I’m not going to lie to you. In order to take a two-night weekend break for less than £100pp, including flights and hotel, you are almost certainly going to have to go with Ryanair. Or possibly EasyJet. This means bun fights and grumpiness and the long shot of being left stranded and unloved on the wrong side of Europe. Also, you aren’t going to be flying out Friday, back Sunday. It’s much, much cheaper to go Saturday to Monday... so you’ll just have to bunk off work on Monday instead of Friday.

Which is no biggie.

While I’m at it, your hotel will not be five-star. It probably won’t even be three-star. In estate-agent parlance, it is likely to be well located but basic. Because the pound doesn’t go nearly as far on the Continent as it did a year ago.

But, and it’s a big, gyrating, sexy but, you are getting a fabulous long weekend in one of Europe’s great cities for just £100pp. Which is about one-eighth of a pensioner’s gas bill. The hotels might be basic but they’re great value and perfect as a two-night sleep-and-go base... and those Ryanair flights? No problem after a 7am Stansted bloody mary or two. No problem at all.

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Flight prices are for a weekend in November and were readily available at the time of researching, but they fluctuate wildly. See box, right, for tips on getting the best deals

PRAGUE

The cheapest flight: £58pp from East Midlands with Ryanair; £59pp from Bristol with EasyJet.

The cheapest hotel: hotel rates drop with the temperature in Prague, making November a cheap-with-chapstick time to go. If you don’t mind tacky curtains, the newly renovated, 18-room Capri House (00 420-233 379342, www.hotelcapri.cz) is relatively central, being, as it is, a mile from Old Town Square, and has doubles from just £35 a night – leaving you £4pp with which to go crazy. Given how far you’ve flown, consider busting the budget by a whole £13 so you can stay at the charming Pension Vysehrad (241 408455, www.pension-vysehrad.cz; doubles from £54, B&B).

What’s free?The changing of the guard at Prague Castle, at noon, is a laugh. It was introduced after the Velvet Revolution at the request of the new president, Vaclav Havel. The high-kicking outfits were designed by the guy who did the costumes for the film Amadeus, and a Czech pop star did the music. Early-morning Mass at gothic St Vitus’s Cathedral is far less touristy. It starts at 7am during the week in one of the side chapels. You can sneak in at the back and soak up the atmosphere long before the tour parties arrive. When you need a break, escape to Wallenstein Garden, tucked away in the middle of Mala Strana. It’s a vast walled garden with a pretty pond and fountain.

BERGAMO

The cheapest flight: £50pp on the nose from Stansted with Ryanair.

The cheapest hotel: cunningly, we’ve flown with Ryanair to what it calls Milan (Bergamo), which is miles from Milan but only a 15-minute, £1 bus ride to Bergamo, a beautiful walled town that has just the right amount of stuff to see in a weekend. Stay at Ciccio B&B (00 39 33 82 45 05 69, www.cicciobb.com; doubles from £44): Mini-Me lodgings with bright, stylish rooms and a very reasonable taverna attached.

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