What's wrong with the old Prague?

Bratislava, Krakow, Riga, Vilnius, it's practically impossible to keep track of the number of places which have been named the 'New Prague' by travel writers and friends alike over the past few years.

In our quest to find a gem of a city which boasts incredible value for money alongside rich culture, heritage and an all-round good time while also being largely free of tourists, our collective web has been cast steadily further afar from the Czech capital.

Take a trip to the city over the Easter or summer holidays and it's easy to understand why.

As well as the splendid Charles Bridge, medieval castle and narrow streets of the Old Town, Prague also teems with stag-night parties drunkenly stumbling from pub to strip club, not to mention endless streams of tourists clogging up Wenceslas Square and pushing hotel and restaurant prices up.

However, a visit outside of these peak times allows travellers to see what the original fuss was about.

Given that we live in a nation largely starved of good weather, those of us who do take a holiday in the winter understandably head south for a spot of winter sun, with the beaches and Red Lion pubs of Tenerife and the Canary Islands generally full year-round.

This means that flights eastwards are even cheaper, hotels are crying out for business and it's possible to stroll around one of the world's finest cities at a leisurely pace without having to worry about getting in the way of tour groups or stressed-out locals.

Though the usual tourist shops are open and trying to bring in the customers even in sub-zero temperatures, simply taking one road either side of the main thoroughfares can bring some pleasant surprises.

Most special of all is the Mala Strana district near to the dominating castle, the home of artists and the bohemian classes for centuries.

Here the prices of Prague of old are still very much in evidence, with locally-produced and completely unique arts and crafts on offer for a small fraction of the cost of the equivalent in London or Paris.

For the city's best kept secrets, it's best not to follow the tourists' gaze upwards to the spires and stunning architecture of the townhouses or numerous churches but to look downwards into the cellars housing the bars and restaurants where you're more likely to find a tourist as an over-priced gastropub.

These cavernous venues, remnants of the Middle Ages when residents decided to move a storey up to escape the incessant flooding of the Vltava River, nearly all boast impossibly large collections of beer, served on sturdy wooden tables along with local delicacies such as sausages and cabbage and stew.

Taking a seat in the corner, reading Kafka and sipping on fine wine and cheap Czech lager, it’s clear that there's no need to look for the new Prague as the old one's just fine as it is.