Prague

The 14th-century stone bridge lined with blackened baroque saints, linking the old town to the castle over the Vltava. Unbearable by day — so go at dawn or after midnight, when it's just you, the statues and the spires in the mist.

The largest ancient castle complex in the world, crowning the hill — a thousand years of Czech power around the soaring Gothic cathedral of St Vitus. Go up for the cathedral and the view over the red roofs; the grounds are free.

The medieval heart — pastel facades, the twin Gothic towers of the Týn Church, and the 600-year-old astronomical clock whose figures parade on the hour. The single most beautiful square in Central Europe.

The old Jewish town — a handful of ancient synagogues and the extraordinary Old Jewish Cemetery, its headstones stacked twelve deep, a moving record of one of Europe's oldest Jewish communities. One combined ticket covers them.

Less a square than a grand boulevard, watched over by the mounted statue of St Wenceslas and the National Museum — the stage for the Velvet Revolution. Come for the weight of the past century; stay for the sausage stands.

The green hill above Malá Strana, up by funicular through orchards to a mini-Eiffel lookout with the best view over the whole city and its hundred spires. A rose garden, a mirror maze and a break from the crowds; lovely at sunset.

Beer is the national religion, brewed better and poured cheaper here than anywhere — a half-litre of ice-cold Pilsner costs less than water. Find an old-school pivnice, order by holding up fingers, and eat goulash or svíčková with it.

Two breathtaking baroque library halls above the castle, frescoed ceilings over walls of gilded old books — one of the most beautiful rooms in the world, with a monastery brewery next door for the reward. Peaceful, and often missed.

Frank Gehry's playful riverside building, a glass tower that seems to sway into its stone partner — nicknamed 'Fred and Ginger'. A jolt of the modern among the baroque, with a rooftop bar for the view along the Vltava.

The little island under Charles Bridge — a mill wheel, a park, giant crawling-baby sculptures, and round the corner the ever-changing graffiti of the Lennon Wall, a Cold War symbol of free speech. The prettiest slow wander in Malá Strana.

The other castle — an ancient hilltop fort south of the centre, wrapped in ramparts around a neo-Gothic church and the cemetery where the greats of Czech culture lie. Local, uncrowded, with a glorious walk along the walls above the river.

This is Mozart's and Dvořák's city, and music pours out of it — a candlelit recital in a baroque church, or a night at the ornate Estates Theatre where Don Giovanni premiered. Cheap tickets, sublime settings; an easy, magical evening.

Hearty and unfussy — svíčková (beef in creamy root sauce with dumplings), goulash in a bread bowl, roast pork with sauerkraut, and a sweet trdelník to finish. Filling, cheap, and made for the cold and the beer beside it.

The revitalised embankment along the Vltava — Saturday farmers' markets, cellar bars built into the old ice vaults, and boats and deckchairs where locals drink into the evening. The city's favourite warm-weather hangout, barely a tourist in sight.

A night out in Žižkov is the real Prague after dark — dive pubs, cellar clubs and cheap beer with no dress code and no closing time, all within a stumble of each other. Skip the tourist-trap old-town clubs; this is where the city drinks.