"Prague - City of a 100 Spires!" a Prague Travel Page by M0B1US

Arriving in Prague in the Winter was like a dream come true for me as to gaze across the snow covered rooftops was like something straight out of a fairy tale...

Right from the moment I took my first walk around the old town in the evening mist of my first night, I instantly felt as though I had been swallowed up by its astounding history from its first founding just over a millennia ago.

The old town square is simply breathtaking, presided over majestically as it is by the town hall and the dominating presence of the monolithic Church of Our Lady before Tyn. A short five minute walk from the square has you standing on the banks of the Vltava River gazing in awe at the mediaeval masterpiece of the Charles Bridge - in fact the only thing that can possibly tear your eyes from this visual feast is the simply stunning presence of Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral standing proudly watching over the city on the opposite bank.

And that is just the beginning of visual treats that Prague has to offer... :-)

Spend the first day orientating yourself and getting to know Prague - get lost in the little streets and alleyways of the Old and New Towns or the Jewish and Little Quarters finding all the little gems that Prague has to offer.

There are many facets of Prague that can be explored through its impressive history:

Explore Prague's architecture starting with its Romanesque foundations, its mediaeval core or the many fabulous examples of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo Gothic styles...

Explore Prague's food and drink culture - Prague is a true bastion of beer where you can imbibe some of the World's best beers for mere pennies! Why not have a delicious Goulash with your beer to keep you going...

Explore Prague's arts culture from classical music greats such as Smetana or Drovak; literary greats such as Kafka and Hasek - or movements such as Cubism and Mucha's pioneering art nouveau movement...

Prague has something for everyone and in all my time travelling this has to be one of my favourite experiences such is the richness of the history encapsulated within its walls.

Walk - that's what your feet are for! Prague is designed for walking, with almost all of the major attractions within easy walking distance of each other...

In fact, on one day I was able to walk from the east side of the old city (Stare Mesto), right the way across the Charles Bridge and up the hill to the Castle before making the climb up to the Observatory on Petrin Hill - before walking all the way back home via Narodni Street of Nove Mesto...

OK, so my legs were a bit tired the next day but the best way to get around to see the sights and drink up the atmosphere of Prague is to get out there and walk amongst the people.

Still, there are times when you might want to rest your feet or travel a little further afield such as Vysehrad, and that is where Prague's cheap, efficient and fully integrated Transport System made up of the bus, tram and metro system...

For only a few crowns you can travel easily from one side of the town to the other and for a mere 200 crowns you can have unlimited transport across the city for 3 days, though in my five days there I only spent about 40 crowns on all my transport including my connections to and from the airport...

By the way, did I mention the amazingly cheap connections from the airport into the city? Catching the 119 bus into town and connecting to the metro for my hotel was a mere 12 crowns - that is 25p!!!

Compare that to average taxi prices from the airport of 400 crowns and you can see just what value for money Prague's transport system is!

Now, talking of taxis...

Really, there should be no need to use taxis if you feel confident getting around a strange city, because they have a very bad reputation for ripping off tourists and in my view should be used as a last resort!

Driving a car in Prague is out of the question if you are a tourist - if you drive here, just park near a public transport terminus on the outskirts of the city and leave your car alone whilst in Prague! Otherwise you could be looking at unnecessary stress and some very expensive and inconvenient fines...