Prague Hotels

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is known as the "Jewel in the Crown" of Central Europe. Since the Middle Ages the city has played a pivotal role in the development of the region. Prague is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Spend a night - or a week - in a Prague Hotel and be swept into another time beneath its spires. Most of the hotels in Prague are in the main districts of interest to tourists. Whether you are looking for the charm and history of the old world, or are interested in Prague's distinction as a political, cultural and economic center, you are in for a memorable visit.

Prague straddles the River Vltava, which runs through the heart of its main historic districts: Hradcany (Castle Area), Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter), Stare Mesto (Old Town), Nove Mesto (New Town), and Josefov (the Jewish Quarter).

Hradcany, the seat of Czech royalty for hundreds of years, is dominated by the city's top attraction, Prague Castle. The largest medieval castle in Europe is surrounded by several other significant and beautiful buildings which have survived the years. Steps lead down from Hradcany to the Lesser Quarter, an area filled with ornate mansions constructed by 17th and 18th-century nobility.

Karluv most (Charles Bridge) connects the Lesser Quarter with the Old Town. The centerpiece of Stare Mesto is the huge Old Town Square, the working heart of the city since the 10th century. Some of Prague's most famous monuments are hiding in the maze of streets that surround the square.

To the north, the diminutive Jewish Quarter fans out around the wide avenue called Parizska. It's one of the most popular visitor destinations in Prague, especially in the height of summer, when its tiny streets are jammed. This is the home to Prague's former Jewish ghetto. The old synagogues, a ceremonial hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery were perversely preserved by Nazi leaders, who declared them to be a 'museum of an extinct race'. They have survived as a memorial to oppression, and are symbolic not only of this area of the city, but of all of Prague which has survived domination, occupation and countless wars to retain the beauty and the strength which has made it timeless.