CAPITAL WARSAW - POPULATION 38.5 MILLION - AREA 312,685 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE POLISH
Bydgoszcz, Szczecin, Rzeszow… just three of the unpronounceable places now on the inquisitive traveller's map, thanks to the explosion of low-cost airlines servicing the country. But while Poland lacks vowels, it doesn't lack sights – most in the process of becoming better linked ahead of that big deal, football's Euro 2012. For now, Warsaw's still the place for trendy bar-hopping (though getting pricier) while stunner Krakow is seeing a rise in Jewish tourism (klezmer music and kosher cafes) despite its negligible Jewish population. Weirder wonders beckon: plunge into the Baltic (whatever the weather) with Gdansk's fearless Walrus Club or strike out into Slowinski National Park, one of Europe's only deserts.
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