Whenever I hear the word "Prague", people used to say similar things like magical, impressive, lovely, a beautiful city and such. I went there with very high expectations - God knows why!? - and found less than I imagined. That does NOT mean I did not like the city, I liked it a lot and enjoyed two days and nights in the city, but surely this would be enough as more than two days in Prague will be just wasting your time - if you are not someone who has plenty of time and money of course! If you are so, then enjoy the city from another angle; shop from the little stores, buy gifts for your family and friends, eat in little traditional restaurants, try different tastes in the traditional cafes of Prague and enjoy the weather - summer or winter, doesn't matter, the city will look more magical in winter I suppose, and will be easier to wander around in summer for sure.

Me in the Old Town

Me on the Charles Bridge

I want to mention the currency of the country by the way - this is very important: The currency of Czech Republic has been Czech Koruna (or Czech crown) (sign: Kč; code: CZK) since 1993 so this is what you will need. You will probably be using Euro for change, or Dollars, or Pounds... I had used Euros. There are some change points where you can easily change your money to spend BUTTT be careful about NO COMMISSION signs - they all are just a lie, if you are not changing more than €100, €250 or even €500 sometimes. They might say they will not take any commission at all, but this is only for some amounts. Here is an example: When I was there, 1 Euro was about 25 CZK, and when I gave 10 Euros, I had to take 250 €500 - ask this to the officer - but if you change, let's say 50 Euros, then you will lose 5 CZK with every 1 Euro (!). It may not look much first, but it may mean losing your meal in the evening and taxi paying at night... When I was there, I asked how much I would get back for my change in every change office; most of them said they would give me 200 CZK for €10. One change point said they would change €10 with 250 CZK and I changed all my money there, but it is not that easy to find such points, especially in the centre of the city, so try to find some change offices that are located far from the main centre.
CZK in return - if there is really no commission at all. But believe me, it's not working that way... The labels of NO COMMISSION mean only no commission if you change big amounts; like

The gate of Charles Bridge on the Staré Město side

Here is a useful link for the currencies in Czech Republic. Check this before going there to know their currency.

It is still good to know they change your money in restaurants if you need to. With less loss of course. (23 CZK for 1 Euro it was when I was there).

In Prague, you will see very pretty old cars that you can hire for one hour and have a special city-sightseeing, and you will hear and see a lot about Franz Kafka who hated Prague but lived and died in this city. My passion, horses, are also very popular in the old town and you might have a short ride with these carriages.

Besides all, I must warn you Czech people are not very smiling people; they still have the marks of the communist days on their faces, so don't get offended by unsmiling and annoying waiters or officers that behave like you have done something wrong. That's usual.

So here, now I will start to write about the city itself.

WHERE TO GO IN PRAGUE

Me in front of St. Vitus Cathedral

Prague is a city located on both sides of Vltava River and consists of six main regions:
Hradčany (Castle District), Malá Strana (Little Quarter), Josefov (Jewish quarter), Staré Město (Old Town), Nové Město (New Town), and Vyšehrad.

The first you must see is the castle district, Hradčany I think, because both the castle and the famous St. Vitus Cathedral are there. The St. George's Square is also right next to the cathedral (and there you will see a No Commission Change Office!). This area is right on the left top of the city, so you can check it on the map. 

The second thing I would suggest is walking directly through the Charles Bridge that starts on Malá Strana and ends at the beginning of Staré Město. The bridge is famous with its countless sculptures and its live atmosphere. My favourite part was the artists drawing pictures of people within 5 minutes (I still don't believe a beautifully drawn picture can be finished in 5 minutes, but that is what's written on the labels!). The bridge is crowded most of the time since the tourists come there as the first thing they do in Prague.

An artist on Charles, drawing a girl

The Old Town, which is Staré Město, has been my favourite of course; with its Gothic Church of Our Lady of Týn (in Czech, Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem), and the medieval astronomical clock located nearby. Never leave the city without seeing these two. Every hour, people gather around the astronomical clock to see its show with the figures on it that represent vanity, greed, death and lust. The show doesn't last for even 1 minute maybe, but it is worth seeing both the figures dancing and the crowd gathered around - only waiting for the clock to start the show. There are a few more historical buildings in this area but as they are not that famous and there are many of them, I will be mentioning them in another blog post. Church of St. Nicholas is also another one worth seeing in Staré Město. Aaand another favourite of mine, the Powder Tower (Prašná brána) is another piece that you MUST see. The Municipal House is also located right next to it.

the astronomical clock

I sadly have not spent much time in Josefov as I was quite fascinated by the Gothic buildings of catholic days, and don't really know a lot about the Jewish quarter, but what I know is that you can see a few beautifully built synagogues such as the Old-New Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, the Klaus Synagogue, the High Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery if you spend some time in Josefov.

All up to your priorities of course.

In Malá Strana, I strongly recommend you to step up onto the Petřín Tower, the 62.5m high steel framework, from where you can see the city and its best buildings like the castle, the cathedrals and the river as well. For that, you must get to the hill by a funicular railway which costs about 1 or 2 Euros, and from there, you must go to where the tower lies and climb the 299 steps to the top (You will have to pay a very little amount to see the view from the tower). I hated the steps - especially when I looked down! - but it is definitely well worth the effort. Click here for more information about the tower.

the Petřín Tower

In Nové Město, which is literally the new town with all its surroundings, the Dancing House, the National Theatre, the National Museum and of course the Wenceslas Square are the ones you must see. Unfortunately the National Museum (the main building) is closed for reconstruction since July 2011, and you will have no chance of entering the museum until 2015 presumably. 

These are the MUST-SEEs in Prague, and you might be able to see them all within only one day by walking around if you start early and don't get tired until you finish the plan. No need for public transportation in the city, UNLESS your hotel is out of the centre. If so, you better use the tram which is the most common means of transportation in Prague.


Here is a very useful guide for Prague, Prague Experience that you might want to use to plan your trip, and Prague Welcome, Prague's official tourist portal.

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