Prague: Whatever shall I do?

open your face off.

sorry. what does that mean?

it means I'm drunk.

follow teh cozen man's example, obv.

Okay - first up, find a restaurant/bar called Pivovarsky Dum. i forget what street it's on, but it's fairly central. they have the most amazing beer in the world, and great traditional Czech food (if that stokes your fire). i loved that restaurant so much.

St. Nicholas' cathedral is really mind blowing, make sure you check that out. the Prague Castle is an obvious choice, takes the whole day and is sort of pricey compared to the other attractions (but is more or less essential if you're into the whole Awesome Old Buildings deal). the Jewish museum, which is spread out over several buildings in the old Jewish quarter, is also pretty amazing if you have any interest in the history of Eastern European Jews. the other touristy things (Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square etc) may be swarmed so just do them once and get them over with. there are plenty of shopping options, but for dirt cheap cigarettes, booze, fake designer clothes, the occasional spot of vintage things and lots of atmosphere, check out the Holesovice Market. for entertainment, i highly reccomend a jazz club close to St. Nick's called U Maleho Glena. i saw a latin band in the basement there, and it was a mighty good time.

have fun! ahh, i wish i could go back. what a town.

u maleho glena is a good brunch spot as well as night spot, or used to be. in the old jewish quarter, look for a pizzeria called modra zahrada (blue garden) for good thin-crust pies. don't get talked into kmotra - it's always rammed and the pizza isn't worth the hassle. the marquis de sade (nominally a jazz club, like maleho glena) was the major expat meat market when i was there, if you want that kind of thing, while the taz bar was the place to go get glared at by metalheads and buy shitty speed.

marquis de sade is really pretty

I misread this thread title as: PLAGUE: WHATEVER SHALL I DO?

Alex: Stock up on antibiotics. And don't put that in your mouth.

Hahahaha

Pretend you're in Mission Impossible.

i.e. what cozen said.

YOU ARE WELCOME TO UPSTAIRS

Go to the Jewish Cemetery at first light. Stop up all night if necessary. In fact try to see everything first thing in the morning, before the crowds ruin it.

There is a star-shaped building in a park somewhere out of the central area. I can't remember the name, but there is only one. It is worth a leisurely trip out on the tram.

Old library up near the castle, worth a look for intense ancient gloom. Sorry I can't remember its name, I trhink it's got something to do with monks, I'm sure it's in guidebooks.

Further afield, Telc and whatever the place next to it is called. Near the Austrian border. They are in the Rough Guide.

also further afield is kutna hora, home of the church built out of the bones of plague victims. it's well worth the journey.. about two hours away or so. you can also tour a silver mine while wearing a white coat and a hat with a light on top. i highly recommend this as a day trip, as well as cesky krumlov which is gorgeous and has an egon schiele gallery and remarkable examples of some sort of architecture (i forget which, but it's a stunning town).

there's a jan svanmajer/eva svankmajerova exhibition at a former riding school in the castle area, it's called 'jidlo', go to that because it is absolutely amazing.
pivovarsky dum seconded!
the modern art museum is pretty good and is in a terrific 'functionalist' building
oh and I have never seen so many tourists in one place as in central prague, and i live in london.

Keep your eyes open for this man, who spends half the year there.

http://www.an-irrational-domain.net/images/jaz/img_001.jpg

Yow! Stevie Ray Vaughn moved to Prague?!!

Prague: Whatever shall I do?
I came, I saw, I fell in love with you
Oh Prague, you were to cruel to steal my heart
Such architecture, food and art!

Prague: Whatever shall I do?
For nowhere else is quite like you
I must move on, but part of me
Remains forever in your lovely city

I'm imagining Edith Piaf singing this one.

In the nightime, you MUST go at least a couple of times to the Akropolis in Zizkov. Whiel in that hood, check out the TV tower and have a beer in the bar on top.

Jesus, I like the sound of that--from TV towers to bone-built chapels in the same day. You could do that here in DC, but you'd have to build them both yourself.

Anybody get a sense for how much of a vital culture is in place--that is, does it feel like local artists and folks are choosing to live there and are doing interesting things, or has it been overwhelmed by an Amsterdam/Mardi Gras euro-spring break tide of bellowing revelers?

Not that there's not a lot to be said for both alternatives....

More of the latter these days, I'd say.
Although the 90's bohemian expats are still around. Maybe not as visible as they used to be. In any case, despite great ambitions, AFAIK nothing interesting has ever come out of the Prague expat scene...

I'm going to Prague on Saturday!! I shall assume that everything mentioned on this thread has been swamped with tourists long since and I should ignore everyone's advice. Any other tips gratefully received. We are there for a few days so plan to stay out of the centre over the weekend, and hope it's a bit quieter during the week.