Archive: Travel | Prague

Prague Institute of Planning and Development will continue to place chairs and tables around the city to improve the quality of Prague’s public spaces. The project was approved on Tuesday by the councillors at Prague City Hall. At the moment, there are 430 chairs and 90 tables situated in various squares and parks around Prague. According to the analysis carried out by the Institute of Planning and Development, around 220,000 people used the urban furniture in 2016. In the future, the institute plans to add more municipal furnishing, such as portable bike stands and grills.

Average price of auction item rose to 57,000 crowns in 2016 The average auction price of an item at Czech auctions increased to 57.000 crowns (over 2,000 euros) last year, the art investment website artplus.cz informed on Tuesday. The price rise was fuelled by an overall surge in sales at Czech auctions, which exceeded one billion crowns for the first time in history. The overall turnover at Czech auctions in 2016 increased by over 30 percent on the previous year to more than 1.25 billion crowns.

Another 15 sites have been added to the list of Czech Cultural Monuments, including Prague’s famous Lucerna Palace and the massive baroque Invalidovna complex in the city’s Karlín district. The sites on the list are approved by the government as “monuments constituting the most important part of the cultural wealth of the nation” and are thereby under special protection.

Grand Café Orient in Prague is unique in that it boasts being the only Cubist café in the world. It is located just a few minutes’ walk from Old Town Square -in Celetná Street -in the famous Cubist building House of the Black Madonna designed by architect Josef Gočár.

111 Places in Prague that You Shouldn’t Miss (111 Míst v Praze která Musíte Vidět in Czech) is a remarkable guidebook mapping some of the city’s most unusual corners and best-kept secrets. If you want to learn how to visit a hotel with just one room, the city’s surviving paternoster elevators, or a special bridge built by the communists, this is the guidebook for you.

A major renovation of the army museum at the Military History Institute in Prague is due to begin this year, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence. The three-project is due to cost up to CZK 600 million. The building, which is located at the foot of the city’s Vítkov hill in the Žižkov district, is set to get a new entrance, while there will be twice as much space for exhibitions as at present.

For listeners around the world, Rob Cameron has, as the BBC’s correspondent in the city, been the voice of Prague for many years. The London-born journalist, who moved here in 1993, is a former colleague of ours at Radio Prague. He is also my own oldest friend in the Czech Republic. Our tour of “Rob Cameron’s Prague” starts in the city’s Nusle district, just across the street from the Na Fidlovačce theatre by the Botič river.

The city of Prague has stepped up the search for a suitable space to house the famous Slav Epic, a cycle of 20 large paintings by Alfons Mucha. After years of inactivity, various Prague districts are putting forward suggestions of where the famous cycle would be displayed to the best advantage. Among the most flamboyant ideas is a plan for a golden oval- shaped gallery which would stand on the riverbank.

I’m walking along the bicycle and pedestrian path on the right bank of the Vltava river that leads north out of Prague. About two kilometres past Prague Zoo, and it pretty much already feels like I’m out of the capital city completely. To the right in the distance, you can just about see the apartments of the Bohnice district up in the hills. But as far out as it seems you are, in fact the Prague municipal transport system (MHD) has something on offer here, too. Not a tram, or a Metro, or a bus – but rather a ferry service.

Fire crews from around the metropolis were called to a fire at the Exhibition Centre in Prague’s Letňany district shortly before midday on Friday. The fire was reportedly caused by the explosion of two pressure cylinders in storage. Two people suffered burns and were transported to Prague’s Vinohrady hospital. Around 200 people living in the vicinity were evacuated. Preliminary damage estimates put the damage at one million crowns.

Every year Prague City Tourism highlights selected attractions aimed at drawing more visitors to the Czech capital. This year the accent is on “slow tourism” promoting the city’s cafes, restaurants and the best of Czech design. To find out more I spoke to Kateřina Pavlítová, Marketing Director at Prague City Tourism.