Neighborhoods Exploring a big city for the first time can be daunting – whether you’re on your own or with a group of friends. Well, to let you in on a little secret – Prague really isn’t that big. Unless you’re coming from Prague, Oklahoma, chances are great that you either live in or have spent a significant amount of time in a much larger city. Compared to European capitals like Paris, Berlin, and London, Prague is a tiny village. You should have no problem orienting yourself in the city center within a couple days, and since the outskirts offer very little of interest to the average visitor (unless you have an interest in blocks of depressing gray high-rise apartment buildings), you’ll be walking around like a born-and-bred Praguer should you decide to stay longer than a week or two. Below, you’ll find our guide to all the essential Prague neighborhoods. OLD TOWN Ah, yes, the pleasures of Old Town. Home of every postcard image you’ve ever seen of the Golden City. The center of Old Town, undoubtedly, is the Old Town Square. This is the ideal place to start your walking tour of Prague. The Church of Our Lady Before Týn all lit up at night is one of the loveliest sights you’ll see in all of Europe, period. The Old Town Hall, with its Astronomical Clock, is popular among tourists and the pickpockets who prey on them – you’ll see a crowd gathered in front of the Clock during the day in anticipation of the little statuettes of saints that pop out every hour on the hour. The other most popular Old Town attraction is the Charles Bridge, which gets so crowded with tourists during the peak season that it can take up to forty-five minutes to get across. Of course you must see and walk across the Charles Bridge at least once, but exercise caution – pickpockets abound, and the merchants hawking their wares on the Bridge have also been known to cheat naïve tourists. Old Town also contains Josefov, the city’s historic Jewish quarter. It contains such architectural relics as the Old-New Synagogue, the Jewish Town Hall, the High Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, and the extraordinary Jewish Museum (www.jewishmuseum.cz). Josefov’s main stretch, Parizska, is today home to a number of fancy designer boutiques. NEW TOWN Nove Mesto is all about shopping, street life, grand cafés, restaurants, partying, and…did we already say shopping? The center of the New Town is undoubtedly Wenceslas Square. It is crowned by the Statue of St. Wenceslas and the National Museum, which is faced by the Radio Free Europe building. On nearby Na Porici street at the bottom of the square, be sure to visit the excellent Museum of Communism (www.muzeumkomunismu.cz), ironically lodged between a casino and a McDonald’s. In the southern part of New Town, be sure to admire the splendid National Theatre (www.narodni-divadlo.cz). Right across the street is Café Slavia (www.cafeslavia.cz), Prague’s most famous grand café where the intellectual elite has congregated throughout the years. The so-called SoNa (South of Narodni Street) district has emerged as a popular area for veritable bohemians. It boasts a number of cafés that have become popular with area artists, writers, and actors from the National Theatre. It is also home to the Globe Bookstore and Café (www.globebookstore.cz), once a famous expat hang-out, now a bit past its prime. VINOHRADY Welcome to Prague’s most yuppified district – if there is such a thing as a Czech yuppie. It is actually one of Prague’s most desirable residential quarters, so if you’re planning on staying longer than a week, try to get a flat in this ‘hood. It contains several trendy cafes, bars and nightclubs, including the Radost FX complex (www.radostfx.cz), which consists of a vegetarian restaurant, lounge, nightclub, video rental and music shop. The neo-Gothic Church of St. Ludmila at Namesti Miru forms the heart of the quarter, and is right across the street from the opulent Vinohrady Theatre. Down the hill on Vinohradska Street, don’t miss the Church of the Sacred Heart – perhaps one of the few inspiring pieces of Modern architecture in the city. It was built in the early 20th century by Slovenian architect Josip Plecnik. Other area churches include the Hussite Church and the functionalist Church of St. Wenceslas. HOLESOVICE Holesovice boasts few hotels and even fewer attractions for the average visitor. It is primarily a working-class residential area. Its main highlight is its two gorgeous parks, Letna and Stromovka. Art-lovers should be sure to visit Veletrzni palac (http://www.ngprague.cz/5/detail/veletrzni-palac/), which houses a fantastic collection of art from the 19th century to the present; there are also a few quaint tiny independent galleries in the neighborhood, such as Display (www.display.cz). Across from Letna Park, you’ll find the National Technical Museum (www.ntm.cz). Vystaviste, a palace dating from 1891, currently acts as the city’s convention center, where a variety of events take place, such as the annual Prague Book Fair (www.svetknihy.cz.) Other attractions include the Troja Chateau, a castle dating from the 1700s, and the Prague Zoo (http://www.zoopraha.cz/english/). The area also boasts several popular bars and nightclubs; for night owls, a visit to Prague is incomplete without a visit to Fraktal (http://www.prague.tv/prague/nightlife/bars/fraktal), Wakata (www.wakata.cz), and Cross (www.crossclub.cz). SMICHOV This is the neighborhood where Mozart composed the overture to Don Giovanni. The place where he used to stay has been converted into a Mozart Museum (www.bertramka.cz). Today, Smichov is probably most popular for the big ugly shopping mall you’ll find at the popular Andel metro/tram stop. It’s a convenient place to stay if you wish to avoid the overly touristy city center, boasting numerous shopping malls and restaurants, not to mention the fact that nearly all the city’s main public transportation networks intersect at Andel. What’s more, the pricier Mala Strana district, with its myriad attractions, is right down the street, as is the headquarters of Old Town Apartments (www.apartmentsapart.com). MALA STRANA Nestled between the Vltava River and Prague Castle, Mala Strana is something of a historical amusement park, featuring a wealth of old buildings, churches, embassies, fancy eating establishments, and expensive apartments. Simply cross the Charles Bridge from Old Town and you’re there. Continue walking straight and you’ll find yourself in Malostranské namesti, the area’s main square. Its dynamic Church of St. Nicholas dominates the square. Opposite is the Lichtenstein Palace, finished in 1791. The square also hosts a number of popular cafés and bars, including Malostranská beseda, a popular venue for live music. Kampa Island features a lovely park where you’ll see a lot of Praguers camped out on summer days, as well as a fantastic museum of modern and contemporary art, the Kampa Museum. The Island also boasts one of the city’s most famous restaurants, called simply Kampa Park (www.kampapark.com). HRADCANY If you’re visiting Prague, chances are a trip to the Prague Castle (www.hrad.cz) is high on your priority list. Don’t feel guilty – it’s irresistible. Really. The Castle Hill and area surrounding it is like a little city unto itself, and has attracted visitors for centuries – some of them friendlier than others. Besides the Castle itself, there’s the magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Garden, the Belvedere, the Golden Lane, Lobkowicz Palace, the Toy Museum and more. This isn’t an area you’ll want to breeze through – make a day or two of it. The area’s focal point is Hradcanske namesti, one of the city’s most ornate squares. It is dominated by the 16th century Archbishop’s Palace. Next door is the Sternberg Palace, which now houses part of the National Gallery’s European art collection. Renaissance fans will appreciate the Schwarzenberg Palace across the way. It now contains the city’s Military Museum. The nearby pub U Cerneho vola is one of the few places in the neighborhood where the locals can afford to drink. Feel free to get blind drunk here – all the pub’s profits go to a school for the blind. You can also tour the grounds of the Strahov Monastery, which features a Miniatures Museum where, with the help of magnifying glasses and microscopes, you can see tiny, itsy bitsy works of art, such as a portrait on a poppy seed and a prayer written out on a single strand of human hair. ZIZKOV Zizkov is a predominately working-class district that attracts both hipsters and low-life with its vast assortment of, well, bars, pubs, drinking dens, and drunk tanks. It boasts more centers of alcoholic decadence than any other neighborhood in Prague. Some are skuzzier than others. Needless to say, parts of Zizkov can be quite dangerous at night, so always exercise caution. If you’re in Zizkov, you’re probably either there to get loaded or to visit the Zizkov Tower, referred to by locals as the “Prague Prick.” Okay, it’s pretty ugly, but it boasts fantastic views and is definitely worth a visit to the eighth floor viewing platform. There’s also a café on the fifth floor. Graveyard fans will appreciate Olšany Cemetery, a.k.a. Prague’s largest. Right next to it is the Jewish Cemetery – not to be confused with the Old Jewish Cemetery in Old Town. This is the one Franz Kafka is buried at. Among the nabe’s many watering holes, we prefer the secretive Blind Eye (www.blindeye.cz), run by a pair of punkish expats. You’ll have to ring the bell in order to be admitted.
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