Central Europe Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Central Europe is the name of the region which encompasses the countries in the center of Europe. These are the German-speaking countries and those Warsaw Pact member states that have then joined the European Union.
Countries
Cities
Central Europe has some of the oldest and best preserved cities on the continent. Below is a list of ten of the most notable:
- Berlin — Germany's capital, which was divided during the Cold War, has been an important cultural center and an area of rapid development since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- Budapest — Hungary's capital has a wealth of grand architecture and one of the oldest metro systems.
- Gdańsk — A beautiful Gothic and baroque city with a lot of sights. In the 16th century, it was one of the biggest cities in Europe.
- Geneva — Francophone Switzerland's urban center and home of international agencies like the Red Cross and the United Nations.
- Kraków — Poland's beautiful second city is famed for its charming mediaeval architecture
- Munich — Bavaria's capital is a gateway to the Alps but is best known for Oktoberfest, a beer festival and one of the world's greatest parties.
- Prague — The capital of Czech Republic is one of Europe's most attractive cities and an expatriate melting pot.
- Vienna — Austria's elegant imperial capital has countless Classicist sights.
- Warsaw — Poland's political and cultural center.
- Zurich — The lakeside financial center in Switzerland.
Other destinations
- Dresden — Old, baroque city center, beautiful nature, vibrant nightlife, great festivals.
- Ljubljana — Slovenia's pictureque capital.
- Toruń — A city where an enormous amount of Gothic buildings has been preserved.
- Tatra Mountains — A beautiful and unspoilt mountain range with the peak point of 2600 meters above the sea level.
Understand
Ethnically different, the countries of Central Europe share similar culture and history throughout the ages.
Talk
German has the largest number of native speakers in the region and is the official language of Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein as well as the dominant language in most regions of Switzerland. Czech and Slovak languages are very closely related and are quite similar to each other. Polish is the dominant language in all regions of Poland. In addition to German, French and Italian are also spoken by the majority in several regions of Switzerland. Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages for other Europeans, as it originates from a different language family.
Finding people conversant in English is not a problem in most regions of Central Europe, especially not in the Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. In Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic English is widely spoken in the bigger cities and by most younger people; German is also spoken and understood by many people in these countries.
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