and a dearth of visitors). The city's Old Town is a UNESCO Heritage architectural gem of 18th century Baroque, dating from the time when it was the centre of a powerful empire before it became a part of Czarist Russia in 1795. Go in late May, or June/July when the city is blessed with daylight until 11 pm thanks to its northern latitude.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Stuart Buchanan MacWatt's Europe and North Africa topic, please visit the Discussions page.