Paris
Eurostar from £75 return
Hotel accommodation at Jardin de Paris from £20.50 pppn
The capital and gem in France's tourist crown, Paris is the place travel clichés were born. As a result, visitors often arrive all moist and runny with giddy expectations of grand vistas and romance along the Seine, of haughty folk in cafes monologuing on the use of garlic or the finer points of Jerry Lewis. True, you can usually find whatever you expect or hope to discover. But another approach is to set aside your preconceptions of Paris and simply explore the city's avenues and backstreets as if the tip of the Eiffel Tower or the spire of Notre Dame weren't about to pop into view.

Amsterdam
Flights with KLM from £90 return
Dorm accommodation at the Flying Pig Downtown from £15pppn
Amsterdam is one of the world's great hangouts, where you can immerse yourself in history, art, the head of a beer and a self-rolled smokestack. The city is a canny blend of old and new: radical squatter art installations hang off 17th-century eaves, BMWs give way to bicycles and triple-strength monk-made beer is served in steel and glass 'grand cafés'. Amsterdam combines a huge case of big-city exuberance with small-town manageability; it doesn't take much more than chaining your bike to a bridge to feel like you've got a handle on the place (though make sure it's a strong chain – 180,000 bicycles were stolen in Amsterdam in 1999).

Dublin
Flights with British Midland from £104 return
Dorm accommodation at Avalon House from £8pppn
The Republic's capital, and its largest and most cosmopolitan city, Dublin makes a fine introduction to the country. It's a curious and colourful city of fine Georgian buildings, tangible literary history and extremely welcoming pubs, all on a scale that's very human. The city is bisected by the River Liffey, and is bounded to the north and south by hills. Most of the sights of interest are located south of the Liffey, which unlike most city rivers, is a rural-looking stream with real fish living in it. The area to the north of the Liffey may be more run down than the south, but, according to Roddy Doyle, it's got more soul.