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New Back Doors

Europe still holds Back Door destinations — off-beat nooks and crannies that are short on crowds and long on culture. Or an activity can be a Back Door: a festival no tourist seems to know about, a sporting event you can join, a local language class. What's your best Back Door discovery or experience?

I want to add my comments! 

Consider Poland!
While many Poles would object to their country being seen as the "back door", for many Americans, it is indeed the perfect "authentic and off-the-beaten path" experience. I heartily recommend visiting Krakow, Warszawa and second the other poster's suggestion that you visit Zakopane. If you go to the Tatry near Zakopane, it's worth hiring a guide to take you to some of the best scenery. However, be advised that it can be much more frustrating to travel in Poland with regards to currency and language barriers - you need to be extra patient and flexible to enjoy your time here.
Melissa <email>
Phoenix, AZ  USA   03/30/2009

Parham Airfield Museum
Parham Airfield Museum in Suffolk, England was wonderful! If you have any relatives who were in the Army Air Corps you will not want to miss this. My dad was actually stationed at Parham and the volunteers made such a fuss over us. http://www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk
Martha <email>
Rockville, MD  USA   03/01/2009

Swiss Trains & Gondolas for Half Price
I did an Italy-Switzerland trip & it was great! I found the worlds' best train deal! Coming from Milan into Brig, you must buy separate tickets for the Swiss trains. Go to the TI in the Brig station, buy a half-price pass for all the Swiss trains. Costs about #100 apiece. Then you can ride all the trains, gondolas, & boats in Switzerland for half price for 2 weeks. Catch is that you need to have at least 3 train days in Switzerland, and you have to know exactly what dates they will be, & you must buy those tix right then. If your itinerary is set, you can do this, and it will save you a ton of money. We saved well over the price of the pass just on gondola tix in Zermatt & Lauterbrunnen.
Carolyn
Layton, UT  USA   02/14/2009