Białystok, Poland

Białystok is the largest city in the Podlasie region of northeast Poland, with roughly 298,000 residents. It is the birthplace of Ludwig Zamenhof, who created the international language Esperanto in 1887. The 18th-century Branicki Palace, often called the "Versailles of Poland," now houses the Medical University, while the 1753 city hall anchors Kościuszko Market Square. Sixty kilometers east lies the Białowieża Primeval Forest, home to Europe's largest free-ranging herd of European bison.