Prague

Prague rewards travelers who move at two speeds: slow enough to linger over a half-litre of Pilsner in a smoke-stained pub, and quick enough to cross Charles Bridge before the tour groups swallow it whole. The historic core, Staré Město, the Jewish Quarter, Malá Strana under the castle, is gloriously walkable and almost entirely flat until you hit the river's far bank, where the climb to Prague Castle begins. But the city's real texture lives just outside the postcard: leafy Vinohrady with its café terraces and Art Nouveau apartment blocks, and gritty, bar-dense Žižkov, which famously has more pubs per square metre than anywhere in Europe. Czech beer culture is not a cliché here, it is the social infrastructure; a tankový (tank) Pilsner Urquell pulled from unpasteurised tanks is one of the cheapest world-class drinks on the continent, often under 60 CZK. Pace yourself, eat the duck and the svíčková, tip 10 percent, and let the spires do their work.