Prague is renowned for its wonderful palaces, towers and castles. If you are a history lover, it’s probably the best city in Europe to visit, but after immersing yourself for several days in historical buildings, art galleries and concert halls, you might have a hankering to see something modern. If this is the case, take a trek to the Republic Square.

This square lies at the boundary of Old Town and New Town and is the intersection of eight roads. Here you will find the Municipal House, with its salons, reception rooms and concert halls, and the Gothic Powder Tower, which once was used to store gunpowder and is now used for exhibitions.

Once you have admired (and perhaps visited) these buildings you can head to the Kotva Department Store where you will find clothes, jewellery, sports equipment, books and a lot more. On the top floor there is a terrace restaurant and on the roof there is a pretty good nightclub where you can Salsa the night away.

Also on the square is the huge, 115 000 square metre Palladium shopping centre. It houses four floors of shopping and commercial galleries with over 200 shops and thirty cafés and restaurants. During the survey before building started, archaeologists came across the foundations of several 12th century constructions and these have been incorporated into the architecture of the shopping centre.

No visit to Prague would be complete without a walk along Celetna Street, part of the ancient Royal Road that was the coronation route from the Old Town to Prague Castle.

Celetna Street was named after the plaited rolls that used to be sold to the public while they waited to watch nobles pass by on their way to the castle. Nowadays the street is lined with souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants. In Prague it’s difficult not to start starting a photo collection of house signs and if you have become an aficionado, you’ll love this street!

Most of the buildings in the street have kept their Gothic or Romanesque vaulted cellars, except “at the Black Madonna” which is Prague’s first Cubist building. Manhart Palace or “at the Goats” is owned by the Theatre Institute and the Theatre in Celetna ;“at the Black Sun” is an early Gothic house, restored in the 18th century with a Baroque façade; the Sixt House or “at the Three Kings” has an excellent café and a wine tasting room. Kafka lived there for a short time. “At the Golden Deer” was once a “rattle” post office, from which letters were delivered all over Prague – the postmen used to rattle chains outside houses to signal that they had a letter for the occupant. Other house signs include “at the Comb”, “at the Czech Eagle” and many more.

According to legend the street is haunted by a butcher carrying a bloodied axe and a prostitute who was murdered by a clergyman.

While staying in Prague, you will, of course visit the Old Town Square which is the heart of the city. Once a thriving market, the square is now a pedestrian area where tourists gather to relax over a drink in one of the many outdoor cafés and restaurants.

Here you will find some of the most impressive medieval buildings in Prague, beginning with the Old Town City Hall, built in 1364 and famous for its Astronomical Clock. At the northern end of the square stands the 18th century St Nicholas Church with its white façade seeming to gleam in the sunlight. It belongs to the Czech Hussite Movement and serves as both a church and a classical concert hall.

The 14th century Tyn Church is probably the most photographed church in the city, with its many Gothic spires. Access to the church is through the Tyn School, an impressive Gothic building with many arcades. Near the church you can visit the House at the Stone Bell where the Municipal Gallery holds exhibitions. Its original Gothic façade was restored in the 1980s. Next to the Stone Bell is the lovely Kinsky Palace with its Rococo façade.

On the south side of the square you will come across some wonderful Baroque and Renaissance buildings that are named after their house signs: At the Stone Table; At the Red Fox; At the Blue Star. In the centre of the square is the Jan Hus Memorial, placed there in 1915 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the religious reformer’s death.

When you visit Parizska Street, not far from Wenceslas Square, you would be forgiven if you think that you have been transported to the French capital.

Parizska Street is the most fashionable – and the most expensive street in Prague. Its elegant buildings and tree-lined pavements are the equal to any shopping street in Paris, after which it takes its name. At Christmas the shops are beautifully decorated, the trees are strung with white fairy-lights and horse-drawn carriages trot along the cobble-stones, giving the street an enchanting 19th century appearance.

Here you will find luxury international shops such as Vuitton, Prada and Hugo Boss amongst other top-of-the-range names. You can gaze at the beautiful Karlovarsky and Celetna Porcelain on display in several shop windows. The travel agents in this street offer flights and holiday packages geared to the ultra-rich and the luxury 5 star hotels open their suites and rooms to the elite. If you want to catch sight of famous actors, you will probably find them staying in one of these hotels while they are visiting Prague.

There are also a number of very good restaurants that are reasonably priced and you really should have a meal in the Barock Restaurant with its movie-star deco and excellent food. You might not be able to afford to buy anything on Parizka Street, and indeed apart from the porcelain, there might not be anything you would want to buy, but this lovely street is well worth visiting.

When you follow the Royal Route from the Old Town to Prague Castle, a part of it will take you through Karlova Street and you are certain to spend a little time exploring this quaint road.

Karlova Street begins at the Square of the Knights of the Cross and ends near the Charles Bridge. Most of the buildings have Baroque façades but have kept their Gothic or Romanesque cellars and vaults.

If you take photos of house-signs you can add several to your collection: “At the Blue Pike” was once a pub, frequented by Wenceslas IV and his magician Zito; “At the French Crown”, where the German astronomer J. Kepler lived; “At the Golden Crown” /”At the White Horse”, once two Gothic houses; the house sign is the original and dates back to the 16th century.

If you like puppets, you will be delighted to find several shops selling these lovable marionettes; the best puppet shop is “Kingdom of Marionettes”. There is also a small marionette theatre where you can watch a parody of Don Giovanni. There are open markets, souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants. When you have finished your visit there are plenty of street bands to serenade you on your way.

Jan Palach Square is a ‘new’ square when compared to other squares in Prague. In 1945 it was named the Square of the Red Army in commemoration of the Russian soldiers who died liberating Prague. Between 1969 and 1970 it was rather tentatively renamed Jan Palach Square after the young student committed suicide by self-immolation as a protest of the Soviet occupation of his country. The name was officially adopted at the end of 1989 after the communist regime came to an end.

You can find the square in the Old Town on the right bank of the river not far from the Jewish Quarter. The West side of the square is adjacent to the river and affords a great view of the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. The square is connected to the Lesser Town by the Mάnes Bridge.

To the North of the square you can see the Rudolfinum Concert Hall and Art Gallery and to the South, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. On the East side stands the Charles University Faculty of Arts.

In front of the Rudolfinum there is a statue of the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and by the river you will find a statue of Josef Mάnes the Czech painter who is best known for the beautiful images he painted of the months that were added to the Astronomical Clock in 1870. If you wish to see a commemorative plaque for Jan Palach, you will find it in Wenceslas Square.

Since the 10th century Prague’s Lesser Town Square was an important market place and the centre of activity on the left side of the river. Today it is filled with restaurants, old pubs and small shops. It is worth a long visit to see the many remarkable buildings.

Here you will find the 14th century Old Town Hall where non-catholic nobles wrote “Ceste Konfese” demanding religious tolerance..In the centre of the square is the impressive 18th century Baroque St Nicholas Church. This church, built on the remains of a Gothic chapel has wonderful frescoes and statues and a fresco of 1500 square metres on the ceiling.

When you relax over a drink in the renowned Malostranska kaverna, you might not realise that you are sitting in what was once the Gromling Palace, the most important Rococo building in Prague. On the northern end of the square you will find Smiricky House where nobles gathered in 1618 to plot the assassination of Imperial Catholic Governors - the Governors were defenestrated the next day, but they didn’t die. This act was the beginning of the 30 years war. The nearby Sternberg Palace is used by the National Gallery for expositions.

On the façade of the 18th century Kaiserstein Palace you will see a bust of the famous Czech soprano Emma Destinnova who lived there at the beginning of the 20th century.

You will find Nerudova Street in The Lesser Town area and if you don’t mind walking up a rather steep hill, this street makes for a very interesting visit, especially if you collect house-signs.

The street is named after Jan Neruda the writer who used the Lesser Town area as the backdrop for his stories and essays. The buildings are Renaissance or Baroque, but most have kept their Gothic origins in the form of cellars and vaults. The Embassy of Romania is housed in Morzin Palace, with its statues of two Moors holding up the balcony. The Italian Embassy is found at Thun-Hobenstein Palace and has a pair of eagles spreading their wings over the portal. The street is full of quaint pubs, restaurants and shops.

House signs were used before houses were numbered and Nerudova Street has plenty of fine examples. Among others are: “At the Golden Cup” you’ll see the symbol of goldsmiths and this one dates back to 1660. “At the Three Fiddles” is where the violin maker T.Edlinger, the founder of the Prague School of Violin Making, once lived. “At the Golden Horseshoe” you can see a real horseshoe on the foot of the painted horse, put there in 1559.

The Lesser Town is probably the most haunted area of Prague and Nerudova Street is no exception. “At the Black Eagle” was owned by a miserly old woman who locked all her possessions away so that her heirs couldn’t get them. Now you can hear her late at night, rattling a bunch of keys as she opens and closes doors to check on her treasures.

While you are exploring Prague’s Lesser Town take a little time to visit Maltese Square. At first sight it might not seem very much, but it is nevertheless steeped in history and legend and also has a number of charming cafés and pubs.

The square was named after the Knights of the Maltese Cross who built a monastery there in 1169, next to the church of Our Lady below the Chain. This church is the oldest in the Lesser Town and is named after the chain that was used to secure the church gates at night. A Gothic presbytery was added in the 13th century and the church was given a Baroque façade in 1640. Today, the two towers of the church have been transformed into very expensive apartments.

In the square you will also find Nostitz Palace, an early Baroque building with a Rococo portal. Once the home of the Nostitz family who supported young artists and musicians, it is now the seat of the Ministry of Culture. There is also a library containing over 15 000 books.
Opposite the Nostitz Palace stands the Strakas of Nedabylice Palace, built in 1690 and where the famous Dutch sculptor Adriaen de Vries had a workshop.

To the North of the square you can admire a statue of St John the Baptist. This statue was erected to give thanks to the end of a plague that ravaged the town in 1715. According to legend, if the statue is removed from the square, the plague will come back.