Archive: Travel | Prague Prague
The House of the Black Madonna – home of the only surviving Cubist café in the world
Nestled between busy Wenceslas Square and Prague’s number one tourist
destination, Old Town Square, the House of the Black Madonna houses a small
museum of Cubism as well as the only surviving Cubist café in the world
– the Grand Café Orient, which was renovated between 2002 and 2005. More
The Museum of Decorative Arts – a must-see destination for fans of Czech design
Lovers of Czech applied arts and design will find a veritable treasure
trove of interesting items, ranging from glass wares to clocks and metal
works, in Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. Located right across the
street from the well-known Rudolfinum palace, the museum is housed in a
stunning Neo-Renaissance building. It was one of the last in Prague to be
designed in that style. The architect was Josef Schulz, who also was behind
the Czech National Museum. More
The Lucerna Palace
The Lucerna Palace, long considered a beacon of Czech national pride has
been celebrating its centenary this year without too much of the fanfare
usually reserved for such occasions. Situated off Wenceslas Square in the
very heart of Prague, and established by civil engineer, designer and
builder Václav M. Havel in 1907, it was the first multi-purpose arcade of
its kind ever to be built in this country. More
A tale of two restaurants
Hrabal’s book "I served the King of England" makes working in a
restaurant sound very dramatic, and very glamorous. But the novel also
suggests that such drama and glamour belong to a time now long gone. To
find out whether this was true, I visited two of Prague’s most famous
restaurants, to talk to their owners about their work from day-to-day. More
A day at the races in Velká Chuchle
“What’s a ‘chuchle’” was my first question, a reasonable question
I think, when I first learned I would be going to see a ‘big’ one, many
years ago. In the end it seems, the name of the premier Czech horse racing
flat-track, Velká Chuchle, doesn’t have any literal meaning, but it is a
synonym for a lovely Sunday afternoon.
More
Prague’s Malá Strana cemetery: a burial ground that’s dying out
Cemeteries across the country will soon fill with flowers and burning
candles when on All Saints Day people visit the graves of their loved ones.
But in Prague, there is one burial ground where few visitors are expected.
The Malá Strana cemetery was only in use for about a century, and it now
stands out as a unique monument in the middle of the dynamically developing
district of Smíchov. A group of local enthusiasts have now got together to
save this unique part of the city’s heritage.
More
St. Martin in the Wall
I had never really been inside or had a proper look around, but I was sure
the small church of St Martin in the Wall would have an interesting story,
if for no other reason than its ancient appearance and peculiar name. Just
off the central Národní třída is a classic Prague alleyway that’s
tucked away from the shopping boulevard, neatly dividing the centuries from
one another, and there you’ll find it. One of the oldest churches in the
city, St Martin in the Wall is one of those relatively few landmarks whose
story can transport you all the way back through the ages to the beginnings
of the Czech metropolis.
More
Prague’s Hanau Pavilion – pricey restaurant with interesting history and great city views
On the edge of Prague’s Letná plain, overlooking the Vltava and the Old
Town, stand several remarkable buildings from the Belle Époque when Prague
was hoping to become the Paris of the East. One of these structures is the
Hanau Pavilion, a church-like edifice of cast iron and bricks built to
demonstrate the dynamic development of Bohemian industry. Today as in the
past, its restaurant offers amazing views of the capital. More
New map shows Prague from locals’ perspective
Are you planning to visit Prague but would like to avoid all the tourist
traps? Do you want to spend some time off the beaten track and experience
the city the way the locals do? If you consider yourself a traveller rather
than a tourist, a new map called Use It will help you to do all that, and
more. More
The Clementinum, the Baroque pearl of Prague
Standing in the centre of the Clementinum – if you can locate such a
thing in the labyrinth – you are surrounded by around a millennium of
history and millions of volumes of books inside one of the most beautifully
preserved masterpieces of Baroque art the city of Prague has to offer. This
is the seat of the Czech National Library and the whispering and rustling
that echoes through its grand halls add perfectly to its natural
mysteriousness. More
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