Belarus offers visitors the chance to experience a lighter feel of ex-Soviet cities, with the capital exuding cosmopolitan, bright feeling at complete odds with the normal grey and dull Soviet cities elsewhere. Tourism in the country is a growing marketand there are certainly enough natural sights alongside the man made ones to keep any explorer on their toes.

Minsk was rebuilt almost entirely after the Red Army recaptured (and destroyed) it in 1944, so as a result the city is more or less totally Soviet in style – but as mentioned, this feel is a lot lighter than in other former Soviet cities and may be something to do with to complete planning as opposed to how in other cities the Soviet ideas were shoehorned in. Museums such as the National Museum of Belarusian History and Culture prove popular and enlightening, helping to show how the city developed and was destroyed over the centuries. There are areas still standing from before the war, including a few 17th century buildings and the suburb of Troitskoye Predmestye, which gives an idea of how Minsk used to look. Discos, bars, restaurants and music venues are scattered through the city and a number of top class theatre, ballets and operas can also be visited.

Elsewhere is the city of picturesque Hrodna, the town of Brest and its magnificent fortress, the village of Zhirovitsa and the amazing Monastery of the Assumption and a whole host of other delights including; the Nature Reserve of Berezinsky; Kamenets Tower; the national park of Belovezhskaya Pushcha; and the Dudutki Museum of Material Culture, amongst others.

Skiing, skating and hiking are all popular pastimes in the country, and the sports facilities in Minsk are of a very good quality thanks to the Olympics being held in the city in 1980.