If you’re going to be in Prague with somebody special over the next few days, you’re in luck. May 1st is a known internationally as “Labour Day” and it is a national holiday in the Czech Republic, which is a of course great news for those of us who are currently enjoying a long weekend. For many Czech people however, May 1st is also a day to celebrate love and romance. It could be said that it is something like the Czech version of Valentine’s Day. The story behind this takes us back to the early 19thcentury and to a…
Author: Rosie A.
April 30th is a very special night in the Czech Republic, as the Czech people will be celebrating “Carodejnice”. This is one of my absolute favourite Czech traditions, as it is basically a long night of crackling bonfires, sizzling sausages cooked over the campfire, live music, dancing, beer drinking and fancy dress. Carodejnice means witches and the main event at any self respecting Carodejnice party is the burning of the witch. This is a tradition which finds its routes in Paganism. Tradition dictates that a straw effigy of a witch should be burned as a way of bidding a final…
Prague is a city full to bursting with fantastic restaurants. However, if you’ve had your fill of Czech food and you’re looking to try to try something a bit different, keep reading. I decided to put together this list of some of the best and most interesting international restaurants in Prague. Each of the places listed has been tried and tested by me, or has come highly recommended to me by a friend. Many of these restaurants and cafes are places which I still go back to time and time again. You’ll find the more popular cuisines such as Mexican…
One of the best things about living in Prague is how easy it is to go for a stunning and exhilarating bike ride out of the city. There are several well maintained bike paths running through Prague and beyond, taking you in and out of neighbouring villages, towns and the surrounding countryside. There are lots of places in Prague which rent bikes for very reasonable rates and the spring weather is just perfect for cycling, so why not give it a go? Today, I finally completed a route which I’d been meaning to try for a long time: Prague to…
The Czech Republic contains more castles and chateaus per square kilometre than any other country in the world and that’s a fact. There’s of course Prague castle, but why not explore some of the country’s lesser known castles during your stay? Listed below are some simply majestic castles, all of which are doable as a day trip from the city. Karlstejn Travelling time from Prague by public transport: 40 minutes Tour price: 380CZK (basic) 580CZK (exclusive) Karlstejn is a large Gothic style castle built by King Charles IV of Bohemia between 1348 and 1365. It is one of the most…
My mission for this week was to speak with Prague locals about their favourite “hidden spaces” in the city. Each of our local experts was asked to nominate one place which they love but that isn’t often featured in the guidebooks. The responses were fascinating and really varied. The people featured in this article have all lived in Prague for many years. In amongst them you will find expats, Czechs, students, teachers, managers, writers, parents, entrepreneurs, people who have lived in the city for their whole lives and people who have been here for just a few years. I really…
This is a great time of year to be visiting Prague. The city is slowly awaking from its winter slumber and is starting to come to life. Tables and chairs are springing up outside cafes, green buds are appearing on the trees, coats are disappearing from backs, beer gardens are filling up and the sense of optimism in the air is almost tangible. April 1st is a big day for the city this year, as it means the first day of Easter Markets, the start of a new season of fun and frivolity on Naplavka and the opening of the…
Smichov is not a district of Prague with the greatest of reputations. In the past it was a highly industrialised and fairly grimy part of town and although most of the factories have now closed their doors, the district is all too often associated with sketchy pubs and dive bars. However, for a while now I’ve been hearing rumours the Smichov is going through a phase of rejuvenation and that it’s fast becoming one of the trendiest parts of the city. With that in mind, I decided to spend the first Saturday of Spring discovering just what it is that…
When walking through the tourist hotspots of Prague, you will be surrounded by advertisements for museums, galleries and exhibitions. The sad reality is that many of these places exist purely to try and sell expensive merchandise to tourists. A lot of them are simply over-priced and disappointing and for the most part this won’t become clear until you’ve parted with the entrance fee. We’ve compiled this list of some genuinely interesting exhibitions to visit in the in the city. All places listed offer not only value for money but a unique and memorable experience. The Invisible Exhibition (Neviditelna Vystava) This…
Thanks to low production costs and an established tradition of film making, Prague has long been a popular destination for film makers. Milos Forman’s 1984 production of Amadeus paved the way for Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible in 1996, Les Miserables in 1998, Van Helsing in 2004, Casino Royal in 2006 and many, many more. Most recently in 2016, the film Anthropoid was shot in Prague. This was hardly a surprising choice as the film documents real events which took place in the city in 1942. We have put together a list of some of Prague’s most beautiful and…