Top Ten Attractions
-
OldTown (Stare Mesto)
Prague’s charming mediaeval district. Contains the Old Town Square and the astronomical clock.
-
Prague Castle (Prazsky hrad)
Looking over the city from a hilltop on the west bank of the Vltava river. Contains St Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane and the old Royal Palace. http://www.prague.cz/prague-castle
-
Charles Bridge (Karluv most)
The main link between the two banks of the river for over 500 years. Peppered with Baroque statues and thronged with tourists, street vendors and artists. http://www.pragueexperience.com
-
The Jewish Quarter (Josefov)
Near the Old Town Square, this area dates back to the 13th century, and contains one of the best museums of its kind in the world. http://www.pragueexperience.com
-
Church of Our Lady Before Tyn (Chram Matky bozi pred Tynem)
A Gothic structure situated across from the Old Town Hall in the heart of Stare Mesto, distinguished by its twin towers that dominate the surrounding landscape. http://www.tynska.farnost.cz
-
Municipal House (Obecni dum)
The most remarkable Art Nouveau building in the Czech Republic – home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra, a gallery and three restaurants. http://www.obecnidum.cz
-
St Nicholas’s Church (sv Mikulas)
Easily the most magnificent Gothic building in the city, with an impressive dome and bell tower. Mozart is said to have played the organ here during a visit. http://www.pis.cz/en/prague/monuments/st_nichol...
-
Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske namesti)
More like a long boulevard, this is the heart of the New Town (Nove Mesto), the bustling centre of the city in general and the scene of many of the biggest events in recent Czech history. http://www.pragueexperience.com/places
-
Dancing House (Tancici dum)
Also known as Fred and Ginger after the shape of the building’s two towers which look like a couple ballroom dancing. http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/dancinghouse
-
Letna Park
Situated on a plateau above Prague, this is the city’s largest expanse of greenery and incorporates a giant metronome on the site where Stalin’s statue once stood. http://www.radio.cz/en/article/77593
Eating and Drinking
The good news is that you can eat and drink very cheaply in Prague: the food is filling and the beer flows freely. The choice of places to eat has improved steadily over the past ten years. Why, you can spend a whole week eating out and never encounter a dumpling! There’s a range of restaurants serving everything from sushi to Afghan cuisine. Pizza parlours have become especially popular. The division between cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants is difficult to draw in Prague. Most are there primarily to serve you food, but some will have a bar area where you can simply have a drink. Beware of extras: you will often be faced with a cover charge for bread, music and for everything you touch … including the almonds you thought were courtesy of the house. Waiter service is the norm, even in pubs. Czech beer is inexpensive and highly thought-of (perhaps the main reason why Prague is now the destination of choice for young Brits staging pre-wedding bachelor weekends). The most famous brew is Pilsner Urquell, known to the Czechs as Plzensky Prazdroj, which originates from Plzen (Pilsen), a city about 50 miles south-west of Prague. However, do not hesitate to explore a bit as breweries are popping up throughout the country, elevating beer drinking to an art comparable to wine tasting.
Insider info: The Pivni Galerie (Beer Gallery) located at U Pruhonu 9, Praha 7, presents the Czech art of brewing in the broadest sense, offering over a 180 different types of Czech beers.
Shopping
Few people come to Prague exclusively to shop, although for the passing tourist there are bargains in goods like glass, ceramics, cutlery and wooden toys. The backstreets of Little Quarter (Mala Strana) and Old Town (Stare Mesto) are good for finding interesting little shops, while Praguers do most of their shopping in New Town (Nove Mesto, particularly in the old-fashioned covered passage (pasaze) on and around Wenceslas Square, or in one of the city’s brand new shopping malls. Antique shops and secondhand junk shops were popular even in Communist times and bric-a-brac outlets can be found all over Prague. Also, there are shops selling glass (sklo) everywhere. For folk arts and crafts, look no further than the Havelska market, which also has food and flowers - it’s open every day. For most basic goods, you’re best off heading for a department store (obchodni dum), which will stock most things including toiletries, stationery and usually an extensive food and drink selection. Try Kotva at Republiky 8, Nove Mesto (metro: Namesti Republiky) or Tesco at Narodni 26, Nove Mesto (metro: Narodni).
Night Life
Apart from the popular pubs, Prague has a handful of half-decent clubs at which local DJs, and the occasional international one, perform. There are also a few good one-off raves during the year (a case of scouring the fly-posters scattered around). Many clubs double as live music venues and a surprising array of world music bands find their way to Prague along with a regular supply of big names from the US and UK. Drink prices in clubs are inevitably higher than in the pubs, but the cost of entry to most late-night places is negligible. The larger live venues include Abaton www.prostorabaton.cz and Lucerna www.lucpra.com while among the popular smaller clubs are Akropolis www.palacakropolis.cz, Duplex www.duplexduplex.cz and Futurum www.musicbar.cz. Prague has a small, but burgeoning gay and lesbian scene.
To find out the latest on up-and-coming events, check the listings section in Prague Post (www.praguepost.com) or the Czech listings monthly Culture in Prague (Ceska kultura). www.ceskakultura.cz
