Cities most worth visiting in 'Eastern' Europe?

PoppyTaylor

Wow Barny1979 , you're definitely well-travelled! Several of the cities you suggested are on our shortlist so I'm glad to hear you recommend them, thank you.

CKhalvashi

benjus wrote: »

I've only been to Kiev/Kyiv with work, but I've had a bit of time to explore the city and I'd say it's definitely worth a visit.

Lviv is well worth a visit too, and it's going to be either that or Kyiv that I use as a staging post (for cheap flights) for a trip for work later this year.



Georgia is lovely too (if not too far East for you). There are flights from £50-ish (£35-ish with frequent flier discount which costs !!!8364;30 a year for a couple) return with Wizzair at the moment from Luton (03:00 arrival), and a well organised bus service from Kutaisi to Tbilisi (4 hours, company is called Georgian Bus) from which the whole country is accessible easily. The 3am arrival time isn't as bad as it sounds as it's possible to sleep on the flight and the bus, giving you an extra day without paying for accommodation. Sadly you lose this on the way back unless you finish in the West of the country.

Photo is the first city outside Tbilisi, on the outskirts

MothballsWallet

eDicky wrote: »

If you want really 'Eastern' and are feeling adventurous, how about Kalmykia, the only Buddhist country in Europe. (Russian visa required.)

If you need a Russia visa now, bank on needing an extra day's annual leave to go for the biometrics - Moscow under Putin did a tit for tat response to everyone else doing it.

There are only 3 centres in the UK - London Embassy (they have a reputation already for long queues and rejecting applications when everything is correct), Edinburgh (I've only ever once had a problem with that Consulate and that was them not stamping the photo on the old style visa) and Manchester (I've no experience with this centre).

TheRevJimJones

If you are talking "east of Germany" and you want to avoid the overly touristed places (Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Dubrovnik, Tallinn et al) then I'd recommend the following (all really easily accessible):

Bratislava - Solvakia, short hop from Vienna
Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo - Bulgaria
Riga - Latvia
Mostar - Bosnia
Ljubljana - Solvenia

If you want more of a challenge but want to see some places that fewer tourists visit then I'd definitely recommend:
Odessa - Ukraine
Brest - Belarus
Minsk - Belarus
Chisinau - Moldova

and if you really want to push the envelope then head to Tiraspol in Transnistria. Last bastion of Soviet-style Marxist-Leninism (albeit with a menacing gangster undertone). It's a fascinating place, short on tourist sights but an amazing experience (if you can get out again, that is!)

PoppyTaylor

Wow CKhalvashi, Lviv looks lovely. And no, Georgia isn't too far east for us and those flight prices make it even more tempting to visit! Thank you!

PoppyTaylor

Thank you TheRevJimJones ! We hadn't really thought about Moldova but now we will definitely take a look now. We are thinking about extending our trip so we can head as far east as possible and do places like that!

andrewf75

One no-one has mentioned yet is Tirana, would highly recommend Albania.

Sarajevo probably my favourite having done a lot in the region

CKhalvashi

Just to reignite this thread as it seems appropriate.

Wizzair have 20% off all flights if booked before 10:59pm

Shikakui

In Slovenia: Ljubljana, Lake Bled
In Romania: Sibiu, Brasov
In Macedonia: Ohrid

Red-Squirrel_2

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Ljublana, Slovenia.

Another vote for Ljubljana, lovely city, very safe and peaceful and very easy to get out into the Slovenian countryside and see Lake Bled, the Julian Alps etc etc.