- Prague, nicknamed Paris of the 1920s and the Heart of Europe, is the capital city of Czech Republic and the centre of a lot of cultural and commercial activity. Situated in Central Bohemia, it has its own regional authority as the capital.
- With a population of 1.3 million, Prague enjoys a predominantly oceanic climate with continental climate influences, even though Czechia doesn’t have access to a marine coastline.
- The city served as a capital for two Holy Roman Emperors, Charles IV, who commissioned the New Town of Prague and established the Charles University, and Rudolph II who made Prague a centre of arts and protosciences like alchemy.
- Many great personalities have set foot in or even lived in this charming city, Jan Neruda, Karel Čapek, Franz Kafka to name a few. Even Einstein said, “Prague is so beautiful, it would justify living here a lot longer,” to his wife who wanted to move to Zurich. Sadly, she won the argument and he had to move.
Places of interest
Monuments and museums
A small list of monuments in Prague by part of town:
Old Town (Staré mesto):
- 1) The Astronomical Clock (Staroměstký orloj) is the most famous mediaeval clock in the Town Hall Building.
- 2) Charles Bridge (Karlův Most), first named the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most), replaced the earlier Bridge of Judith (Juditin most), the first permanent bridge on the river Vltava in Prague that had collapsed in 1342.
- 3) The Powder Tower (Prašná brána, “Powder Gateway”) is the Gunpowder Tower of Prague and one of the main entrances to the Old Town.
- 4) The Old Town Square (Staroměstké náměstí, col. Staromák) is the centre of public life in Prague and the liveliest part of Prague.
- 5) The Clementium is the second largest architectural complex in Prague after the Prague Castle and houses the National Library of the Czech Republic.
The Castle District (Hradčany):
- 1) The Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) is the world’s largest mediaeval castle complex in the world. The seat of many an important ruler at various times in Central European history.
- 2) The St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta) is a cathedral in the Prague Castle with a complicated building history and a mixture of various architectural styles which brings together the mediaeval and modern motifs.
The New Town (Nové Město)
- 1) Wenceslas Square (Václavské Náměstí, col. Václavák) is a magnanimous square that has been witness to many recent historical events. Named after St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Czechia, Wenceslas Square is another hub of cultural activity in the centre of Prague.
Josefov, historically the Jewish Quarter (Židovské mesto)
- 1) The Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý židovský hřbitov) in Josefov is one of the oldest Jewish burial sites in the world and the only part of Prague historically where Jews were allowed to be buried.
- 2) The Six Synagogues of Josefov are historical synagogues that are still standing and each has its own history.
Prague also has an interesting variety of museums to visit ranging from historical museums like the National Museum and the Museum of Communism to art galleries and museums like the Gallery of Street Figures and the National Gallery to many specialised museums like the Museum of Senses and the Museum of Torture.
A more detailled list on the monuments can be found here: https://www.introducingprague.com/monuments-attractions
More on specific museums can be found here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g274707-Activities-c49-Prague_Bohemia.html
Evening and night life
There is many a place one could go to with their friends to enjoy what Prague has to offer for evenings:
Cafes and teahouses
Prague has so many cafes and teahouses. These are great places to take your friends to if you’d like to enjoy a boardgame or two or just have a nice time catching up.
Cafes often offer a great deal of beverage options, often including many alcoholic beverages, and might also offer small snacks to go with the drinks. Teahouses on the other hand tend to focus primarily on tea and offer you a very broad selection from many parts of the world. These, unlike cafes, often also have some food options, often just vegetarian ones including more often than not Indian cuisine, and also water pipes. A small list of nice teahouses can be found here: https://www.jsmekocky.cz/clanek/beata-bohata/zabava-spolecnost/top-10-cajovny-v-praze-kde-zapomenes-na-vsechny-starosti
A larger list of cafes can be found here: https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/cestovani-kam-v-praze-vyrazit-za-dobrou-kavou-tipy-na-nejlepsi-prazske-kavarny-40402325
Bars, pubs and clubs
No Czech settlement is complete without a pub, and being the capital, Prague is, of course, the farthest thing you could find from an exception. There are so many pubs that if you went to one for every weekend for the next fifteen years, you will still not have visited every single one of them. There are also many dance clubs and discotheques in Prague where one could go to enjoy their evening in Prague. Drinks in clubs tend to be costlier, as a rule of thumb, so it is better to first visit a bar or to have the first few rounds at home. It is also advised to drink in moderation, despite the relatively cheaper cost of alcohol in the country, for one’s own health and safety.
A non-exhaustive list of clubs in Prague can be perused here: https://www.praguest.com/en/prague-nightlife/music-clubs-prague
Gastronomy
While it is possible to find most world cuisines in Prague given that it is a very international city, it would be a shame if you were to come here and not give the local cuisine a try. Here is a list of traditional Czech restaurants you could try: https://www.prague.fm/cs/233829/tradicni-ceske-restaurace
In addition, there are several delivery services that you could use in Czechia as well like Wolt, Bolt Food, Foodora, which you can also use to look for restaurants nearby.
Cultural events
There are many cultural events taking place every day in Prague. An easy way to find more about them is to look at Facebook Events or to google about them. It is often helpful to have a knowledge of Czech while looking but many websites and organisations do publish about their events in English.
Prague also has a very big theatre culture and one often find some or the other play or drama being performed in the 40+ theatres in the city. Other cultural activities that could interest people here are dance performances, music concerts and cinema.
LGBTQIA+ life
Prague is one the most queer-friendly cities of the world. There are many queer clubs in Prague where one could take part in the nightlife and watch a drag show. A non-exhaustive list of queer clubs and other queer establishments and spaces can be found here: https://www.queereurope.com/gay-guide-to-prague/
There are also some queer associations from universities in Prague that tend to have regular meet-ups open to public. One should feel free to take part in the events organised by QCZU, Galibi (from CTU) and Charlie (from Charles University).
Czech Language Courses
There are several possibilities where you could register for the Czech language courses:
- A very convenient option is to learn Czech at the Welcome Centre. We at the Welcome Centre offer beginners', intermediate and advanced level courses. Contact us for more information.
- The Faculty of Economics and Management – Department of Languages at CZU offers Czech language courses for PhD students and international scholars.
- Please contact Dr Dvorakova at dvorakova@pef.czu.cz or Dr Martina Jarkovska at jarkovska@pef.czu.cz for more information.
- In case of interest, there might be classes twice a week during the next academic year.
- For more information, please visit https://katedry.czu.cz/en/kj/optional-language-courses.
- In addition, you can register at the Integration Centre Prague – a public service organization at https://icpraha.com/en/czech-language-courses/. This program is free of charge; however, you must register as soon as possible after they open a registration process because the space is extremely limited.
- Another possibility to attend the Czech language class is at Charles University. The quality of these courses is very high and our CZU Researchers and Scholars have a good experience there. For more information, go to: http://ujop.cuni.cz/en/course/evening-courses-of-czech.
- Another option to learn Czech is at the CzechIn - language school. If you have any questions, please send an email to Ms Marketa Cagaskova at: marketa.cagaskova@p-p-i.cz, tel. 734 154 229 , and she will help you with your registration procedure. For more information go to: http://czechinskola.cz/Kurzy-cestiny-a-doucovani---Dospeli/
- You may also check the Czech Language Training: https://czlt.cz/cs/cenik-cestiny-pro-cizince
CZU Support and Services
The International Relations Office includes the Welcome Centre for International Scholars who are employed at CZU. The Welcome Centre will consult foreign employees and their family members on all non-academic and practical issues related to accommodation, health insurance, and residency permits. It will help with family relocation and the selection of schools for children and provide navigation through the Czech and university environments. It will assist in addressing different practical issues, such as when dealing with Czech authorities and coordinating leisure activities. The Welcome Centre aims to improve the mobility of research fellows. Its ambition is to become a bridge facilitating communication between university administration, faculties, offices and cultural institutions on the one side and scholars and their family members on the other. The ultimate goal is to make their stay in the Czech Republic a largely positive life experience.
We are assisting our international colleagues with the following:
- advice and help in arranging a residence permit, accommodations, health insurance and tax liability issues
- assistance with family relocation, including the provision of educational facilities for children
- support with negotiations with the Czech authorities and/or institutions
- help to resolve issues associated with staying in a new and unknown environment
- coordinating leisure activities
Please contact Mirka Perst, J.D. at perst@rektorat.czu.cz for more information.