Warsaw

The Praga district is famous for its cafés and bistros, the Warsaw University campus for its rooftop garden and the high-rise district for its modern buildings, including the Norman Foster tower. Post-war architecture buffs won't want to miss the Palace of Culture or the Za Żelazną Bramą district, a 1970s housing estate for 25,000 people that was built on the site of a former Jewish ghetto.

You can cover the 820-kilometre journey to the Polish capital by taking a Czech Railways' night train. They leave every day from Prague at 7:54 p.m. and arrive in Warsaw at 9:04 in the morning, the ideal time for breakfast. The 13-hour journey is most comfortable in the sleeper car, where you have a shower and plenty of privacy - you can choose from a compartment for one to three people. Couchette cars are a somewhat more economical option, for four to six passengers.

Zurich

Often just a starting point for trips to the Alps, Zurich itself is worth a visit as Switzerland's largest city, especially if you love architecture. Sights include the Institute of Law Library by Santiago Calatrava, as well as the extension of the National Museum by the Swiss studio Christ & Gantenbein. Fans of modernism won’t want to miss a stop at the lakeside Pavillon Le Corbusier museum.

Two night trains run from Prague five minutes apart at 6 p.m. The Southern Express takes you to Zurich via Austria, so you can also use it to travel to Salzburg or Innsbruck, arriving at your final destination at 8:20 in the morning. The other option is to take the Nightjet through Germany, which will have you in Zurich at 9:05, unless you get off in Frankfurt or Basel.

Rome

It would take you 15 hours to drive there from Prague. If you'd rather sleep in while you travel thirteen hundred kilometres due south, you'll be interested in what the Austrian ÖBB has to offer. The Nightjet to Italy leaves Vienna at 7:18 p.m. and ends in Rome at 10:04 in the morning. Or, you can get off in Bologna (arrival 5:38) or Florence (6:56). So you can greet the morning with a cup of real espresso.

From Brno it's a short drive to Vienna and from Prague it takes 4 hours to get there using a direct service. You should catch the Italian train if you leave Prague at 2:45 p.m. Or perhaps Venice is more your style? You can take another train from Vienna departing at 9:27 p.m. You’ll arrive in the city on the water at 8:22 a.m., and in Prague you just need to hop on the train at 4:45 p.m.

And what should you not miss in Rome if you want to avoid the well-trodden routes crowded with tourists? Visit the Art Nouveau district, the Olympic Village or the secret skate spot recommended by Adam Gebrian.

Budapest

The Hungarian capital has long been one of the most accessible cities by rail, but making the seven-hour journey there required a certain amount of patience. That's now a thing of the past - in Prague, you can hop onto the train after a late dinner at 10:03 p.m. and you'll be looking out the window at the Danube by 8:29 in the morning.

There, you can follow in the footsteps of Ödön Lechner, the “Hungarian Gaudi”, who left a distinctive mark on Budapest. Although the Hungarian capital, like Prague, is known mainly for its historical sights, you’ll also find some contemporary architecture, such as the House of Music Hungary by the Sou Fujimoto studio, which took part in the competition for the design of the Vltava Philharmonic.

The journey from Austria is not nearly as convenient as a direct service from Prague, but Vienna is literally the gateway to Europe when it comes to night trains. One of the hottest destinations is Paris. Nightjets run there three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:38 p.m. And Central Europeans now love this service - Friday trains are sold out almost two months in advance. Those from the western part of the country may find it more convenient to travel from Munich, where the same train usually stops at 0:12.

You’ll arrive in the French capital at 10:24 a.m. Have you seen the iconic hi-tech Centre Georges Pompidou or the contemporary Philharmonie de Paris by Jean Nouvel's studio? Don't miss the Pavillon Arsenal, the inspiration for the creation of CAMP.