It's no struggle to find yourself a beer in Prague. All the Old Town streets are lined with signs for the regular Czech brews: Staropramen, Pilsner Urquell and Budvar. Hell even McDonald’s sells beer here. The challenge in Prague can be finding something outside of these main labels, but head up to the upper, castle side of Petrin Hill and find your way to the ancient (literally, it was founded in 1142) Strahov Monastery complex for a real off-the-beaten-track treat.

The brewery was originally set up by the monks in 1628, but it eventually closed, and after a hundred years of use as farm houses, it was lovingly restored and reopened in 2000. And thank heavens for that, because while its brewery courtyard area might not be much to look at, it's the beers coming out of the mega copper tanks inside that are well worth the trek up Petrin. Their beers are all prepared on site (under the name Pivo St Norbert), and the IPA is fantastic (extra exciting as it's not one of the traditional Czech pilsner styles). Their seasonal beers include a summer Wheat, a dark, non-filtered autumn brew and a special, malty Doppelbock for Christmas drinking.

They also serve up some mega plates of all the Czech favourites (pork knee anyone?), and the best bit is you're unlikely to run into any costume wearing stag-do lads this far from the centre. In summer it can be hard to get a table outside, they're often reserved for Segway riding tour group lunches, but you if you ask nicely you can drink, eat and vacate long before they arrive.