Prague Off the Beaten Path Tips by londonbabe

Well, you may be using the main station - Hlavni Nadrazi - anyway. If you're not, take a bit of time to do some exploring.

Go in the main entrance, into the concrete jungle, under the ghastly red plastic ceiling. Follow the signs for the Fantova Kaverna. Go up a small flight of stairs, past the Casino. Up another flight of stairs, round a corner and 'wow! In front of you is the last remaining glory of the once glorious Art Nouveau building.

It's a huge dome, surrounded by statues, under which the original delicate ticket windows still remain, unused. There are a few cafe tables round the edge, attended by a diffident waiter. The mouldings are in poor repair, so go soon, whilst this is still holding out against the monstrous 1960's refurbishment below.

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The Prague Castle complex, in summer, is jammed to overflowing with tour groups of all shapes and sizes, bored behind their flag-waving leader. Our best overheard comment came from in front of St Vitus' cathedral: 'We have to go round this big cathedral thingy'.

So we didn't pay 350 kr each to be jammed into places like Golden Lane. Instead, we sought out the green leafy bits around the castle walls, and the natural ditch called Stag Moat. It's a bit of a climb down into the ravine from the path beside the Orangery, but once there it's shady and peaceful and full of bird song.

According to our guide book (Cadogan, excellent) not just deer but also lions and tigers were kept here for hunting by Rudolf II. However, they were more likely to die from diseases caught from slops thrown over the wall from Golden Lane than at the bow of a hunter.

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The John Lennon Wall
I'm not sure how off-the-beaten track this really is, but we were certainly the only people around when we stumbled across it on a Monday morning.
John Lennon was a folk hero in Communist Czechoslovakia, and the wall grew to fame in the 80s. Apparently it's still a meeting place for fans on the anniversary of his death.
It's opposite the French Embassy in a beautiful tree-lined square, just next to Kampa Island.

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