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The wooden door looks a bit suspect, but inside is a welcoming beer-and-a-shot neighbour-hood bar. A good place to practise the intricate rituals of absinthe drinking.

Close to 100 billiard, pool and snooker tables, plus four lanes of bowling and two table-tennis sets. Don’t go on Friday or Saturday without making a reservation first. The bar serves drinks, but no food.

You would think drinking and rock climbing would be mutually exclusive activities, but you can do both at this bar and climbing gym. The student crowd is interested primarily in the alcohol.

Franz Kafka, Max Brod and their writer friends used to hold court here. It’s a bright, cheerful place, good for conversation and a bite to eat. At the back is Prague’s classiest pool hall.

This sleek theatre bar fills quickly during intermission and after the curtain has come down. The theatre also hosts English-language readings from time to time.

Students at the Institut Français and other Francophones gather here for coffee, quiche and a read of the French newspapers. The garden is a peaceful spot on sunny days.

Owned by “friends and family” of National Hockey League star Jaromír Jágr, this sports bar has several giant screens, decent food and friendly service.

The granddaddy of Prague’s clubs, the cavernous Lucerna hosts live jazz as well as rock and dance parties, including the ever popular Eighties night.

Billed as Prague’s first New York nightclub, N11 combines a sleek discotheque with good pub-style dining. Open until the early hours of the morning. Strangely, journalists and medical staff receive a 10 per cent discount – the club’s owner is both.