Staré Město and Josefov
The Old Town can be approached from three metro stations: Staroměstská (line A), closest to Staroměstské Náměstí, Josefov and Charles Bridge; Náměstí Republiky (line B), to begin the Royal Way in its entirety; Můstek (lines A and B) to approach the Old Town via the Havelská market. The Old Town is small, and it's easy to reach everything on foot. This is Prague's first city, born in the 10th century from urbanization around trade routes and glorified by the settlement of Bohemian princes at the princely court of Týn(týn means "court" in Czech). During the 12th century, Staré Město grew and developed, prompting the town to protect itself and build its first fortifications. Charles IV elevated it to the status of capital, endowing it with a university, a town hall and an archbishop's palace. Staré Město's first major change came at the end of the 13th century, when the entire town was raised by 3 m to escape the frequent flooding of the Vltava. Today, the medieval network of streets remains unchanged, but the Romanesque architecture is "fossilized" in today's basements. The town's administrative and political development went hand in hand with commercial growth, thanks to the creation of a large market. This market, originally located on the Place de la Vieille Ville, later expanded into the alleyways of the Cité Saint-Gall, making the Old Town the commercial center. Even today, even the smallest alleyway is bustling with commercial activity. The best way to discover this district is to lose yourself in the tangle of streets surrounding the Place de la Vieille Ville.
Malá Strana, Hradčany and the North
It doesn't get more romantic than the Malá Strana district, whose name means "little side". Founded in the 13th century, originally Romanesque, rebuilt in Renaissance style after a terrible fire that ravaged the city in 1541, it is now called "Baroque Prague". The palaces were built or rebuilt by the best architects in the Baroque period and have remained so to this day. The streets, lit by street lamps in the evening, lead to surprising and unexpected squares, often with a beautiful fountain or sculpture in the middle. You can relax in the beautiful parks and gardens, which often lead down to the river. For a relaxing afternoon, you can take a nice walk on the Petřin Hill or just enjoy the nice weather to lie down in the grass and watch the beautiful panorama spread out before your eyes. When the weather is not nice, try to find one of those nice bars or cafes nestled in the alleys of this district, near the river or on the way up to the castle. The Hradčany district around the castle boasts many Renaissance and Baroque palaces, convents or churches. Adjacent to Hradčany are the residential and mostly Czech neighborhoods of Letná and Holešovice. It's worth taking a walk there if you're staying in Prague for longer. Here you can discover, among other things, the gigantic Letná plain, which used to be the site of the communist MayDay celebrations (and today has one of the most pleasant beer gardens overlooking Prague's old town), the Museum of Contemporary Art or some particularly nice bars and restaurants. It is also an ideal area for children, with the gigantic Stromovka Park, an amusement park, and the zoo nearby. South of Malá Strana, Smíchov is one of Prague's most eclectic neighborhoods, part residential, part industrial and part shopping.
Nové Město and Vyšehrad
The name New Town (Nové Město) should not mislead you as to the age of this district, since it takes its name from the time of its creation in the 14th century. The New Town is separated from the Old Town by Národní and Na Příkopě streets, laid out on the site of the old fortifications. It was Charles IV who decided to found this new district to enlarge Prague, and gave numerous tax advantages to the new inhabitants. Its architecture is quite different from that of the old town, which grew spontaneously as the years went by. The New Town is three times the size of the Old Town. The streets are straight and today are organized around two squares: Karlovo Naměstí and Václavské Naměstí. The latter, a former horse market, is the vital heart of the capital, with its cinemas, restaurants, fast-food outlets and casinos. The streets surrounding it have been transformed into a succession of shopping arcades, and the passageways form a veritable parallel city; take them without fear, as they are part of the daily routine of Pragians wishing to avoid the crowds of Wenceslas Square. Often dating from the late 19th century, they are beautifully decorated with paintings and mosaics. Take a look at the passage of the Lucerna Palace, built in the Secession style in 1912, with its beautiful staircase leading up to the cinema, one of the most beautiful in Prague, and its café-bar that reminds you of another century. Karlovo Náměstí, formerly a livestock market, is now Prague's largest square.
The founding of the New Town. One evening in 1347, as the sun set over the frozen waters of the Vltava, Charles IV stood at his window in the company of his astrologer. Both were ecstatic at the beauty of the spectacle. libuše predicted the glory of Prague," announced Charles, "but I want to make it even more beautiful, to make it the most beautiful jewel in the world. You, who read the future of mankind in the stars, tell me what you see up there about Prague's future," the emperor asked the astrologer. The latter hesitated to answer: "I'm your servant and I'll do it in good faith, but I see something more than Libuše's prediction and your own wish." "Speak, please," replied Charles. "Well, I've looked at the stars and it says that a great fire will condemn all the inhabitants of Malá Straná to death and reduce the district to ashes. But that's not all, the waters will invade Staré Město, which will also be destroyed." These words plunged Charles into utter dismay. After a silence, he spoke again to the astrologer: "It may be that the stars speak true, but the word of man must exceed that of the stars and, if the elements, water and fire are unleashed on my city, Prague will not die, for I order today that a new city be founded, on the right bank of the river. From Na Poříčí, a third city will grow up to the villages of Rýbnik, Bderaz and Opatovice, and the ramparts will surround it all the way to Vyšehrad. Thus, floods will not have the strength to penetrate to the streets of this city, and fire will be afraid of these ramparts." The king's plans came to fruition, and the New Town was founded. Those who wished to settle there were given a plot of land, but also the obligation to build there. Many wanted the new Prague to be named after its creator, Karlov, but Charles, the "Father of the Fatherland", preferred the name Nové Město Pražské.
The passages of the New Town. Above all, you must stop at Jungmannovo Náměstí, not only to admire its musical instrument store, but also to marvel at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, unfortunately dominated by the tall houses of Wenceslas Square. Its architect intended it to be Prague's tallest building (its roof is the highest of the city's churches), but the idea was never realized. Behind it, don't miss the Franciscan garden, which is very pleasant and relaxing, but also very busy.
Exiting upstream, you'll face one of the passageways lining Vaclavské Náměstí. Turning right, you can stop off at a bar terrace (where they serve delicious ice creams), after gazing at the Semafor theater, home to a once-famous troupe. If you're not claustrophobic, you can follow the other passages to the statue of St. Wenceslas.
Vinohrady, Žižkov and Vršovice
Choose to set yourself apart from the tourist masses, crowded hotels and restaurants, and in return sample the ambience of a resolutely Czech part of town, renowned for its nightlife, and not without a few points of interest. Welcome to Vinohrady, Žižkov and Vršovice, three neighborhoods to the east of Nové Město, just a few streetcar or metro stops from the city center. Vinohrady is an old neighborhood, bounded by Wilsonova Avenue and the main railway station to the west, Olšany Cemetery to the east and Žižkov Hill to the north. In the mid-19th century, it was known in full as Královské Vinohrady, or "King's Vineyard". As early as the 14th century, Charles IV had planted many vines here, which disappeared when Prague's population increased at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, and new residential areas had to be built. In keeping with the architectural credo of the time, the Vinohrady district today boasts some of the finest examples of Prague's Secession style. These buildings, inhabited by the Prague aristocracy until the eve of the Second World War, are now one of the district's main attractions. In Vinohrady more than anywhere else, it's easy to mingle with the Czechs: in the Riegrovy park, where pints are drunk far from any "trendiness" at the corner of a table; in the cemeteries to the east of the district, the new Jewish cemetery, where the writer Franz Kafka is buried; or finally in the many bars and literary cafés, where the Czechs demonstrate that they don't need hordes of tourists to love trendy or casual places and have fun until the end of the night. On the northern flank of Vinohrady, also at the beginning of the last century, Žižkov grew up, a much more popular district, nicknamed the "Red Light District" for its very high proportion of Communist votes at every election. Žižkov is a working-class district, where the architecture reflects the difference in means compared to other parts of the city. But housing a small workforce in the same district had other consequences in the long term: Žižkov saw the emergence of a dense nightlife, initially centered around cafés where political debates took place. Since independence, urban legend has it that a new bar opens in Žižkov every day. In any case, it's one of the best places to catch a concert, whether rock, pop or electro, with legendary venues such as Akropolis helping to make this one of the capital's liveliest districts, radically different from the nightclubs and cabarets of Nové or Staré Město. The district also boasts some interesting ultramodern buildings, such as the Sacred Heart Church with its aircraft-carrier profile, or the gigantic TV tower with its surrealist babies. In recent years, Žižkov has been hit hard by gentrification, becoming one of Prague's most popular districts for the young, trendy crowd. The Vršovice district is no stranger to gentrification either. Wedged between Vinohrady and Žižkov, a few years ago it was little more than a sleepy working-class suburb. Today, the opening of a number of bars and cultural venues has put Vršovice on the itinerary of hip crowds in search of the latest "in" venues. This has led to a sharp rise in prices, but also to the opening of numerous successful bars, restaurants, hotels and youth hostels.
