Amsterdam

No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without the mandatory voyeuristic walk through the "red light" district. You are confronted with a bewildering assortment of "cafes" (marijuana dens), brothels, strip shows, drug vendors, condomerie and, just like Soho, oriental restaurants...along with the inevitable, lost in translation, unintentional jokes.

You have to question their collective sanity in their endless bid to indulge in the bizarre and deviant. No sooner do they legalise some vice or other, than they feel the desperate urge for something even more pointless, dangerous or socially provocative.

What exactly is the point of a night club where the music is so loud that you have to wear ear defenders?

Probably the most dangerous thing in the city, however, is not the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, drug or alcohol poisoning or cultural overload. No, the most likely cause of premature death or serious injury are cyclists who assume they have right of way at all times, unlike motorists who are generally reluctant to run down pedestrians for fear of losing their no-claims bonus. They plough unhesitatingly through careless jay walkers or those unaware of pavement etiquette with a blithe disregard for life or limb...you have been warned; their approach is silent, fast and lethal!

I first visited in 1975 on my Interail tour of Europe and it remains a backpacker's paradise. Great museums and art galleries, parks to sleep in, cheap and interesting food and, for those so inclined, sensual temptations on a plate.