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I fear that Vilnius may be destined to follow Dublin, Amsterdam and Prague onto the list of beautiful historic cities bedevilled by British stag-weekenders. The British press has recently featured horror stories of hordes of beery Brits descending on these cities for booze and sex weekends. It would be a pity if, having rid itself of the Communists from the East, Vilnius allows itself to be swamped by these barbarians from the West. But the writing may already be on the wall. Seedy strip dens are reportedly opening up at a rate of two a month in Vilnius and a number of specialist tour operators now cater solely for this insalubrious side of the tourism which is worth over £300 million in UK alone, afflicting resorts such as Blackpool, Brighton and Tenby. We are warned that having flooded Prague with such visitors they are now looking further afield and casting speculative eyes on Vilnius; Riga, the beautiful capital of neighbouring Latvia and Estonia's Tallin. One operator to the Baltic offers weekenders "amazing nightlife, fantastic cheap local beer and the most stunning-looking women on the Continent". An added bonus, (not mentioned), is the price of vodka in Estonia: just over $1 a litre!

If you wish to enjoy the beauties of the Baltic States and their stunning capital cities without being bothered by the excesses of staggering Brit weekenders, I suggest you look at the website of the specialist UK operator Kirker. An interesting alternative option is a Baltic cruise with just 650 fellow passengers on the four-star ship . This calls at Riga and Tallin, as well as taking in Scandinavian capitals and allowing two days to see St. Petersburg. The cruise is accompanied by members of the BBC History Magazine and Sir Edmund Hillary KG.

Unlike Prague in the neighbouring Czech Republic, Slovakia's historic capital Bratislava is mercifully free of the dread stag-weekenders. Both SkyEurope and Austrian Airlines now run daily flights there ex London. The enchanting Old Town is now coming into its own summer bloom as the warmth brings out the café tables and customers onto the traffic free old streets. This is surely a perfect venue for a romantic weekend break, taking in perhaps a night at the opera or ballet and some fine dining in the town's many attractive restaurants.

The delights of Bratislava are well catered for by specialist operator History in Harmony operating in association with

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