Welcome to the Mammary Cafe... and other Prague, Czech Republic Off The Beaten Path Tips

Many regular tourists rarely venture beyond the museum...which is a good thing, because all the great pubs and bars of Vinorady and Zizkov get left to the locals and the expats.

Personal favourite is Cafe Popopetl on Italska. Quiet and cool during the day (My office is the far left corner table) they serve reasonably priced Staropramen and the best Sangria in town.

At night it packs out with a young, fresh, studenty crowd...many of which are of the extremely perky female variety. Inoffensive tunes in the background, yards of beer, and a lively, relaxed, chatty atmosphere.

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You'll find Herna Bars all over the city, easily identified by the electronic signs outside counting off the accumulating jackpot for the machines inside.

There's hundreds of them, and they vary little from a traditional set up - fruit machines and cheap beer. They range from tiny little rooms with only a couple of machines and a few stools at the bar, to cavernous gambling halls.

They all have one thing in common - they have virtually nothing to recommend them apart from as a sobering counterpoint to the beauty of the city. They are depressing places where shambling husks of men pump money they can't afford into fruities and spend a couple hours making a beer last. Unless they're there to drown their sorrows, which means all the funds go on beer. Prague isn't just in a snowglobe...

Some also have pool tables, dartboards, and gambling on football matches. They are quiet, desperate places. Go once, just to give yourself a bit of contrast.

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Sometimes when Prague works it's charms on you, it's easy to forget that it's actually part of the real world. You walk around in a dream, where every building is stunning, every beer you drink is better than the last, and each girl is more beautiful and just the right word from bed.

This is another of my 'Contrast' tips. Visit 'Brouk' (Beetle) on Vltavska to realise there are poor, unwashed, bored, disenfranchised youngsters living in this fairytale city.

The place itself is absolutely filthy, with nicotine-yellow walls and busted up old furniture. The clientele are freaky, grungy and sometimes just damn scary looking. But friendly.

They sit there stoned with their beer, listening to children's tunes or watching the Czech X-Factor on the TV over the bar. A real strange, sobering experience - but oddly, not depressing at all!

Without witnessing the bland, boring and downright ugly of Prague, you can't truly appreciate the beauty!

To get there, take Yellow line from Mustek to Andel. Make it over the stoplights and follow Vltavska down past the Caledonian School. Brouk is on your left, and it's very easy to miss.

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