PRAGUE: I have to admit that I have not spent much extended time in Prague. I am grateful, thought, for the opportunity to experience the city under the communist regime — not, of course, for the lunacy of communism, but because I experienced the city before it was transformed into some form of twisted baroque Disneyland. There were few ‘Westies’ as they called them in Prague in 1985, my first visit, and it was difficult to figure out if a beer hall served food.

• U Rudolfina – one of the few remaining traditional Czech pubs. Don’t worry that there is no English menu. If an English menu is offered, run away!
• Don Giovanni Puppet Show. Find it in the Old Town. Yes, seriously – you will have fun! As the street leaflet says: “Not to see Don Giovanni is not to see Prague.”

• Some advice from a local: “Never, ever, ever buy tickets for classical music performances on the street. You will be cheated.”