Prague is a city of stunning physical beauty. The capitals of many other European nations were flattened or heavily damaged during World War II, but Prague survived intact. Thanks to the city's role as a focal point of culture and commerce for nearly a millennium, it retains evidence of the many nationalities that have influenced and sometimes dominated its course in history. Gothic and baroque spires, art-nouveau facades and even cubist structures reflect a crucible of German, Italian, Flemish and Bohemian artistic movements. At one time the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and at another the citadel of the Hapsburgs, Prague sustains a reputation as a vital political, cultural and economic center. This is especially true since the 1989 bloodless Velvet Revolution swept out communism. Tourists and foreign expatriates continue to descend on the City of a Hundred Spires to experience a place in the throes of transition, although those hoping to see evidence of its totalitarian past may be disappointed to learn that Prague has embraced a more Western perspective.
Prague is composed of 10 districts that stretch across seven hills, centered on the broad Vltava River (known as the Moldau in German). Each district's boundaries are printed on city maps, and Praguers will refer to them when giving directions.
The central district, Prague 1, includes the areas known as the Lesser Quarter (Mala Strana) on the west bank of the Vltava River, and the Old Town and New Town (Stare Mesto and Nove Mesto) on the east side of the river. These areas of Prague 1, along with portions of Prague 2, comprise what is often called the centrum, or city center. The centrum contains the main tourist attractions, most major businesses, many hotels and restaurants, and the banking district. The city now boasts several up-and-coming districts for residential life, business and, consequently, tourism, thanks to the top-flight bars, restaurants and shopping. These areas include Prague 3 (Zizkov), with its landmark television tower; Prague 5 (Andel), home to multiplexes and malls; and Prague 7, site of the lovely Letna Park.
WHEN TO GO
First and foremost, avoid high summer. In July and August, Prague is more crowded than Venice; December, with Christmas markets and picturesque snow, can be almost as bad. Spring is the best time to visit in every way, though it can remain cool through May (with a possible burst of warm sun in April). Autumn is fine, too, but it can be damp.
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
THE CITY
The most important historical sights of Prague are not hard to find: Just follow the hordes. There are grooves worn into the cobblestones in the understandably popular Prague 1 (as in District 1) route running from Prague Castle and St. Vitus' Cathedral across the Charles Bridge to the Old Town Square and the Orloj (the Astrological Clock on the Old Town Hall) and on to the Champs Elysées of Prague, Wenceslas Square (not a square but a boulevard littered with fast-food joints), and its Marais, the old Jewish ghetto, Josefov. Along the way are a score of stunning sights: the oldest Romanesque building in Bohemia, St. George's Basilica; the distinctive green dome and tower of the high Baroque Church of St. Nicholas; the even higher Baroque Loreto, its treasury sheltering the famous 6,222-stone diamond monstrance; even the communist-era John Lennon Wall. None of this should by any means be missed—just try to come when the crowds are thinner or you'll start baa-ing. (A caveat: There's one missable sight. Golden Lane on the north side of the Castle sounds great but isn't worth the extra charge or the long wait in line. The cute multicolored cottages that may or may not have been occupied by King Rudolf's alchemists but were definitely inhabited by Kafka (the blue one, number 22) are invisible through the wall of lenses and cell-phone cameras.)
Aside from the greatest hits, Prague is a breathtaking, labyrinthine city of barely believable beauty: as good as Venice for getting lost in, for wandering around and stumbling upon hidden courtyards, with the strains of Mozart drifting from a window (especially in 2006 when Prague, which claims Wolfgang Amadeus as an honorary citizen, gets in on the 250th birthday action). Then there's the new city, the ever-revitalizing modern metropolis distancing itself further each year from any memory of revolution, Velvet or otherwise. Check out SONA, the neighborhood South of Narodni, for hip youth; Smichov for ambitious, urbane urban developments; and Holesovice for ex-factories and warehouses sprouting art galleries as part of a massive port redevelopment project. This magnificent city is the very definition of dynamic.
When the floods of 2002 washed away this then-eight-year-old hot spot near the Charles Bridge, in an odd way, they did the place a favor. The major renovations that were required turned out to be a huge success. Now, inside Nils Jebens' first restaurant, rust-red arches frame wacky lightbulbs with wings hung on twigs and chairs that look like garden rakes (things are more subdued in the Salon); most important, the amazing riverside garden terrace is bigger and better. The best views in town continue to attract whichever celebs are passing through (Matt Damon filming The Brothers Grimm for instance), as do reliable Euro dishes, like beef carpaccio (surely the unofficial national dish by now); olive oil poached cod with sea urchin risotto; and seared venison with parsnip, figs, peach and foie gras.
A pretty convincing simulacrum of a Parisian brasserie (or of New York City's Pastis and Balthazar) opened early in 2005 above the restaurant of the same name. Black button-back banquettes, Lautrec-ish art, globe lights and walls of wood and mirror are the setting for the way-mittel Europa versions of bistro classics: confit de canard and soupe à l'onion (sic) are present and correct, but there's no confit in the cassoulet (there are figs instead), and where's the steak frites? In this landlocked country, the sight of towering plateaux de fruits de mer is cheery, verging on surreal, but you may do better with the prix fixes or the hungry man's buffet or the daily-changing lunch specials.
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