Travel Writer Alice Lane recounts her trip to Prague, describing the city’s beauty and array of activities
As the festive season quickly approaches, and ‘For You’ pages begin to fill up with ‘the best places to visit as Christmas time’, it feels only right to speak about one of my favourite city breaks to date: Prague. A place encircled with the magic of Christmas spirit, a long list of things to do, an abundance of yummy food spots and of course, a plethora of Irish bars (which happened to be our favourite part).
My boyfriend and I are avid lovers of the festive season, so when we stumbled across a fantastic package deal online, which included flights, transfer and accommodation, we immediately knew it was a no-brainer!
Day 1
After settling in at our hotel and changing (very necessarily) into some warmer clothes, we began to explore. Fortunately, our hotel was just adjacent to the Old Town, which made it an ideal location and saved us from needing to use taxis or public transport. We first walked across the breathtakingly scenic Charles Bridge, a medieval overpass overlooking the Vltava River. We found this bridge to be perfect for a slow walk: filled with small businesses, talented performers, and our personal festive favourite, the five o’clock lamplighter. After a lot of walking, we decided to stop off for a much-needed pint at the Prague Beer Museum, which had the most versatile selection on draft. After spending five years of forcing myself to drink beer with my boyfriend, I finally found a favourite in Prague’s classic beer: Staropramen (which I could still only manage a half pint of!)
After a quick recharge back at the hotel, we got ready for the evening and headed out to dinner at a modern, Italian-style restaurant called ‘ADELE’. A large glass of wine and a pasta-filled belly later, we made our way over to the notorious Christmas Markets located in the historical centre of Old Town Square: filled with the aroma of spicy Czech sausages blended with sweet Trdelník and punctuated with the joyful singing of a children’s choir. After a lot of laughing, browsing, and indulging in yet another pint, we ended our first night in ‘The Irish Times’, a small cozy pub with live music and a homely feel (because of course, a trip isn’t complete without favouring my boyfriend’s proud Irish roots!)
After a lot of laughing, browsing, and indulging in yet another pint, we ended our first night in ‘The Irish Times’
Day 2
Determined to defeat the night-before antics of cleverly mixing wine and beer, we began our second day of exploring by heading back to Old Town Square, to visit the infamous Astronomical Clock. We purchased a ticket that included both the inside museum and the tower, which had the most stunning views of Prague’s red-bricked Old Town. We spent most of our day walking, browsing round the abundance of quaint little shops. One of my personal favourites was the Shakespeare Book Shop, which was the most beautifully chaotic hidden gem. It felt like being in a mad professor’s office, with books piled up so high that they could topple over at any second. We could barely see the poor cashier, who was up to his eyes in a mound of Shakespeare plays and poetry anthologies! After having a few cocktails and sharing a charcuterie board at a vintage, low ambience bar called ‘L’Fleur’, we headed over to another Irish Bar: ‘The Dubliner’. We ended our night by singing, dancing, and getting very lost on our way back.
One of my personal favourites was the Shakespeare Book Shop, which was the most beautifully chaotic hidden gem
Day 3
As we were flying back home later that day, we wanted to cram in as much of beautiful Prague as possible – so we went to Národní Muzeum, which was by far, one of the best I have ever visited. We learnt so much about the fascinating history of Prague, through the detailed descriptions and mind-blowing historical artefacts. We then went to the grand, gothic-silhouetted Prague Castle, which we found to be sublime. Small word of advice: if you decide to climb the tower for the views, it’s good to keep in mind that it has a narrow staircase of 287 steps. The views were most definitely worth it, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly claustrophobic and breathless!
It was then, sadly, time to get back to the airport for our flight. We were so sad to be leaving, but will absolutely be going back to explore everything else this beautiful place has to offer.
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