Europe Travel Guides

Points of interest

Akropolis Café-Restaurant

A Žižkov institution, this eccentric cafe features quirky light fittings and the work of local artist František Skála. The menu has a good selection of vegetarian dishes, from nachos to gnocchi, plus great garlic soup, searingly hot buffalo wings and steak tartare. Kids are welcome - you'll find toys and colouring books (though it can get a bit smoky).

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Petřín Hill

Most attractions atop this lookout point were built in the late 19th to early 20th century, creating a slightly innocent, fun-fair atmosphere. The huge stone fortifications that run from Újezd to Strahov, cutting across Petřín's peak, are different. This so-called Hunger Wall was built in 1362 under Charles IV, constructed by the city's poor in return for food under an early job-creation scheme.

Once upon a time the hill was draped with vineyards, and you can still see the quarry that provided stone for most of Prague's Romanesque and Gothic buildings. Just south of the cable car terminus is Stefanik Observatory, where anyone can enjoy an enhanced view of a clear and starry night. North of the terminus on the summit is Petřín Tower, a 62m-high copy of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1891 Prague Exposition. You can climb its 299 steps for a small fee. On a clear day you'll be able to take in sublime views of the central Bohemian woodlands.

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Franz Kafka Museum

Don't be deterred by the Oedipus-complex psychobabble at the start of this modern museum. Go with the flow. Enjoy the trippy movie about Prague, the exhibits that curve through translucent netting, the rows of filing cabinets, a claustrophobic, strobe-lit section and original documents and photos. Although some call it pretentious and it's more fulfilling for speakers of Kafka's native German, no serious fan will want to miss this.

Does it vividly portray the claustrophobic bureaucracy and atmosphere of brooding menace that characterised Kafka's world? Or is it a load of pretentious old bollocks? You decide.

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Prague Castle

With a magnificent clifftop outlook, a 1000-year-old history going back to a simple walled-in compound in the 9th century, and a breathtaking scale that qualifies it as the biggest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle is the indisputable centrepiece of the Czech capital. Spend at least half a day in awe here.

Prague Castle (Pražský Hrad, or just Hrad to the Czechs) claims its 'largest' title with the following figures: 570m long, an average of 128m wide and 7.28 hectares of land. The castle has been the seat of Czech government since Prince Bořivoj founded the first fortified settlement here in the 9th century, though president Václav Havel chose to live in his smaller (and less touristy) home on the outskirts of the city. Some of the complex's highlights, like the Spanish Hall and Rudolf Gallery, are only open one Saturday a year (usually in early May). The rest of the castle's collection of architectural and artistic marvels, created over the course of the last millennium, is on display.

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Charles Bridge

Big plans are afoot for the most popular thoroughfare across the Vltava River, connecting Malá Strana and Staré Město. A 100-million Koruna renovation of the 650-year-old stone bridge began in 2007 and might run into 2008. During work, either the left or right side will be roped off at any one time, creating an even tighter bottleneck.

When a flood consumed the Judith Bridge in 1357, work immediately began on another bridge across the Vltava. Completed in 1402, Charles Bridge (Karlův most) was the only structure spanning the river for 460-odd years. Spanning 520m, the sandstone edifice named Stone Bridge didn't become Charles Bridge until 1870. Apart from the towers at either end, the bridge is lined with statues and monuments, the oldest and most popular being the statue of St John of Nepomuk, the Czech patron saint, who was thrown into the Vlatva by bad King Wenceslas IV in 1393.

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Malá Strana

Malá Strana (the Small Quarter) clusters around the foot of Prague Castle. Most visitors pass through on steep Royal Way, as they climb to the castle, but the narrow side streets of this baroque quarter are worth examining. Almost too picturesque for its own good, the district is now a favourite for movie and commercial sets.

Malá Strana started up in the 8th or 9th centuries as a market settlement, and was chartered in 1257 by Premysl Otakar II. Its castle-front location has long attracted visitors, friends and foes alike: It was all but destroyed in the Hussite wars of 1419. Charming churches and palaces in the area date from the 17th and 18th centuries, with Renaissance facades that were later 'baroquified'.

Dominating the quarter is St Nicholas Church, not to be confused with the eponymous chapel on Old Town Square. This exquisite building, with its huge green cupola, houses the largest fresco in Europe, Johann Kracker's 1770 {Life of St Nicholas.}

Also fine for strolling are the grounds of Wallestein Palace, where summer concerts are often held, and quiet Vojan Park, established in 1248.

Palírna Igor Sevčík

If you're keen to try slivovice (plum brandy), there's no better place to start than this cafe-cum-wine bar. A temple to the fiery spirit, it stocks more than a dozen varieties, as well as jablkovice (apple brandy), hruškovice (pear brandy), meruňkovice (apricot brandy) and a range of Moravian wines.

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Klub Újezd

As interesting to visit as it is pronounce after a few beers, Klub Újezd (u-yez-d) is one of Prague's many 'alternative' bars, filled with a fascinating collection of handmade furniture and fittings, original art and weird wrought-iron sculptures. The three-floor venue progresses from a cellar DJ bar to a ground-floor pub and an upstairs café.

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Sedm Vlků

'Seven Wolves' is a cool, two-level, art-studenty café-bar and club - at street level there's candlelight, friendly staff, weird wrought-iron work and funky murals; down in the darkened cellar DJs pump out techno, breakbeat, drum'n'bass and ragga from 21:00 on Friday and Saturday nights.

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Events

The year begins with a festive New Year's Eve celebration, followed by holidays like Three King's Day (6 January) and the Anniversary of Jan Palach's death (19 January), which honours the memory of a Charles University student who burned himself to death in protest of the 1969 Soviet occupation.

Easter Monday, which falls in either March or April, is a classic rite of spring: Czech men of all ages swat at their favourite women with willow swatches, while the ladies respond with gifts of hand painted eggs, after which everyone parties.

Labour Day (1 May) is a communist leftover that coincides with the much older Majales, a spring festival dating back at least two centuries. Majales was banned by Nazis and communists, revived during the 'Prague Spring', subsequently squelched by Soviets and reincarnated in 1997. Majales' bands, dancers, floats, costumes, beer and sausage have since returned with a vengeance.

Liberation Day was celebrated 9 May (the day in 1945 that the Red Army marched into Prague) under the communist government, but in recent years you've had to get there by 8 May (the day Prague liberated itself) to enjoy the festivities.

official holidays