This is an email I sent in 2003, a year after I left Prague! Since apparently I have no memory, I still use it to help guide people (although it's now 2011!).
First of all, just from any guide book and from where the crowds are, there are definitely places you will go. Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti) is a long boulevard type of square with the National Museum at one end and then the start of the Old Town at the other. The Metro stops are Mustek and Muzeum. There is lots of shopping, cafes, a nice hotel named Hotel Europe I believe....it's cool. There are some cool stores if you walk along Na Prikope...places your girlfriend will probably like (Mango, Zara, Clockhouse...).
As you head towards the Old Town Square (Staromestke Namesti), you will see lots of crystal shops and great stores. There are great streets to wander around on. You can get lost wandering around. Any map will show you the old Powder Tower (Prasa Brana) and also the Obecni Dum, which is an amazing artsy building. In the Old Town Square, there are bars, restaurants and cafes but of course they charge outrageous prices. Prague is the sort of place where you can eat a full meal for $3 or $15, depending how touristy the area is! The astronomical clock is in the Old Town Square. At the hour mark, everyone stands around to watch it and hear the chimes. From the Old Town Square, if you turn onto Dlouha street, you will walk a few blocks and on your left, after passing a club called the Roxy, you will come to a cool teahouse called Dahab. You can get many different types of tea and smoke a hookah. It's cool.
Celetna is another street that goes off of the Old Town Square, that has good shopping and better prices than right in the center. In the other direction, towards the river, you can follow the crowds and to to the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). It is the pedestrian only bridge with many vendors, street musicians etc AND GREAT VIEWS. On the east side of the river (the opposite side of the castle) and a little bit south of the bridge, you can rent a paddle boat or a canoe and spend some time on the Vltava River. It's fun for an hour or two!
When you cross the Charles Bridge, to go over to the west side, there are stairs that go down to an area sort of under the bridge, like along the water. There are cute bakeries and shops, and the John Lennon Wall (worth seeing, I think). If you don't go down those stairs and you walk west across the bridge, pass the stores, pizzerias and McDonalds and the next main street that you come to is Karmelitska. To the right is a cool bar called Bar St. Nicholas. It's sort of a cellar area. There is a cool bier hall type bar also to your right in the square to your right, the square is called "Malostranske Namesti". I don't know the bar name, but you can't miss it because there is always live music and lots of people.
If you cross the bridge to go to the west side and turn left on Karmelitska, you will pass more stores and restaurants. The street name becomes Ujezd. You will pass a bagel place called Bohemia Bagels that has great spinach soup and internet! Across from the Bohemia Bagels on the west side of the river (on the street Karmelitska/Ujezd) you will see a funiculur--which is a train that runs up the hill side. Take it to the top (second stop) and you will be at some beautiful gardens...it's a nice place to relax and of course has great views! Next door to Bohemia Bagels is Bar Ujezd. I think it was the first rock bar to come out of Communism (1989). A little more down and there is an AMAZING Italian restaurant called La Fame. My student Katy opened it. The pizzas are great, so are the pastas, so is the Pilsner Urquell on tap. It's all lit by candlelight. They speak English. If you go in, you have to ask for Katy and tell her that you are my boss now ;) If you continue down Ujezd, you will pass Vltavska St and about one block later is the Staropramen Brewery. Fresh beer brewed right there. Amazing garlic soup. Excellent goat cheese salad.
What else, what else....you can't miss the castle! It's amazing. You can take a tram (23 or 24) up to it, or you can walk all the stairs. If you walk up all the stairs, which start along the west side of the river near the Manosov Bridge, you will arrive at the top to Golden Lane. Golden Lane has some stores, old apartments, No. 20 is where Kafka once lived, and you walk up to the St. Vitus Cathedral and the courtyards. There are GREAT views of Prague from the castle area.
The best way to walk down is on Nerudova St. It's a sloping street with tons of beautiful buildings and shops. It leads you right back down to the river.
As far as food goes, I know some good places to eat! One place is called Dynamo, and it is on a street called something like "Psstrova". It is behind the National Theater (Narodni Divadlo). It is a modern type sea green restaurant with really friendly service and good filet mignon, caesar salads, wine...and in fact, if you have time you should see something at the National Theater. You can go to the box office and get seats for as little as $3, because arts are funded by the government. The place is BEAUTIFUL inside!
For brunch, you HAVE TO GO TO Radost FX, which is also a club at night. Rhianna filmed a video there too. Radost has the most amazing vegetarian breakfasts. Omelettes, potatoes, bloody mary's....and this is on a street behind the Museum, really close to the tram and subway stop I.P. Pavlova. It’s around the corner from the tram stop. Radost is worth the trip!
Beer....my favorites are Pilsner-Urquell and Gambrinus! Don't drink Radegast, it's like the worst of the Czech beers. Budvar (the European Budweiser) is ok, but too many of those and you will have a crazy headache. It has too much sugar I think. If you can find Eggenberg on tap, get it! It's an excellent beer that is local to the town Cesky Krumlov, to the south. Eggenburg dark is probably the best beer I tried in Prague!
I am trying to think if I can recommend anything else...I really like the area around Bethlehem Square (Betlemski Namesti) because it's a little bit off the beaten track. You can wander on those streets for hours.
Czech people aren't always the friendliest, until you know them. But as far as how they treat tourists, it's not always great. Expect service to be slow. "Prosim" is please. To say "Check, please" say "Oo-chet, pro-seem". Beer is "pivo". Dark beer is "pivo cherny" and light is "pivo beelay". I'm not spelling them right, because the spelling doesn't help with pronunciation! We always tipped about 10%, just to be nice, but Czech people round up.
If you have any questions or anything, email me or call me. You will have a great time. Oh, be careful of the pickpockets, there is a lot of small crime like that, but nothing criminal. And the public transportation is on your honor, but they have undercover people checking for tickets, so you should go into a metro station and buy some. The word for ticket is "jyzdenky". I'm so excited for you...
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