Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Karlova
You will inevitably get lost
trying to follow “Charles Street”
from Old Town Square to Charles
Bridge; relax and enjoy the
bewildering, twisting alleys
choked with shops and cafés.
d
Map K4
A Stroll Around the
Old Town
Morning
After breakfast at the
Municipal House
(see
p73)
café, take a guided
tour of the building, then
go and climb the
Powder
Gate
(see p73)
for the
views next door before the
caffeine wears off.
House of the Lords of
Kun√tát and Pod∂brady
George of Pod∂brady lived here
before he was elected king in
1458. The Romanesque “cellars”
were ground-floor rooms until a
flood-prevention programme
raised the city's streets 3 m
(10 ft).
d
Ωet∂zová 3 • Map K5 • Open
10am-6pm Tue-Sun • Adm
Wander down
Celetná
,
ducking through the
arcade to ◊tupartská and
the
Church of St James
.
If you have at least 45
minutes before the top of
the hour, tour the
Old
Town Hall
and watch the
Apostles' show on the
Astronomical Clock from
backstage
(see pp16-17)
.
Otherwise, shop in the
Ungelt
and join the crowd
below the clock outside, to
see the spectacle.
Bethlehem Square
The 15th-century Catholic
reformer Jan Hus
(see p35)
preached in the reconstructed
chapel on the square's north
side. The original church was
converted into apartments in the
18th century but had a loving
restoration to its former state in
the 1950s.
d
Map K5 • Chapel: Open
Apr-Oct: 9am-6pm Tue-Sun; Nov-Mar:
9am-5pm Tue-Sun • Adm
For lunch, backtrack to the
Radegast
pub
(see p79)
for a warming plate of
their famed goulash.
Afternoon
Circumnavigate
Old Town
Square
(see pp14-15)
before entering the
meandering turns of
Karlova
and wandering
leisurely past the area's
old buildings to
Bethlehem Square
. Have
a tour of the lovely
Bethlehem Chapel, then
find your way back to
Karlova to visit the
Clementinum
.
Alternately, if you're now a
little on the tired side,
have a coffee at
Café
Montmartre
(see p78)
before freshening up for
dinner. If you're heading to
the theatre or a concert,
curtains go up around
7:30pm, so it is sensible
to dine afterwards.
Bethlehem Chapel, Bethlehem Square
75
