For mainstream, big-store shopping, head to the right-angled axis of Wenceslas Square.
Yes, the Czech capital is classic and atmospheric, but it has its share of modern twists too, writes David Whitley.
Budget
Prague is overstocked with hotel rooms, so go four-star bargain-hunting with the leading internet booking engines. Impressive rooms at the rather swish Eurostars David (pictured, 6 Naplavni, 222 516 150, eurostarsdavid.com), for example, would set you back $150-plus in Sydney but can be nabbed for about €45 here. Always cheap is the Residence Select (from €39, 34 Sokolska, 296 300 211, selecthotel.cz). Rooms are big, if uninspiringly furnished, but they tick all the key boxes while throwing in free
Wi-Fi and a kitchenette. Near the castle, the Waldstein Hotel (from €44, 6 Valdstejnske Namesti, 257 533 938, hotelwaldstein.cz) has period character rooms overlooking a courtyard.
Mid-range
Deminka Palace (1 Skretova, 224 210 281, deminkapalace.com) is an absolute stunner, combining glorious painted doors and artistic flourishes with spacious, kitchenette-equipped apartments that can be snapped up from €67 a night. Make sure you ask for a room with a freestanding shower, however. The distinctive Design Hotel Sax (from €85, 3 Jansky Vrsek, 257 531 268, hotelsax.cz) is fun, cartoonish and crammed with little oddities, as well as being good value for the Mala Strana district. Ametyst (from €72, 11 Jana Masaryka, 222 921 921, hotelametyst.cz) is less bold but still has a sense of style and small-scale charm in leafy-but-central Vinohrady.
Luxe
It's small, service is excellent and personalised, it's right by the castle with a direct gate to the gardens and it provides iPods preloaded with 500-or-so songs, so finding something not to like about the wonderful Golden Well (pictured, from €157, 166 U Zlate Studne, 257 011 213, goldenwell.cz) is a tough task. Period details can also be found in some of the rooms at the well-located and architecturally quirky Savic (from €99, 7 Jilska, 233 920 118, hotelsavic.cz). The Alchymist Residence Nosticova (from €135, 1 Nosticova, 257 312 513, nosticova.com) has bags of character, too, from suits of armour in the hallway to candle-like lights in the gold-coloured rooms.
Lash out
At the Four Seasons (pictured, from €380, 2A Veleslavinova, 221 427 000, fourseasons.com/prague), you can choose between rooms decorated in classic, Renaissance, baroque or modern style. It's refreshingly un-bland for a big luxury chain. If it's bland you want to avoid, however, the Alchymist (from €265, 19 Trzste, 257 286 011, alchymisthotel.com) is the right spot. Painted wood ceilings, four-poster beds adorned with cherubs and a gold-paint frenzy set it resolutely apart from the crowd. The Mandarin Oriental (459 Nebovidska, 233 088 888, mandarinoriental.com), meanwhile, is a superbly converted monastery that pulls in celebrities and spa lovers. The vaulted roofs and gigantic €675-plus suites ooze high-end charm.
SHOP + PLAY
To market
Prague looks like a city that should do markets really well but those it does have are disappointing. The permanent Havelske Trziste (or Havel's Market), is just off Melantrichova Street, conveniently between Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square. It specialises in souvenirs (that is, tat) but it's hardly a must-visit. The main market — Prazska Trznice on Bubenske Nabrezi in Holesovice, to the north of the centre — is fairly cheap and down at heel. This said, come Christmas time, Prague suddenly becomes one of the world's great market cities. From December 3 to New Year's Day, the Christmas Markets take over Old Town and Wenceslas squares.
Go shop
The mountains of "Praha Drinking Team"-style tack between the Old Town Square and Charles Bridge is almost admirable for the sheer saturation but for a classy souvenir, head to Art Decoratif (2 U Obecniho Domu, 222 002 350). It stocks individually made jewellery, painted glassware and picture frames, usually with distinctive art nouveau flourishes. For mainstream, big-store shopping, the right-angled axis of Wenceslas Square (pictured) and Na Prikope should keep department store lovers happy. Meanwhile, the upmarket international designer outlets congregate along Pariska. Their would-be Czech counterparts are tucked away in the side streets that branch off it.
Live music
Prague is big on its jazz and the AghaRTA Jazz Centrum (16 Zelezna, 222 211 275, agharta.cz) is a good place to go to listen. It attracts a quality musical line-up and the arched mediaeval cellar makes for a tremendously atmospheric location. For good-quality local and touring indie bands, Palac Akropolis (1548 Kubelikova, 296 330 911, www.palacakropolis.com) tends to be the venue of choice. It's something of a maze where your feet stick to the floor but the line-up keeps the punters coming back. The Lucerna Music Bar (36 Vodickova, 224 217 108, lucerna.musicbar.cz) also pulls in an eclectic mix, ranging from utter cheese to eyeliner-sporting electro-goths.
Nightclubs
Prague is heavy on giant, deafening Euro-trance barns but of the big venues, SaSaZu (306 Bubenske Nabrezi, 284 097 455, sasazu.com) is probably the coolest. It hosts lots of clubbing events, has room for 2000 and the split-level dance floor keeps the party pumping. Duplex (21 Wenceslas Square, 732 221 111, duplex.cz) sees itself as an exclusive joint, although the cool factor tends to apply more to the designer decor than the DJs. Latin Art Cafe (2 Jansky Vrsek, 773 136 119) offers something different, however, with the odd R&B curve ball thrown into a mostly Brazilian and Cuban mix.
SEE + DO
Icons
Prague Castle (224 373 368, hrad.cz, 250 koruna) is the biggest ancient castle in the world and acts as a mini-city within a city. It's crammed with palaces and museums but if you have to pick just two things inside, make it the splendidly Gothic St Vitus's Cathedral and the massive vaulted ceiling of Vladislav Hall. The procession of statues, towers and city views makes the 14th-century Charles Bridge worth getting to early, before the swarms of tour groups arrive, while the Museum of Communism (10 Na Prikope, 224 212 966, muzeumkomunismu.cz, 180 koruna) gives a fascinating (if almost completely one-eyed) insight into Czech life during the Soviet puppet-state era.
Culture
The big event in the city's cultural calendar is the Prague Spring International Music Festival (prague-spring.net), in which the focus is on the classical and many of the Czech capital's grand venues are put to excellent use. It runs from May 12 to June 4 every year. Black-light theatre — where actors wearing fluorescent clothing dance, mime and generally gad about under ultraviolet light — is bizarrely popular in Prague, too. Ta Fantastika (8 Karlova, 222 221 366, tafantastika.cz) is a good place to test your tolerance. You can also get to know the work of the country's most famous artist, Alphonse Mucha, at the Mucha Museum (7 Panska, 224 216 415, mucha.tyden.cz).
On foot
The Royal Way, from the Powder Gate and across the Charles Bridge to Prague Castle, was the traditional coronation route of Bohemian kings. Now members of the public — every single ruddy one of them — walk it on a daily basis. Many of Prague's most beautiful buildings are along the Way but do yourself a favour and tackle it before 9am. More peaceful is a stroll from the castle through the network of gardens in the Mala Strana district to the south. Also strangely calming is a walk through the Olsany and Jewish cemeteries east of the centre. Franz Kafka's grave can be found in the latter.
Follow the leader
Be warned: guided tours in Prague tend to be giant-group affairs where you're craning at the back to hear the chap holding the umbrella speak above the herd. Ignore the general tours and go for a theme. For example, the Prague Communism Tour (777 172 177, www.prague-communism-tour.com, 600 koruna) goes into Soviet-era history, visiting former secret police headquarters and a massive nuclear bunker where, being Prague, you get a free beer. Precious Legacy Tours (222 321 954, www.legacytours.net, 630 koruna) goes into Prague's substantial Jewish history, while the Prague Underground Tour (777 172 177, www.prague-underground-tour.com, 400 koruna) trawls through subterranean 12th-century catacombs, cellars and hidden rooms.
EAT + DRINK
Cafe culture
By several light years, the best spot within the castle is the Lobkowicz Palace Cafe (Jirska 3, 233 356 978, www.lobkowicz.cz). Keenly priced daily specials, a fab hot white chocolate and the chance to survey the city from the heated terrace make for a winner. For a sumptuously decorated grand cafe with a modern twist such as free Wi-Fi, Cafe Savoy (Vitezna 5, 257 311 562) is a great place to mooch with a coffee and a cake as the waistcoated waiters flit by. If modern, stylish and chilled is your thing, then Cukrkavalimonada (Lazenska 7, 257 225 396) in Mala Strana is a top spot for breakfast or a light lunch and a chat.
Snack attack
Beas Vegetarian Dhaba (Tynska 19, 608 035 727, beas-dhaba.cz) is almost universally recommended for quick, cheap eats among a friendly, alternative crowd. The agreeably spicy Indian dishes are priced by the 100 grams. The Prague Bakeshop (Kozi 1, 222 316 823, www.bakeshop.cz) is a justifiably well-established favourite, where the high stools offer street views and everything from the pre-wrapped burritos and savoury pies to the fantastic cakes and biscuits hits the spot. Otherwise, dive among the stalls on Old Town Square for everything from crepes and baked potatoes to hot dogs and grilled chicken. It's never going to be gourmet but at least it's cooked in front of you.
Top of the town
Allegro (221 427 000), at the Four Seasons, is the only restaurant in Prague bearing a Michelin star. There's a strong Italian focus and a small, bold menu that centres on a few dishes done very well. Terasa U Zlate Studne at the Golden Well Hotel combines intimacy with magical city views from the terrace, plus pricey-but-excellent fish and game dishes. Meanwhile, Kampa Park (Na Kampe 8B, 296 826 112, kampagroup.com) has long been a celeb fine-dining haunt; the postcard-perfect terrace looking out on the Charles Bridge and the Vltava River is as much of a pull as the cuisine.
By the glass
The hugely atmospheric U Stare Studny (Trziste 371/3, 257 530 582, ustarestudny.cz) in Mala Strana is a fantastic find — a cellar wine bar with a great range of cognacs and the best Czech wines. Blink and you'll walk past it. Beer lovers should try Pivovarsky Dum (Jecna/Lipova 15, 296 216 666), which brews its own on the premises. On offer are flavours such as sour cherry and banana, plus you can try miniature glasses of eight different beers. Duende (Karoliny Svetle 30, 775 186 077, barduende.cz) is a relaxed escape near the Old Town tourist trail: a cool crowd, a bluesy soundtrack and the hum of animated conversation make you wish it was your local.
Hot tip
Seeing Prague in the best possible light is largely about tour group avoidance strategies. The biggest tourist draws such as the Old Town Square and Charles Bridge, are best tackled between dawn and 9am, while beautiful Mala Strana is generally bathed in peace at night. If you can arrive outside of the peak summer season (roughly May to September), you'll be colder but almost certainly happier, while weekdays are a better bet than weekends. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are when city breakers and stag parties from all over Europe descend.
Getting there
Emirates (emirates.com) has a one-stop option from Sydney to Prague, though you may be able to find a cheaper, longer flight via other European hubs such as London, Frankfurt or Helsinki. Flights are generally cheapest between April and June but even then, you'll be lucky to get change from $2000 for a return.
Visas and currency
Australians don't need a visa to get into the Czech Republic unless planning to work or study. The local currency is the Czech koruna ($A1 = 17.7 koruna), although most hotels tend to quote in euro ($A1 = €0.73). The currency charged varies from place to place, so bring a calculator or dextrous arithmetic skills to check you're not being taken for a ride on the exchange rate.
Calling the Czech Republic
The international dialling code is +420. Add 0011 420 to any numbers here if calling from Australia and add just a zero if calling from within the country.
More information
praguewelcome.cz.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.