Prague

Prague reveals itself in layers, and four days is enough to peel back several. The city survived the twentieth century with its medieval bones intact, which means the Charles Bridge you cross at sunrise looks roughly the same as it did when Mozart walked it. Start in Staré Město, where the Astronomical Clock still draws crowds every hour and the lanes around Týn Church twist toward beer cellars that have been pouring since the 1400s. The Czech koruna stretches further than the euro, and a proper sit-down dinner with two beers rarely breaks 400 CZK.

Cross the river on day two for Malá Strana and the climb to Prague Castle. St. Vitus Cathedral's rose window, the changing of the guard, and the doll-sized cottages of Golden Lane fill a morning. Spend the afternoon in Letná Park with a beer at the garden above the metronome, looking down at the bridges. Day three belongs to the neighborhoods locals actually live in: Žižkov for its absurd bar density and the Soviet-era TV Tower with crawling baby sculptures, or Vinohrady for cafés and Riegrovy Sady's hillside beer garden.

Save day four for Vyšehrad, the quieter fortress south of center, then the Jewish Quarter's six surviving synagogues and the layered headstones of the Old Jewish Cemetery. The Kafka Museum sits nearby if you want context for the city's stranger moods.

Eat svíčková, trdelník if you must, and chlebíčky from Sisters Bistro. Stay in Vinohrady or Holešovice for budget hostels and apartments under $40. Trams and the metro cover everything; skip taxis. Late spring and early autumn dodge both summer crowds and the January freeze.