PRAGUE 1 Koruna Česká (Kč - CZK) = 100 Haléřů PUBLISHING DATE: 11/30/2011 | COUNTRY CODE: CZ
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Population 1.2 million Currency PRAGUE 1 koruna česká (Kč - CZK) = 100 haléřů PUBLISHING DATE: 11/30/2011 | COUNTRY CODE: CZ Opening hours Contents: The City, Do & See, Eating, Cafes, Bars & Nightlife, Shopping, Sleeping, Essential Information, Maps Businesses/Shops are open Monday to Friday 9–18/19h. Saturdays between 9–12. Most shops remain closed on Sundays. Copyright © 2011 ArrivalGuides AB. All rights reserved. For more information visit: www.arrivalguides.com Around the tourist areas the opening hours are more generous. Internet www.prague-info.cz www.czechtourism.com www.praha.eu Newspapers Mladá Fronta Dnes Lidové noviny Prague Post (English) Emergency numbers 112 Police 158 (Policie) Ambulance 155 (Sanitka) Fire Brigade 150 (Hasiči) Tourist information Prague Information Service Addresses: - Staromestské námestí 1, Old Town Hall - Rytířská 31, Praha 1 - Main Railway Station (Hlavní nádraží) - Lesser Town Bridge Tower (Malostranská mostecká věž) - April - October ”Mother Prague has clutches,” Franz Kafka wrote, nearly one Tel: +420 12 444 or hundred years ago. And Prague’s convoluted streets may +420 221 714 444 keep you in those clutches, loving every second of it. Anyone Email: [email protected] who has wandered around the cobbled streets and Gothic alleyways, seeing the moon hover behind the towers and pinnacles of Europe’s most beautiful capital, will definitely come back. Destination: Prague Publishing date: 11/30/2011 THE CITY Now available on your iPhone! After the ’Velvet Revolution’ in 1989, Prague has been an international DO & SEE metropolis with all the usual trappings—but it has also managed successfully to retain its unspoiled local character. The Czech capital is small and compact, with hospody (beerhouses) that offer the world’s best beers stationed on every street corner. The most important areas are the central districts of the city: Staré Město (Old Town), Josefov, Nové Město (New Town), and Malá Strana (Lesser Town). These are best explored on foot. In recent years, the district of Staroměstské náměsti Vinohrady (Vineyards) has established The Old Town market place with its itself as the district favoured by Pražani pastel-coloured baroque houses and (the Prague inhabitants), and the cathedral, is one of Europe’s most restaurants and cafés lie closely packed. beautiful squares. In the centre stands a When you visit Prague, it is worth large statue of the religious leader from remembering that not only does the city the 1400s, Jan Hus. boast an impressive history, which stretches back many hundreds of years, Address: Staroměstské náměsti 1, Praha 1 but it has also fostered exciting architects, artists, and designers of the 20th century. Prague was once the centre of Obecní dům (Municipal House) Central European modernism, a fact which This art nouveau palace was erected after today, after a long period of dictatorship, the right-wing revolution, which, during has almost faded into oblivion. During the second half of the 19th century, came recent years, modernist Czech to transform Prague into a modern architecture and interior design have capitalist city. Before the inauguration in experienced a recovery, and there is 1911, all of the Czech artist elite of the nearly always a good exhibition to see. time, helped to create what is today one of Europe’s finest art nouveau monuments. The building was renovated from 1994-97 and houses a gallery, a MAKE YOUR TRIP START AT HOME | WWW.ARRIVALGUIDES.COM Destination: Prague Publishing date: 11/30/2011 beer cellar, and a bar. Veletržní palác This handsome, functional building from Address: namesti Republiky 5, Praha 1 the 1920s is where trade fairs used to be Phone: +420 222 002 101 held until 1951. Later, it served as Internet: www.obecnidum.cz headquarters for foreign trade companies. Today, it houses the National Gallery collections of modern, international, and Staronová Synagoga (Old-New Synanogogue) Czech art. One of the oldest synagogues in Europe. Address: Dukelských hrdinů 47, Praha 7 This is where Rabbi Löw, who created Phone: +420 224 301 111 Golem—the clay figure which was to Internet: www.ngprague.cz protect Prague’s Jewish population from persecution—preached. EATING Address: Červená, Praha 1 Phone: +420 224 800 812-813 Internet: www.synagogue.cz Prague Castle and St. Vitus’ Cathedral The whole of Prague Castle, the area which lies on a hill overlooking the city, is a must for any visitor. The castle’s history goes back to the 11th century and it is Many international cuisines have been said today to be Europe’s largest castle. introduced to the Prague restaurant The gothic St.Vitus’ Cathedral, which took scene, but the Central European fare still more than 600 years to build, is most dominates. Classic, Czech homely meals significant and impressive. include Svíčková (roast beef with cream sauce), and the national dish, Address: Pražský hrad, Praha 1 - Hradčany Vepřo-knedlo-zelo (pork with sauerkraut Internet: www.hrad.cz and dumplings). These can be had at any hospoda—beerhouse—along with a cold pilsner. Karlův most (Charles Bridge) It was built in 1357 under the guidance of Alchymist Charles IV, and up to the 19th century it The luxury restaurant Alchymist provides remained the only bridge connecting both a kitsch variant of Prague’s history. sides of Prague. Take a stroll over the Blood-red curtains, Louis XIV chairs and bridge and learn the names of the 30 candelabras characterise the furnishings. saints whose statues stand sentinel there. The cuisine is original Italian and the service is excellent. 500kč and upwards. Address: Karlův Most, Praha 1 Address: Nosticova 1, Praha 1 Phone: +420 257 312 518 Internet: www.alchymist.cz MAKE YOUR TRIP START AT HOME | WWW.ARRIVALGUIDES.COM Destination: Prague Publishing date: 11/30/2011 Kolkovna Malý Buddha (”Little Buddha”) The best Czech food in Old Town. Thick ”Little Buddha” is Prague’s best value soups, grilled meat, and fish (between restaurant, particularly bearing in mind its 100-350kč) are topped with unpasteurised location—just a stone’s throw from Pilsner Urquell. Prague Castle. Chinese and Vietnamese specialities for 100-200kč and a large Address: V Kolkovně 8, Praha 1 selection of good teas. Non-smoking. Phone: +420 224 819 701 Internet: www.kolkovna.cz Address: Úvoz 46, Praha 1 Phone: +420 220 513 894 Internet: www.malybuddha.cz Cantina Cantina serves very good Mexican food at reasonable prices (chicken fajita for CAFES 210kč) and stocks a decent selection of tequila. Always full, so if you want a table in the evening it is best to book early. Address: Újezd 38, Praha 1 Phone: +420 257 317 173 Internet: www.restauracecantina.cz U Básníka Pánve Prague has always been a good town for An example of a cuisine that is a little cafés. Around the turn of the last century more ”nouveau Czech.” Classic dishes this meant large middle class with a twist—such as extra-spicy goulash premises—which re-opened during the for 140kč—that are inexpensive and 1990s—and after the Velvet Revolution of phenomenally good. 1989, a lot of smaller, cosy cafés opened with bric-à-brac décor. Address: Mánesova 62, Praha 2 Phone: +420 222 250 072 Internet: www.ubasnikapanve.cz Café Slavia Of all Prague’s old, traditional cafés, Slavia is the most well-known. This is La Lavande where members of the Czech avant-garde A chef from the Sarah Bernhardt would sit in the early 1900s, and, during restaurant at Hotel Paris, opens his own the Communist era, dissidents used to restaurant in Vinohrady. The result: gather here, the secret police spying from possibly, the best and cheapest French only a couple of tables away. The view food in Prague. towards Prague Castle is simply stunning, but if you get tired of it, you can always Address: Záhřebská 24, Praha 2 look at the fine painting, ’the Absinthe Phone: +420 608 579 835 Drinker.’ Internet: www.lalavande.wz.cz Address: Smetanovo nábřeží 1012/2, Praha 1 Phone: +420 224 218 493 MAKE YOUR TRIP START AT HOME | WWW.ARRIVALGUIDES.COM Destination: Prague Publishing date: 11/30/2011 Internet: www.cafeslavia.cz BARS & NIGHTLIFE Café Louvre Franz Kafka’s and Albert Einstein’s favourite café also housed Prague’s first billiard hall. Address: Národní 22, Praha 1 Phone: +420 224 930 949 Internet: www.cafelouvre.cz Prague has a lively nightlife and anyone who wants to, can dance at the night Medúza clubs until dawn. Most Pražani (the Prague inhabitants) start the evening at one of On a heavily tree-lined Prague Street, the city’s many bars, cafés, or stands the city’s cosiest café—a Prague beerhouses. café with a typically young atmosphere, upholstered chairs, and a few tables and sofas. Radost FX The night club, restaurant, and cocktail Address: Belgická 17, Praha 2 bar known as Radost (joy) FX, flies in Phone: +420 222 515 107 internationally famous DJ’s from around Internet: www.meduza.cz the world, and wins prizes for its delicious drinks. The club was chosen, by the British Ministry, as one of the world’s best. Kavárna Obecní dům Don’t miss the vegetarian restaurant, Kavárna Obecní dům is a relaxing café which is open late every night. designed in Art Nouveau style with high ceilings, large windows, mirrors and Address: Bělehradská 120, Praha 2 beautiful crystal chandeliers. Phone: +420 603 181 500 Internet: www.radostfx.cz Address: Náměstí Republiky 5 Subway: Metro B to Náměstí Republiky Phone: +420 222 002 763 Palác Akropolis Internet: http://www.kavarnaod.cz A Prague institution in Žižkov, the part of town known as Prague’s Bronx. The brightly coloured building was erected in Mistral Café the 1920s as a cultural meeting place. It Café and restaurant Mistral is located at houses a restaurant on the ground floor, the historical Old Town.