The National museum (Národní muzeum) is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg. Historian František Palacký was also strongly involved. At present the National Museum houses almost 14 million items from the area of natural history, history, arts, music and librarianship, located in tens of buildings. The founding of the National Museum should be seen in the context of the times, where after the French Revolution, royal and private collections of art, science, and culture were being made available to the public. The National Museum at present contains several million items of material concerning the areas of mineralogy, paleontology, mycology, botany, entomology, zoology, anthropology; and also archeology which is mostly concerned with the period from Neolithic times to the 10th century CE.

Wenceslas Square is almost an avenue as it is a very long rectangle, running from the northwest boundary of New Town to the Neoclassical National Museum at the southeast end.

The square came into being in the 14th century when Charles IV founded New Town; at that time it was a horse market. During the national revival in the 19th century it received its current name and a very fine statue of St Wenceslas was erected there. The Good King is mounted on his horse and around the base are four statues – Saint Agnes of Bohemia, St Prokop, Saint Adalbert of Prague and Saint Ludmila.

Perhaps because of its ancient status as a market, it has always been a natural gathering place: the Nazis held demonstrations there, national sporting event celebrations were held there and it was the focal point of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. When communist rule came to an end, the announcement to the Czech nation was made from this square.

Today, the square is still busy with locals and tourists who come to visit the museum or the Prague State Opera. The square is lined on both sides with offices, hotels, international shops, clubs, restaurants and snack bars. In the evening it still hums with life and has several strip joints which make it a popular place for stag parties.

Located on Wenceslas Square, the Praguian Bata Store is the largest one in Europe. Within the 5 floors building you will find the largest selection of high quality shoes you can imagine.

U Pinkasu Restaurant is the most popular old Czech restaurant that offers the world-known Pilsen beer. The cuisine and ambiance of the restaurant are really nice. This is a wonderful place to relax after a morning or afternoon sightseeing.

At the northern end of Wenceslas Square you will find the Franciscan Gardens and the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, which is an oddly proportioned Gothic building, higher than it is long.

The lovely name comes from the Santa Maria Maggoire Church in Rome, where legend has it St Mary caused snow to fall in August to indicate the site where the church should be built. In Our Lady of the Snows there is a painting executed in 1625 by an unknown Italian painter depicting the legend. Under the choir you will find the entrance to St Michael’s Chapel.

You might well wonder about the strange proportions of the church. Founded in 1347 by Charles IV and presented to the Carmelite monks, it was consecrated in 1347, even though only the choir was completed. Charles IV had intended it to be the biggest church in the New town, which explains why the nave is the highest in Prague, being over 39 metres high.

Building was interrupted by the Hussite wars and the religious revolutionary Jan Zelivsky was buried there. At the end of the wars, the church was pillaged and left in ruins. In 1603 the Franciscans finished the presbytery and restored the Gothic vault, giving the façade its Baroque style.

In the courtyard you can visit two chapels: St John of Nepomuk and Our Lady of Perpetual Help where temporary art exhibitions are held. Evening concerts are given in the church.

While in Prague do take time to visit Naprstek’s Museum of Asian, African and American Culture which is located in Bethlehem Square.

While these exhibits in the museum aren’t anything to do with Czech culture, they are nonetheless fascinating and also a part of Czech history. Vojta Naprstek was a 19th century industrialist who had a passion for anthropology. After spending ten years in the United States seeking political asylum, he returned to Prague where he opened a museum at first intended to promote Czech industry. He also added Amerindian artefacts he’d brought back from the United States, and these quickly became more popular than the industry side of the museum.

The museum was frequented by scholars who added their own collections from Australia and the Pacific Islands and today the museum holds 95 000 artefacts, though not all of them are on view. The main exposition halls feature Amerindian and Australian objects that portray the way of life of the two continents’ natives in the 19th century. Another hall offers temporary expositions of other non-European culture.

There is a very good gift shop where you can buy posters and books about the museum and details about the various native tribes in the 19th century. If you want to take photos in the museum, you will be asked to pay an additional fee.

The National Theatre (Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished personalities in Czech society. This tradition helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation–the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking. Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles–opera, ballet and drama–which alternate in their performances in the historic building of the National Theatre, in the Theatre of the Estates and in the Kolowrat Theatre. All three artistic ensembles select their repertoire not only from the rich classical heritage, but in addition to local authors they focus their attention on modern world output.

The Dancing House (Tančící dům) is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building in downtown Prague, at Rašínovo nábřeží 80. It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in co-operation with Canadian architectFrank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996. The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. Czech president Václav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - the house resembles a pair of dancers) the house stands out among the Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous. Others have nicknamed it "Drunk House".

If you want to relax for a while during your exploration of Prague’s historical sites, you might like to do so in Charles Square, which is the largest square in Prague.

When Charles IV founded New Town in the 14th century, the square was the central town market place. In the 15th century it was called the Cattle Market as drovers sold their herds there. The square got its current name in 1848.

On the northern side of the square stands the New Town Hall which was built in the 14th century and was the place of the first defenestration of Catholic nobles in 1419. Today it serves for storing government archives and sometimes holds temporary exhibitions.

Until it was abolished in 1791, a Gothic chapel displayed the Crown Jewels every Easter. Although the chapel no longer stands, there is still the Emause Monastery built in 1347 and the Church of St Ignatius built in 1670 to visit. According to local legend a marble stone used to stand in the park, marking the spot where secret executions took place in the dead of night, but if it was true, the stone is no longer in the square.

The square remained rather unattractive until the 19th century when it was turned into a park, sporting a small ornamental pond and statues of various Czech writers and scholars.