Tear out page here then fold along the dotted lines TURN OVER FOR MAP AND NUMBER LOCATIONS
Fold 1MINI GUIDE
Budget
Prague
Once famously inexpensive, the Czech capital is
no longer universally cheap. No matter – gazing
at glorious architecture and enjoying a frothy
beer will still hardly dent your wall.The 14th-century
Charles Bridge
connects the Old Town
with Prague CastleSights
Eating and drinking Entertainment
MISTRAL CAFÉ
Pale stone, bleached birchwood
and potted shrubs make for a
crisp, modern look in the Old
Town. The clientele of local
students and office workers clearly
appreciate the competitively
priced, well-prepared food, which
includes fish and chips in
crumpled brown paper with
lemon and black-pepper mayo
(mistralcafe.cz; Valentinská 11;
mains from US$4.35).CUKRKÁVALIMONÁDA
A cute café-cum-restaurant that
combines understated modern
styling with Renaissance-era
painted timber roof-beams, CKL
offers scrumptious hot chocolate,
homemade pastas, frittatas,
ciabattas, salads and pancakes
(sweet and savoury) by day and
a slightly more sophisticated
bistro menu in the early evening.
The name means ‘sugar, coffee,
lemonade’ – the Czech
equivalent of ‘eeny-meeny-miny-
moe’ (cukrkavalimonada.com;
Lázeňská 7; 9am–7pm; mains
from US$4.35).LOKÁL
Genius: a classic Czech beer
hall (albeit with slick modern
styling); excellent tankové pivo
(tanked Pilsner Urquell); a
daily-changing menu of
traditional Bohemian dishes;
smiling, efficient service; and a
nonsmoking area! Top
restaurant chain Ambiente has
turned its hand to Czech
cuisine, and the result has been
so successful that the place is
always busy, mostly with locals
(lokal-dlouha.ambi.cz; Dlouhá
33; 11am–1am Mon–Sat,
11am–midnight Sun; mains
from US$4.35).WALKING TOUR
A number of companies offer
guided walking tours of the city
for ‘free’ (no fee, but a tip).
Prague Extravaganza is
recommended – its local
volunteers depart twice daily
from outside the Powder Tower
at Náměstí Republiky, and the
two-hour tour is split into two
parts: the Old Town and the
Jewish Quarter, then the lesser
town and Prague Castle
(extravaganzafree
tour.com; daily 11am & 3.30pm).MUSEUM OF THE INFANT
JESUS
The Church of Our Lady Victorious,
built in 1613, is home to a
47cm-tall waxwork figure of the
baby Jesus, brought from Spain in- Known as the Infant Jesus of
Prague, it is said to have protected
Prague from the plague and from
the destruction of the Thirty Years’
War. Over the years, benefactors
have donated 70 costumes, now on
show in the church museum
(pragjesu.info; Karmelitská 9; free).
DAVID ČERNÝ
You can spot works by Prague’s
most famous living artist all over
the city. Proudy is an animatronic
sculpture of two guys peeing in a
puddle shaped like the Czech
Republic (Cihelná); in the garden of
Futura Gallery, you’ll find an
installation called Brownnosers
(futuraproject.cz). Černý works
with artists from around the world
at Meet Factory, a disused factory
that’s now an exhibition space
(meetfactory.cz; Ke Sklárně 3213).CHARLES BRIDGE
With its array of jazz bands,
buskers, caricature artists and
postcard sellers, Charles Bridge has
a lively mix of free entertainment,
and a stroll across it is everybody’s
favourite Prague activity. By 9am
it’s a 500m-long fairground, so, in
the crush, don’t forget to look at
the bridge itself, which was
completed in 1390 – the bridge
towers have great views up and
down the Vltava river.ASTRONOMICAL
CLOCK
Prague’s Old Town Hall, founded
in 1338, is a hotchpotch of
medieval buildings presided over
by a Gothic tower with a splendid
Astronomical Clock. Crowds
gather on the hour to watch the
clock in action – the 45-second
performance is one of Europe’s
best-known attractions. The
clock has an intriguing
symbolism
(staromestskaradnicepraha.cz;
Staroměstské náměstí 1; free).ROXY
Set in the ramshackle shell of an
Art Deco cinema in Staré Město,
the legendary Roxy has nurtured
the more independent and
innovative end of Prague’s club
spectrum since 1992 – this is the
place to see the Czech Republic’s
top DJs. On the first floor is
NoD, an experimental space
that stages drama, dance,
performance art, cinema and
live music (roxy.cz; Dlouhá 33;
7pm–5am; cover price from free,
see individual listings).Pancakes with cream cheese and
raspberries at Mistral CaféA red car sculpture by David
Černý hangs outside Meet FactoryRoxy opened its doors in Prague’s
early post-communist daysFold 2