The evening air is filled with music and the clinking of wine glasses in the most beautiful of Prague's squares in the Old Town. Further along, there's a jazz band playing on the ancient Charles Bridge, and above the narrow streets and cobbled squares of the 'Lesser Quarter', a student is playing Mendelssohn's violin concerto beneath the sheer castle walls.
'Whoever is Czech is a musician,' runs the local proverb, and certainly the capital is absolutely heaving with them.
Prague, a glorious city suspended in time, and bristling with baroque spires and gothic domes, oozes culture from its every cobble. It's the place for lingering over coffee, cake and ice cream in the art nouveau surroundings of the Grand Hotel Europa, listening to Chopin in the mirrored chapel of the former Jesuit College, and for touring an overwhelming number of churches and architectural delights.
Prague may have had its heyday in the 14th century, but no-one's complaining today.
The less-visited hinterland is dotted with the fairy-tale castles and chateaux of Bohemia; Ceské Budejovice, to the south, is a good base for exploring them. To the northwest is Karlovy Vary, the grandiose spa town, once the haunt of Europe's aristocracy. To the southwest, lies Plzen, famous for more modern contributions: Skoda cars and Pilsen. Dedicated beer drinkers should take a tour of the Brewery Museum.
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