Prague

Beyond the postcard views, Prague is a city of residential districts with parks, river embankments, beer halls and an extensive tram network. Couples and first-time visitors usually stay in or near the historic towns on either side of the river, while families and longer stays often prefer the 19th-century apartment blocks of Vinohrady or the renewed streets of Karlín and Holešovice. Furnished apartments are a common holiday rental. The currency is the Czech koruna, not the euro, and day trips reach castles, spa towns and the silver town of Kutná Hora.

Where to stay in Prague

The Old Town, Staré Město, and the former Jewish quarter of Josefov put the main sights at your door, but their lanes are busy with visitors late into the evening. Across Charles Bridge, Malá Strana, the Lesser Town, is a quarter of Baroque palaces and gardens beneath the castle, and Hradčany, the castle district above it, is quieter once the day-trippers leave. Both suit couples looking for atmosphere. The New Town, Nové Město, founded by Charles IV in 1348 around Wenceslas Square, is the city's commercial centre and a practical base with metro interchanges.

Vinohrady, south-east of the centre, takes its name from the vineyards that once covered it; today it has elegant apartment buildings, squares and metro line A, and suits families and longer stays. Neighbouring Žižkov is livelier, with many pubs. Karlín, rebuilt after the 2002 flood, and Holešovice, a former industrial district with galleries and parks, attract travellers who prefer a local feel close to the river.

Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and the Old Town

Prague Castle, founded in the 9th century and now the seat of the Czech president, is a vast complex of palaces, churches and courtyards on the hill above Malá Strana. At its heart stands St Vitus Cathedral, begun in the Gothic style and finally completed in 1929. Charles Bridge, whose construction began in 1357 under Charles IV, links the castle side with the Old Town; it is 516 metres long and lined with 30 statues, mostly Baroque, all now replaced by replicas.

On Old Town Square, the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn rises above the statue of the reformer Jan Hus, and the astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall dates back to 1410. In Josefov, six synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery and the Old Jewish Town Hall survive, and the synagogues and cemetery form part of the Jewish Museum in Prague. For views, climb Petřín hill, reached by a funicular first opened in 1891, or visit the riverside fortress of Vyšehrad.

History in brief

Prague grew between two fortified seats of the Přemyslid rulers, Prague Castle in the north and Vyšehrad in the south. It flourished under Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, who reigned from 1346 to 1378, founded the New Town and the university in 1348 and began the stone bridge that bears his name. Later, Rudolf II made the city an imperial residence, and the second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 helped trigger the Thirty Years' War.

In the 20th century Prague became capital of Czechoslovakia. The reforms of the Prague Spring were crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of 21 August 1968, and in November 1989 the Velvet Revolution filled Wenceslas Square with demonstrators and ended communist rule. After the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became capital of the new Czech Republic in 1993. The historic centre, with its five historic towns, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1992.

Getting there and around

Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG), renamed in 2012 after the country's first president, lies about 12 kilometres west of the centre. There is no rail link yet, though one is planned; city buses and a trolleybus connect the terminals with metro line A, and an express bus runs to the main railway station. Praha hlavní nádraží is the main station for international and domestic trains, with direct trains to Dresden and other cities across Europe.

The integrated public transport system, known as PID, combines three metro lines, A, B and C, which meet in a triangle in the centre at Můstek, Muzeum and Florenc, with a dense tram network, buses, the Petřín funicular and small river ferries. A fourth metro line, D, is under construction. The historic centre is compact and best explored on foot, though cobbles and hills make comfortable shoes essential. A car is unnecessary in the city, though it can help for trips into the countryside.

Day trips from Prague

Kutná Hora, about 52 kilometres east, grew rich on silver mining and once housed the central mint of the Czech lands. Its historic centre, with the Gothic Church of Saint Barbara and the Sedlec Ossuary in its suburb of Sedlec, has been on the UNESCO list since 1995. Karlštejn Castle, founded by Charles IV in 1348 to guard the imperial regalia, rises above the Berounka valley about 30 kilometres south-west of Prague.

Terezín, to the north, is a fortress town where the Nazis created the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1941; its memorial makes for a sobering but important visit. Further away, Český Krumlov, about 134 kilometres south, is a UNESCO-listed town of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque houses below a great castle, best as an overnight trip. To the west, the spa town of Karlovy Vary developed around its hot springs and became a resort for European society in the 19th century.

Weather and when to visit

Prague's climate sits between oceanic and continental. Winters are cold, with average temperatures around freezing and little sunshine; snow can lie between mid-November and late March, and foggy temperature inversions are common from mid-October to mid-March. Summers are generally warm and sunny, with temperatures around 25°C, although days above 30°C have become more frequent, and nights stay fairly cool. Rainfall is low, about 500 millimetres a year, but late spring and summer can bring heavy thundershowers.

May, June and September are pleasant for walking and for the river embankments, parks and beer gardens. The Prague Spring International Music Festival is one of several classical music festivals the city hosts. July and August are the busiest months in the historic centre. Winter is quieter and atmospheric, with Christmas markets on the main squares in December; pack warm layers, a hat and shoes with good grip for icy cobbles.

Renting a home in Prague: local rules

In Prague, anyone who provides paid accommodation must collect the city's local fee for stays, the poplatek z pobytu, from guests, register with the fee administrator and keep a record of the people staying. The fee is set by a city decree and applies per person and night, so guests may see it listed separately on the bill.

At national level, the Czech Ministry for Regional Development has prepared an amendment to the tourism law that would create a digital register of accommodation and guests, called eTurista, giving every rental unit a registration number for online listings. At the time of writing the amendment was still before parliament, and the ministry stated that no registration procedure yet applied anywhere in the country. Because the rules for short-term rentals in apartment buildings are under debate, owners and guests should check the current position with the ministry and the City of Prague.