Your Vacation Reviews

Just a short walk away from Prague’s most tourist-thronged historical monuments there are interesting places where you can encounter an everyday atmosphere. It is well worth making the effort to leave the well-worn Royal Route since other parts of Prague have pleasant surprises in store too.
The centre of Prague 2 is Name’sti Miru with its neo-gothic Saint Ludmila Church. Also located on the square is a famous Prague theatre – Vinohradske divadlo. Last year it celebrated its centenary. Nearby stands Narodni dum (National House), which in the past was the venue of many important events. Today, dance courses, balls and other social meetings take place here.
In Vinohrady (Vineyards) there were vines in the Middle Ages. In the 19th century the entire quarter was redeveloped in an ostentatious manner. The environment is further adorned by two large parks -Riegrovy sady, above the main railway station, and Havlickovy sady, or Grebovka, at the other edge of Prague 2. The local streets often bear geographic names: French, Belgian, Italian, English, Russian, Belgrade, London, Silesia streets, to name but a few. Vinohrady abounds with shops and cosy restaurants and cafes.
Prague 2 can boast of having the largest square in Europe, established by King Charles IV and bearing his name. Originally called Cattle Market, today’s Karlovo namesti (Charles Square) is actually a park. It is dominated by the tower of the medieval New Town Hall and the baroque Saint Ignatius Church. A short distance away, in Na Siupi street, the Botanical Gardens of Charles University are open to the public. When walking in that direction, you will reach the Railway Bridge, close to which is the small Podskali Museum (below the Vysehrad rock), which houses exhibits showing what life was like in the past, when there were still no dams on the Vltava and timber was floated on the river bound on rafts. Part of Prague 2 is the valley of the Boric brook, arching above which is Prague’s largest bridge, Nuselsky most.
The Vysehrad national cultural monument, on a steep hill above the Vltava river, marks the southernmost limit of Prague 2. Here, in one of the most history-drenched places in Prague, you can have a rest in the local park or walk on the bulky ramparts of the baroque fortress affording splendid views of Prague.
The recently refurbished promenade on the right bank of the Vltava allows for a pleasant stroll beneath Prague bridges without being disturbed by traffic. You can walk from Podskali past a steamboat landing all the way to the Manes building. The only thing that has been preserved from the Stitkovsky mlyn (mill), which used to stand here in the past, is Prague’s most sloping tower. The modern, architecturally noteworthy Mines building was erected at the beginning of the 20th century. From the embankment, in addition to a breathtaking view of Hradcany, it is also possible to admire the Emauzy monastery and church, founded 660 years ago. It is also called Na Slovanech, since it was the only Slavonic centre established in the countries under the influence of the Vatican. At the end of World War Two part of the building was destroyed by bombing. The new double-tower (1967) is one of Prague’s landmarks. The most famous modern building in the city is the corner Dancing House, the work of the architects Frank 0. Gehry and Vlado . Milunic, approximately halfway along the promenade embankment.
Prague 2 is extremely well served by public transport, with the metro running between the Muzeum, Namesti Mfru and Jiriho z Podebrad (green line), Karlovo namesti, I.P. Pavlova and VySehrad (red line) stops, and trams along all the main streets.