When 10 new countries joined the European Union on Saturday, sights made hard to reach for decades by the Iron Curtain or other political barriers became nearly as accessible as those in Paris or London. Even better, those who make the effort will find that the tour buses that descend all summer on the Louvre, Big Ben and the Vatican have not yet found their way to the wonders of the New Europe. Now is the time to visit.

To be sure, excursions into these unfamiliar parts are likely to pose some challenges. Those of us not versed in Hungarian will have to scramble through a phrasebook to figure out that ordering gombafejek rantva in Budapest will get you a plate of fried mushroom caps. Having just gotten used to the euro, Americans will now have to sort out if 100 Lithuanian litas is a fair rate to pay the taxi driver at the Vilnius airport. It will take several years for the new EU countries to enter the euro zone.

And thank goodness. While the weak dollar has made the more traditional European venues cost-prohibitive for some travelers, the new countries are far more affordable. The Hungarian Flexipass, for example, offers five days of first-class train travel through Hungary for $76. A double room in the Telecom Guest House in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius goes for $43 a night, including a bear-size breakfast. And a mug of beer and a heaping platter of Polish sausages, potatoes and vegetables at Chimera, a festive restaurant in the Polish city of Krakow, goes for $8.

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