About Prague

Prague — Czech Praha — is the capital of the Czech Republic, a city of about 1.3 million people spread across the seven hills that overlook the Vltava river in central Bohemia. It is the most-visited city in central Europe outside of Vienna, and one of the few major European capitals that came through the Second World War largely intact.

Fast facts

Geography

Prague straddles the Vltava — Czech's longest river, made famous by Smetana's symphonic poem of the same name — which runs north through the city in a series of bends and is crossed by 18 bridges. The historic city centre is built on five gentle hills: Hradčany (the castle), Petřín, Vyšehrad, Vítkov (the green hill above Žižkov) and Letná. The city is small enough to cross on foot in about 40 minutes; almost every visitor sight is within a 2km radius.

Prague is divided into 22 administrative districts numbered Prague 1 to Prague 22, but visitors only need to know the central ones:

• Prague 1 — Old Town, Lesser Town, Hradčany, most of New Town.
• Prague 2 — Vinohrady, Vyšehrad, parts of New Town.
• Prague 3 — Žižkov.
• Prague 5 — Smíchov.
• Prague 7 — Holešovice, Letná.
• Prague 8 — Karlín, Libeň.

See our neighbourhoods guide for the character of each.

Language & communication

Czech is a West Slavic language related to Slovak and Polish, written in Latin script with diacritics (the famous háček ˇ on letters like č, š, ž). It is not an easy language for English speakers — seven grammatical cases, lots of consonants, declension everywhere — but Czechs don't expect visitors to learn it, and English is universal in tourist-facing businesses.

A few basics that go a long way:

• Dobrý den — hello (lit. "good day"); the default greeting until evening.
• Dobrý večer — good evening.
• Děkuji — thank you.
• Prosím — please / you're welcome / pardon.
• Na shledanou — goodbye.
• Pivo, prosím — beer, please.

Climate

Prague has a temperate continental climate — four real seasons, cold winters, warm-to-hot summers, and unreliable shoulder seasons. See our best time to visit guide for the month-by-month detail.

Culture

Few cities of Prague's size punch above their weight as consistently in art and literature.

• Literature: Franz Kafka, Václav Havel, Milan Kundera, Karel Čapek (who coined the word "robot"), Bohumil Hrabal, Jaroslav Hašek (The Good Soldier Švejk).
• Music: Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Art: Alfons Mucha (Art Nouveau), František Kupka (an early abstract painter), David Černý (the contemporary provocateur whose sculptures dot the city).
• Film: The Czech New Wave of the 1960s (Miloš Forman, Jiří Menzel); Prague is also one of the most-used international film locations in Europe.

Economy

The Czech Republic has one of the highest per-capita GDPs in central Europe, well above the EU average. The economy is strongly industrial — Škoda Auto (owned by Volkswagen) is one of Europe's largest car manufacturers — supplemented by tourism, IT, biotech and the European headquarters of a number of multinationals based in Prague.

Prague itself has the highest per-capita GDP of any Czech region, at roughly twice the national average.

Religion & secularism

The Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries in Europe — fewer than 30% of Czechs identify with any religion in census data, and the rate of declared atheism is among the highest in the world. This is striking given the architectural Catholicism on display in every neighbourhood, and a legacy partly of the Hussite religious reform of the 15th century and partly of four decades of state-enforced atheism under communism.

Getting around

Excellent public transport — three Metro lines, dense trams, integrated buses, all on one ticket. Walking covers most of central Prague comfortably. Bolt and Uber both operate. See our public transport guide and airport guide for the details.

Frequently Asked Questions