DISCOVER PRAGUE

Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech state for over 1000 years. The city proper is home to nearly 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and belongs to the most visited cities on the continent. Since 1992, the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city".


SIGHTS OF PRAGUE

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of Europe's (and the world's) most popular tourist destinations. It is the sixth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin.

Prague suffered considerably less damage during World War II than some other major cities in the region, allowing most of its historic architecture to stay true to form.

It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. Some of the most known sights are:

• Old Town (Stare Mesto) with its Old Town Square
• The Astronomical Clock
• The picturesque Charles Bridge
• New Town (Nove mesto) with its busy and historic Wenceslas Square
• Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter)
• Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
• Josefov (the old Jewish quarter) with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue
• The Lennon Wall
• Vinohrady
• The museum of Heydrich assassination in the crypt of the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius
• National Museum
• Vysehrad castle
• Petrinska rozhledna, an observation tower on Petrin hill, which is nearly a 1:5 copy of the Eiffel Tower
• Andel (neighborhood) which is probably the busiest part of the city with a super modern shopping mall and architecture
• Zizkov Television Tower with observation deck
• The New Jewish Cemetery in Olsany, location of Franz Kafka's grave
• The Metronome, a giant, functional metronome that looms over the city
• The Dancing House (Fred and Ginger Building)
• The Mucha Museum, showcasing the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha
• Places connected to writers living in the city, such as Franz Kafka (One popular destination is the Franz Kafka museum)

CULTURE OF PRAGUE

Prague is a traditional cultural center of Europe, hosting many cultural events.

Significant cultural institutions include:

• National Theater
• Estates Theatre
• The Rudolfinum (home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra)
• State Opera
• National Museum
• Naprstek Museum
• National Library
• National Gallery

There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague also hosts Film Festivals, Music Festivals, a Writers Festival, hundreds of Vernissages and Fashion Shows.


ECONOMY OF PRAGUE

The GDP per capita of Prague is more than double that of the Czech Republic as a whole, with a per-capita GDP (PPP) of 33,784 (purchasing power standard) in 2004, which is at 157.1% of the European Union average. This number is ranking Prague between 12 richest EU regions. However, the price level is still significantly lower than in comparable cities.

The city is becoming a site of European headquarters of many international companies.

Since the late 1990s, Prague has become a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood motion pictures. A combination of architecture, low costs and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proved attractive to international film production companies.


TRANSPORTATION

Prague's integrated transport system is incredibly reliable and cheap, and covers a very large percentage of the metropolitan area. Using a combination of bus, tram, train, and metro, it is possible to get to within a five minute walk of essentially any part of the central city.

• Integrated transport system: Public transport infrastructure consists of an integrated transport system of Prague Metro (with 54 stations in total), Prague Tram System (including the "nostalgic tram" no. 91), buses, the Petrin funicular to Petrin Hill and a chairlift at Prague Zoo. All services have a common ticketing system, and are run by Dopravni podnik hl. m. Prahy (The Capital City of Prague Transport Company).
  
  
• Rail: The city forms the hub of the Czech railway system, with services to all parts of the Czech Republic and abroad.
  
  Prague has two international railway stations, Hlavni nadrazi (sometimes referred to as Wilsonovo nadrazi) and Praha-Holesovice. Intercity services also stop at the main stations Praha-Smichov and Masarykovo nadrazi. In addition to these, there are a number of smaller suburban stations. In the future rail should play a greater role in Prague Public Transport System.
  
  
• Air: Prague is served by Ruzyne International Airport, the biggest airport in the Czech Republic and one of the busiest in Central and Eastern Europe. It is the hub of the flag carrier, Czech Airlines and of the low-cost airline SkyEurope operating throughout Europe. There is also the oldest Prague airport in the suburb of Kbely, after WWII turned into a military airport, and the small domestic airport with grass runways in Letnany.
  
  
• Taxis: Taxi services in Prague can be divided into three sectors. There are major taxicab companies, operating call-for-taxi services (radio-taxi) or from regulated taxi stands, where overpricing is rare and regulation mostly in place. There are independent drivers, who make pick-ups on the street; cheating is mostly associated with these cars.

SPORTS IN PRAGUE

Prague is the site of many sports events, national stadiums and teams

• Prague International Marathon
• Sparta Prague - UEFA Champions League
• Slavia Prague - UEFA Cup
• Sazka Arena - 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and Euroleague Final Four 2006
• Strahov Stadium - the second-largest stadium in the world
• Mystic SK8 Cup - World cup of skateboarding
• Prague open - prestige Floorball cup

PRAGUE HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION

PRAGUE TOURS, TRAVEL & ACTIVITIES

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