4. Poland's Warsaw and Gdańsk

Warsaw, the heartbeat of contemporary Poland, is gilded with a grand palace, home to a hard-fought 20th-century history, and busy with Chopin concerts. After a stop at the gingerbread bakeries in red-brick Toruń, we ogle the massive Teutonic Knight fortress of Malbork. Finishing in maritime Gdańsk, we experience handsome Hanseatic townhouses, amber jewelry, and stirring Solidarity history.