7_Prague

And now, I would like to talk about the sights and monuments, because Prague has become one of the Europe’s and the world’s most popular tourist destinations. It’s the sixth most-visited European city. The remarkable sight-seeing tour is surely the Royal Route. It was the way for the coronation of a new king and it’s the historical road from the Municipal House to the Prague Castle, around the Powder Tower, through the Celetná Street to the Old Town Square, around the Klementinum to the Charles Bridge and to the Lesser Town Square and then to the Square of Hradčany and to the St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Old Town Square is a historical centre of the city and probably the most popular place for the tourists. We can find here the Týn Church, the dominant of the square, Jan Hus Monument (not far from the square is the Bethlehem Chapel where Jan Hus preached), but the most famous attraction is the Old Town Hall with the Astronomical clock.

Another popular tourist atraction is the gothic Charles Bridge, which is the oldest bridge in Prague. It has two Bridge Towers and there are 30 baroque sculptures and statues on the bridge.

The dominant of the city is the Prague Castle, which is the seat of the President. It’s the monumental gothic, renaissance and baroque complex of three courtyards and over 700 rooms (the well-known are for example Vladislav Hall, Spanish Hall or the Rudolph Gallery). The part of the Castle is the gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, founded by Charles IV. Tourists also like the picturesque Golden Lane made up of tiny houses with coloured facades.

The other famous Prague sights are for example Strahov Monastery, Petřín Observation Tower that looks like small Eiffel Tower, the Jewish Town, the Wenceslas Square with National Museum and St. Wenceslas Memorial, the National Theatre, Vyšehrad with Slavín cemetery, the Troja chateau or the Žižkov Observation Tower. The famous attractions are also the Prague ZOO or the Botanical Garden. One of the most familiar streets is Pařížská street which is the one of the most expensive streets in the world with a lot of luxury shops and butiques.

Prague is also a cultural centre of the Czech Republic. The most important cultural places are the National Theatre, the Estates Theatre, the Rudolphinum (which is the home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra), the State Opera, the National Museum, the National Library or the National Gallery. We can find here hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs. Prague hosts many festivals, such as the music festivals (for example the Prague Spring International Music Festival), film festivals (the Febiofest or the One World), the Prague Writers Festival and hundreds of other festivals and vernissages.

If we want to compare Prague to other famous European metropoles, I think it will be a difficult thing to do. I was only in Paris, London and Brussels so I can compare Prague to them. I think London and Brussels are much more modern-looking cities full of modern architectural buildings. Prague is in comparison to them more historical and classic and I think that’s the thing that attracts tourists from all around the world to come and see the famous monuments. Paris seems to me more similiar to Prague because there are also a lot of historic buildings and it’s maybe the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.