Visitors at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague in August 2023. A 250-koruna ticket grants visitors entry to several historic sites within Prague Castle. Photo / Andreas Meichsner, The New York Times
Prague, the Czech capital, is finding a new balance between preserving its past and embracing the future, improving many of its important historic sites while making striking additions to its skyline, writes Evan Rail
A reset on tourism during the pandemic has left Prague feeling more focused on local residents, with many new parks, bike trails, pedestrian bridges and other amenities showing up outside the historic centre. The best new cafes, bars and restaurants, as well, are often found outside Old Town, in neighbourhoods such as Dejvice, Vinohrady, Holesovice, Karlin and New Town. Stop by for a coffee, hit up one of the many great new bakeries or visit a charismatic old beer hall as you explore a city that is clearly entering its prime.
4pm | Drink in the atmosphere
Perhaps no part of Prague exemplifies the city’s dizzying mix of old and new quite like the area surrounding Masaryk Railway Station, where you can gaze at the swooping curves of several neighbourhood-defining commercial buildings by Zaha Hadid Architects that are under construction. The 19th-century train hall — Prague’s second oldest still in operation, after Praha-Dejvice — has been spruced up as well, with new ticket counters and renovated retail spaces. Inside, the stylish new restaurant Masarycka welcomes travellers with mugs of Pilsner Urquell beer (65 korunas, or about NZ$4.70) and great traditional meals just steps away from the platforms.
5.30pm | Cool off on an island
The nearby Karlin district has blossomed in recent years, thanks to added residential and commercial developments along the waterfront and newly renovated, century-old buildings surrounding its photo-worthy public spaces like Lyckovo Square. Stroll through Karlin along Krizikova St, the district’s main thoroughfare, past Karlinske Square, one of its revitalised sites, then head to the entrance of the new pedestrian and bike bridge, which opened in July. Known as HolKa, the footbridge connects Karlin on the south side of the Vltava River to Holesovice on the north, with a mid-route offramp to a long-overlooked island, Stvanice. Cool off at the island’s 100-year-old public bathing area, now called Baden Baden Stvanice (free), which reopened in 2020 after a two-decade closure.
7.30pm | Sample the new brews
Home of the original Pilsner and the first Budweiser, the Czech Republic consumes more pivo (Czech for beer) per capita than anywhere else on Earth, with more than 50 breweries operating in Prague today. The newest, Bohemia Goose, in New Town, serves Czech-style lagers and a full food menu focused on hearty duck and goose dishes, long part of the country’s culinary heritage. Top a thick slice of rye bread with duck liver pate (175 korunas) or pork crackling spread (125 korunas) before feasting on a tender, slow-roasted goose leg, accompanied by sweet red cabbage and several different styles of dumplings (590 korunas). Wash everything down with a foam-capped pale or dark lager (75 korunas) tapped from the restaurant’s giant, custom-built beer tower.
9am | Choose your cafe
There’s great coffee on just about every corner in the part of the Dejvice neighborhood just north of the Hradcanska metro station. One source is the intimate new bistro Sodo. Two of Sodo’s owners also run the city’s best food tours, Taste of Prague, which probably explains the prevalence of locally uncommon ingredients such as ‘nduja, Comte cheese and garlic labneh. Another breakfast spot is the larger and more established Misto, popular with laptop users and young mothers. Order poached Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt; herb oil; dukkah, the Middle Eastern seasoning; and toasted focaccia (195 korunas). Add on a flat white made with Doubleshot coffee roasters’ nutty flagship Tam Dem blend (75 korunas), fill out a couple of postcards or a page in your journal, then prepare for your big day out.
10am | Avoid the castle crowds
Ranked by Guinness World Records as the largest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle is a must-see (free entry to the grounds; 250 korunas to enter certain sites). But when you need to get away from the crowds, walk through the newly reopened (though free to enter) Jeleni Prikop, sometimes called the Stag Moat in English: a quiet and verdant strip that most tourists overlook, thanks to a semi-hidden entrance near Powder Bridge. Another less crowded space: the Southern Gardens, which are accessible from the unmarked Bull Staircase, at the south side of the Third Courtyard (marked as III. nadvori on signs). The gardens offer beautiful views over the rooftops of the Mala Strana neighbourhood, and Old Town just across the water.
Noon | Savour the barbecue
Originally influenced by Czech immigrants to the Hill Country, Texas barbecue has come home, with a number of smokehouses popping up around the capital. Head back to Dejvice to try a local take on buttery smoked brisket (250 korunas for about 3.5 ounces) or a juicy pulled-pork sandwich (205 korunas) at Automat Matuska, a restaurant and taproom opened last year by the leading local craft brewery Pivovar Matuska. Even vegetarians will be happy here, with satisfying dishes such as the salsa-verde-topped, star-anise-inflected roasted carrots (155 korunas) and marinated eggplant with miso butter and feta (219 korunas).
1pm | Explore, shop, hang out
Get a feel for residential life by buying a 30-koruna ticket and taking tram No. 26 from Hradcanska 11 stops to Lipanska station, where you can explore the twin, tree-lined neighbourhoods of Vinohrady and Zizkov, both home to many expatriates. Check the area’s small shops for great souvenirs and take snapshots of the huge Zizkov Television Tower, once scorned for being an eyesore and now widely considered a city icon. On your way out, stop by Boho, both a hangout cafe and a design shop, where you can buy a pick-me-up brownie (65 korunas) while trying on bracelets (1200 korunas) from local artisans.
3pm | View art underground
Visit one of the oldest sites in Prague, Vysehrad, set on a hilltop overlooking the river about 3km south of Old Town Square. Although some of the site’s original structures date to the 10th century, much of the massive fortress that stands on the site today was built in the 17th century. English-language tours (190 korunas) through cavelike chambers within its citadel walls are scheduled to leave every other hour, starting at 11am, though sometimes Czech and English tour groups are combined. Afterward, pay your respects to composers Antonin Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana, artist Alphonse Mucha, and other greats of Czech culture at the nearby Vysehrad Cemetery, before catching your breath in Vysehradske Sady, the quiet green park nearby.
4.30pm | Check out designers
Don’t lollygag: The Czechdesign shop on Myslikova St should be less than a 20-minute walk to the north. Inside, you’ll find products from leading local craftspeople and designers, such as glass mugs from the Olgoj Chorchoj design studio (600 korunas), backpacks by Braasi (3290 korunas), modern hand embroidery with feminist themes by Ivana Kocmanova, aka Bro., (17,300 korunas) and kitsch-but-cool “Praha” socks, showing off the Czech name for Prague (249 korunas). The surrounding neighbourhood will give you plenty to explore, while bakeries such as the nearby Artic Bakehouse offer chocolate croissants (70 korunas), cherry danishes (80 korunas) and coffee for late-afternoon snacks.
7.30pm | Eat in a laboratory
Alma, in New Town, merges traditional ingredients with cutting-edge techniques. Recipes include ingredients foraged from Czech forests and fields, as well as unusual pickles (pumpkin, green walnuts and more) made in the restaurant’s fermentation “lab”. Dishes such as the chuck eye steak with tomatillo, roasted paprika and tomato jus (795 korunas) feel like updated variations of classic Central European fare, and vegetarians and vegans will find flavourful options, too. Winemakers from Moravia such as Milan Nestarec, a cult favourite, appear both on the wine list and in person at special events. The old-fashioned from the bar may be a little small, but it does come with an edible pine cone (285 korunas), and there are intensely flavourful non-alcoholic drinks, such as a lemon-and-Sichuan-pepper number (115 korunas).
10am | Eat at a museum
While the new three-storey Kunsthalle art museum, close to Malostranska station, has gained international attention since its opening early last year, a local secret is that its shiny new bistro also offers one of the city’s best Sunday brunches, a reservation-only, two-part dining experience that also includes museum entry (1400 korunas). Start with eggs Florentine, blueberry pancakes and pastries from the breakfast buffet. Check out the exhibits, then return to the bistro for a final multicourse tasting menu, which changes weekly and may include Vietnamese-style duck soup, shrimp gyoza or reinterpretations of classic Czech schnitzels. The current show at the museum, running until October 16, covers the concept of bohemia as a countercultural and artistic movement, with artworks from places such as Paris, San Francisco, New York, Prague, Beijing and Zagreb, Croatia.
2pm | Dream of an opulent past
Walk across the river and through the Old Town streets to Clam-Gallas Palace, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture and a former aristocratic residence, which reopened to the public after a lengthy reconstruction last year. Despite what it says on its website, English-language guided tours (250 korunas) through the rooms are currently offered only on Thursdays and Sundays at 2 and 4pm, though there should be daily self-guided audio tours (250 korunas). Gawk at the sprawling mansion’s ballrooms, grand staircases, trompe l’oeil ceilings, paintings and ornate plasterwork from the early 18th century, and dream of life in the city during one of its earlier eras of glamour.
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The area around Masaryk Railway Station is undergoing a major transformation, with several buildings by Zaha Hadid Architects complementing the 19th-century train hall.
The trendy Karlin and Holesovice neighbourhoods are now connected by a new footbridge that also leads to Stvanice, an island in the Vltava River.
The Southern Gardens and the recently reopened Stag Moat at the must-see Prague Castle offer quiet and calm away from the crowds.
The Kunsthalle museum showcases contemporary and modern art over three sprawling floors. On Sundays, the gallery’s bistro offers a two-part brunch to fuel a day of viewing art.
Masarycka is a restaurant that combines the neoclassical decor of the Masaryk Railway Station with a contemporary beer hall atmosphere.
Bohemia Goose is the newest brewery in a city that truly loves beer.
Sodo is an intimate bistro with excellent coffee and a menu featuring locally uncommon ingredients.
Misto is one of the best places for coffee and breakfast in a neighbourhood filled with many great contenders.
Automat Matuska serves Texas-style barbecue and craft beer to a mostly young crowd.
Alma serves funky fermentations from its “lab” as well as clever updates to Central European fare.
Andaz Prague, part of a small boutique chain owned by Hyatt, opened in 2022 in the Cukrovarnicky Palac, or Sugar Palace, a 1916 industrial building close to the Jerusalem Synagogue. Doubles from around 370 euros (Czech hotels tend to list prices in euros, not the local koruna).
Falkensteiner Hotel Prague, a branch of an upscale Austrian resort chain, offers recently refurbished rooms with bold colour schemes not far from Prague’s main train station and Wenceslas Square. Doubles from around 199 euros.
Hotel Cube offers ultramodern design in a quiet area south of Narodni Boulevard, not far from Alma and the Czechdesign shop. Doubles from around 135 euros.
For short-term rentals, look in Vinohrady, Dejvice or Karlin, all of which have good access to public transport.
GETTING THERE
Several airlines fly from Auckland to Václav Havel Airport Prague, including Air NZ, Qatar Airways and Emirates, with one stopover en route.
DETAILS
prague.eu/en
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.