Belgrade

Belgrade is probably one of your last chances to explore an aged European centre without the nagging suspicion you're following a tourism fad.

Not as fashionable or as well known as its sister cities of Budapest or Prague, the Serbian and national capital just doesn't get the same volume of visitors.

Which merely means its enchanting setting, eccentric nightlife and gregarious, good-humoured locals are that much easier for you to enjoy at your leisure. Besides, Belgrade is always something of an adventure.

Set among hills alongside the Sava and Danube rivers, the city is watched over by the 17th-century Kalemegdan Citadel, which comes complete with a very convivial park. Next door is the medieval Old Town, sliced by Kneza Mihaila, a bustling coffee-fragranced pedestrian boulevard.

Great museums and galleries dot the area, but whatever you dip into don't miss the quirky Balkan-style palace, Princess Ljubica's Konak.

Other must-dos are a visit to the 19th-century cobbled bohemian quarter, Skadarlija (a great place to sample tasty local dishes) and the charming old suburb of Zemen, for its market squares and fish-restaurant barges.

Come sunset, and you might be in for a surprise. Far from being provincial or tame, Belgrade's after-dark attire is glitzy, with venues splashed all over town.

Bars and clubs range from the cosmopolitan to the super-trendy to the plain bizarre: if you want to dance the night away in an old synagogue, a fortress, a double-decker London bus or even on a raft, you've picked just the place to do it.