Poland

Poland delivers grand old towns at half the price of Western Europe. Kraków is the headliner — an intact medieval centre, with Auschwitz an unmissable day trip nearby. Warsaw is the surprise: rebuilt from rubble, now genuinely good for food and nightlife. Gdańsk adds the Baltic coast. Cheap, easy by train, and not yet overrun.

Base yourself in Kraków for three or four days: the Rynek and Kazimierz, pierogi and vodka bars, a sobering day at Auschwitz-Birkenau and another underground at Wieliczka. Then take the train — Warsaw is around two and a half hours, Gdańsk a few more beyond that. Your money goes on almost nothing: dinner with drinks costs a fraction of Paris prices, and decent city-centre hotels stay affordable even in summer.

The drawback is the weather and what sits between the old towns: grey skies much of the year, and communist-era sprawl ringing every historic centre. November through February is dark and cold unless you're coming for Christmas markets. Kraków's main square gets stag-party loud on summer weekends. This is not a trip for beaches or scenery — it's cities, history, and food. But pound for pound, no city break in Europe gives you more.