Prague travel info

Stand on Charles Bridge at six in the morning and you understand why Prague ends up on so many postcards. Mist hangs over the Vltava, soot-darkened saints line the parapets, and up on the hill the castle and the spires of St Vitus Cathedral catch the first light. Two hours later the same bridge is wall-to-wall selfie sticks and buskers. This city rewards early risers.

In the Old Town Square a crowd tilts its heads back every hour for the astronomical clock; one lane over, a tram screeches round a cobbled bend. Cross to Malá Strana and baroque roofs stack up the hillside. Head out to Vinohrady or Karlín and you find the everyday Prague: office workers with a lunchtime beer at a pavement table.

And the beer. In a neighbourhood pub half a litre of draught often costs less than bottled water, and the waiter swaps your empty glass for a full one before you've decided you wanted it. Mop up svíčková's creamy root-vegetable sauce with bread dumplings, add a Pilsner with a thick head of foam, and the day's 20,000 steps are forgiven.

Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG)