At noon, from Petrin Hill you can look out over the city of Prague and listen to its hundreds of bell towers clanging simultaneously. The city of a thousand spires, it's called. The architecture evokes provincial France or Italy, with red shingled roofs and labyrinthine streets that invite you to wander until you completely lose your bearings. Along the river Vltava, however, the colorful, ornate buildings, trees, and hefty old bridges lined with time-blackened sculptures could fool you into thinking you're in Paris. Prague often feels like Paris' shadow-city, a sombre and stubborn city that has remained more intact over the centuries than almost any other city in Europe. Spared the brunt of WWII bombings, it was instead subjected to mental oppression under Communist rule from 1948 to 1989.
Today the Museum of Communism is located right behind a McDonalds. But if you want my pick for the best museum in Prague, go check out the Alfonse Muchy (Alphonse Mucha) Museum. This Czech artist lived an amazing life and defined the style of Art Nouveau, a style which can be spotted all around the city. When you get hungry, if it's early in the day go to Cafe Slavia for breakfast or brunch. In Prague you sit yourself and wait for a waiter or waitress to come to you, so pick a seat by the window. Order their pear crepes (prepare yourself for heaps of whipped cream) and an espresso and sit contemplating the universe for a while. For coffee or an afternoon treat, try either Grand Cafe Orient or Cafe Louvre (the latter was a favorite spot for both Kafka and Einstein). Don't forget to say thank you - "Děkuji."
Of course the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock are worth a look, but these places are often packed with tourists and pickpockets so don't linger too long. Wander north from there to find yourself in what used to be the Jewish ghetto, now one of the wealthiest areas of town. The Spanish Synagogue, with its golden Moorish interior, is one of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe and is also a museum where you can learn a great deal about the history of of the Czech Jewish community, including the Nazi occupation and the post-war decades. The Old Jewish Cemetery is right down the road. It contains almost 12,000 tombstones (though the number buried here is over 100,000 - Jews were not allowed to be buried outside the ghetto, so the dead had to be buried on top of one another, up to ten layers deep).
After those incredibly sobering spots, you'll likely just want to walk and be alone with your thoughts. The Knihkupectví Franze Kafky is right across the street from the corner of the Jewish Cemetery, and here you can browse the literature that has come out of Prague over the past century. I bought two of Milan Kundera's books and then walked to Petrin Hill. The park is very, very steep, but the view in the orchards at the top is spectacular. The precisely-lined trees are a bit eerie, especially for those of us who recall Teresa's dream in the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being. But it's a beautiful, peaceful spot meant to be lingered in.
Either before or after Petrin Hill, explore the West Bank near Kampa Island. Kampa itself is beautiful, green, and the site of an interesting art museum with a free outdoor sculpture garden. It includes some giant bronze babies without faces, quite creepy, by the very outspoken Czech artist David Černý. His art is scattered all over the city as urban installments. Back on the mainland, you can walk a bit north to the Franz Kafka museum, outside of which there is another statue of his: a fountain made of two men pissing on the Czech Republic.
Due west of Kampa Island is the Lennon Wall, which should not be missed. It's in a beautiful neighborhood, so take your time. The Lennon Wall is constantly changing as new layers of graffiti are added to it. If your'e lucky, you might get a live performance of "Let It Be" by a random street musician. Prague is quite safe to wander after dark, so take your time finding a place for dinner. Don't be afraid to deviate from your intended path at any point, because the most beautiful corners of this city are the ones you stumble accidentally upon.
