Eastern Europe and Russia is an up and coming tourist zone, after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the democratisation of the late 80s and 90s. This month's poll asked you: where do you most want to go in Eastern Europe?
A clear poll winner with more than 40% of the vote was a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. My personal favourite is to start in the far east of Russia at Vladivostok, and travel west: it's the least popular tourist route, and gives you the most chance to meet interesting locals. But starting out in Moscow and deviating into Mongolia and China is another journey which is hard to beat.
With the growth of budget airlines across Europe and the subsequent popularity of short city breaks, it's not a surprise that the next most popular option, receiving almost 30% of the votes, is to head to a city like Prague or St Petersburg. Whether a three-day weekend or a proper week or two of exploring, cities like these have endless attractions to discover. Museums and monuments have all kinds of hidden treasures and the contrast between old buildings and newer socialist-era constructions has an extra layer of interest for visitors.
Third place in our poll went to beach-lovers, with a quarter of the votes going to a stint on the Croatian coast. With its clear waters, islands both tiny and large, and friendly summer attitude, the advertising campaign describing Croatia as "the Mediterranean as it once was" is very fitting.
A region as big as Eastern Europe and Russia is naturally full of contrasts and choosing a destination isn't easy. Keep following the articles in this topic to learn about even more fascinating corners of this lesser-known but highly accessible region of the world.
