Bialystok

Białystok is a city of 296000 inhabitants in northeastern Poland, 50km from the border to Belarus. It is the capital of the Podlasie province. Białystok dates back to 1320, when a settlement was founded in the area. It was granted city rights in 1692 by Polish King John III Sobieski. Between 1691 and 1697 the Branicki palace was built.
During World War II Białystok was to a large extent destroyed and later rebuilt.
The Branicki palace was developed by Jan Klemens Branicki, a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth military commander. It includes a palace complex and a large palace garden with sculptures, pavilions and fountains and was modeled after the Versailles palace in France. The palace nowadays houses a medical university and two museums.
The Białystok cathedral (Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is a Roman Catholic cathedral built in brick Gothic style in 1905.
How to get to Białystok
Białystok has a train station, but no airport. The closest airport is the one in Warsaw, 200km from Białystok. Otherwise it is possible to reach the city by car.
Accommodation
There are a number of hotels and pensions in Białystok, most of them bookable via the international booking portals.