My Top Ten Places You Must Czech Out In Prague

Ahoj!

It has been two weeks since I left the Czech Republic and it still feels like a fairytale. When people ask about Prague and what I loved most, it is very difficult to answer because, if I am absolutely honest, I loved it all! It was an incredible experience and a beautiful city filled with Art Nouveau architecture and tons of history!

But as I had promised, my last blog post about Prague is a top ten places to visit while visiting the incredible city of towers!

1. The Charles Bridge. This is the first thing you should do in Prague. The Charles Bridge Karluv Most was built in the 1300s when King Charles IV was Holy Roman Emperor. It was I suggest that you visit it multiple times. I personally visited it different times of the day and it was always different. In the early mornings there is no one there! The performers were different. The odd variety of tourists and vendors were different. And the view of the Vltava is always different as you walk towards Mala Strana.

Entrance to the Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge at 8:30 am.

The John Lennon Wall

2. The John Lennon Wall. It is a beautiful graffitied wall in memorial for John Lennon's death. There is usually a man there singing and playing songs by The Beatles. Also, you can tag the wall too and leave your mark in Prague! I did this myself and it is cool to think that it will always be on that wall under layers of paint!

3. Petŕin Hill. This is a definite. You can either hike up the hillside or take the funicular-- basically a cool tram that goes up steeper elevations. When you get to the top there is a rose garden, Church, Observation Tower and some other neat things. I went through the rose garden and up the Observation Tower. It is basically a miniature Eiffel Tower! And was built in 1891 and stands 60 meters tall, on top of an elevation of 1043 feet high! The view of Prague is phenomenal!

4. Letńa Gardens. My suggestion is to take the steps up. They are right across the river from Staroměstská. The steps lead up to the Metronome and a breathtaking view of Prague. If you walk to the park you will see people having picnics and find yourself at the Letńa Beer Garden. We ended our scavenger hunt here and I was so glad to have taken the steps up and seen such a beautiful view of Prague-- a view that is always changing!

5. Prague Castle. It is claimed to have been started in the 800s and construction continued through the 10th to 14th century. This is where you will find St. Vitus Cathedral, the most beautiful gothic Catholic Cathedral I have ever seen (granted I have not been to Italy or France, but I assume it ranks highly for others). There is a lot to do at Prague Castle: there are museums, watching the changing of the guards, walking the gardens, walking in all the buildings, and Golden Lane. There is a fee if you want to see certain sites, but trust me when I say that your $6.50 is well worth it! Plus, how many times do you get to be in a castle!

St. Vitus Cathedral

The Astronomical Clock

6. Astronomical Clock. This was built into the Old Town Hall Tower in the 15th century and it still works! I observed this clock several times, and every hour on the hour a trap door opens and the twelve apostles and Christ rotate around, while a skeleton rings his bell. The clock has a sun dial that follows the position of the sun and Babylonian time, as well as a zodiac ring that was added later. It is amazing to watch it and see something so old still working!

The Procession of the Apostles.

7. Municipal Building. This is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings in the entire city of Prague. There are rooms painted by famous Czech artists such as Alfons Mucha and Jan Preisler. I found it to be amazing; it even includes Smetena Hall, where they have concerts and operas.


8. Veletržní Palace. Honestly, this is not a palace, but it is an incredible museum part of the National Gallery. There are five floors and exhibits that include Art Nouveau, Impressionism, Cubism, and all the way to modern art. The first floor contains a special exhibit of Mucha's Slav Epic. These panels were his life's work and well worth seeing!

9. Wallenstein Gardens. I only visited this place once and briefly, but I wished that I had traveled back there again! It is right outside the Wallenstein Garden in Mala Strana. The gardens even have peacocks strolling around and beautiful statues. I also enjoyed the artifical Grotto, which is a huge wall of dripping stones-- if you look closely, there are animals formed into the stones. I encourage going there and checking it out!

On the Babies

10. Kampa Museum. Definitely visit the Kampa Museum! If you enjoy contemporary art and want to see some of the most interesting pieces then go here. Right outside are David Cerny's Babies. You can sit on top of them and take pictures with them because they are giant. Then when you walk into the museum, you can see some odd structures of art. The roof is pretty cool too, it is a reflective surface and gives you yet another view of Prague and the Vltava.

Of course, there are a million other things to do in Prague too! Some things that I didn't describe for you include the 5 story club Karlovy Lazne, the National Museum, the Old Jewish Museum, the TV towers, Vesyhrad, and--let's not forget the zoo-- several other amazing places in Prague! If you ever have any questions or are interested in going to Prague, feel free to contact me. I had the most amazing time there and these 10 places were only part of the reasons why I did.

I hope everyone's summers are ending nicely and good luck to everyone who has finals or is heading back to school!
I still have a busy three weeks left of my summer.
Thanks for following my posts!
Victoria :]