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Municipal House
Prague's most exuberant and sensual building stands on the site of the Royal Court, seat of Bohemia's kings from 1383 to 1483 (when Vladislav II moved to Prague Castle), and demolished at the end of the 19th century. Between 1906 and 1912 the Municipal House was built in its place - a lavish joint effort by around 30 of the leading artists of the day, creating a cultural centre that was to be the architectural climax of the Czech National Revival.
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National Monument
Although not, strictly speaking, a legacy of the communist era - it was completed in the 1930s - the huge monument atop Žižkov Hill is, in the minds of most Praguers over a certain age, inextricably linked with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and in particular with Klement Gottwald, the country's first 'worker-president'.
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Nerudova
Malá Strana's main thoroughfare plunges steeply downhill from the castle to Malostranské náměstí. Today it's lined with touristy restaurants and shops but you can still admire the 'baroque-ified' Renaissance façades and ornate old house signs. Casanova and Mozart shared lodgings in 1791 at No 33, Bretfeldský Palace. Czech writer Jan Neruda, after whom the street takes its current name, lived at No 47, At the Two Suns (1845-57).
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Nový Svět Quarter
In the 16th century, houses were built for castle staff in an enclave of curving cobblestone streets down the slope north of the Loreta. Today these diminutive cottages have been restored and painted in pastel shades, making the 'New World' quarter a perfect alternative to the castle's crowded Golden Lane. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe lived at No 1 Kapucínská. Globally renowned animator and filmmaker Jan Švankmajer resides at No 5 Černínská.
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Old Royal Palace
The Old Royal Palace, at the courtyard's eastern end, is one of the oldest parts of the castle, dating from 1135. It was originally used only by Czech princesses, but from the 13th to the 16th centuries it was the king's own palace.
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Old Town Bridge Tower
Perched at the eastern end of Charles Bridge, the elegant late-14th-century tower was, like the bridge itself, designed by Petr Parler. Here, at the end of the Thirty Years' War, an invading Swedish army was finally repulsed by a band of students and Jewish ghetto residents. Today, it houses a fairly humdrum collection of vintage musical instruments, but the main attraction is the amazing view from the top.
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Old Town Hall
Prague's Old Town Hall, founded in 1338, is a hotch-potch of medieval buildings presided over by a tall Gothic tower, acquired piecemeal over the years by a town council that was short of funds. Most notable is House at the Minute (dům U minuty), the arcaded building on the corner covered with Renaissance sgraffito - Franz Kafka lived here (1889-96) as a child just before the building was bought for the town hall.
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Palace Gardens Beneath Prague Castle
These beautiful terraced gardens on the steep southern slope of the castle hill date from the 17th and 18th centuries, when they were created for the owners of the adjoining palaces. They were restored in the 1990s and contain a Renaissance loggia with frescoes of Pompeii and a baroque portal with sundial that cleverly catches the sunlight reflected from the water in the triton fountain in front of it.
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Petřín Lookout Tower
To the north of the observatory is Petřínská rozhledna, a 62m-tall Eiffel Tower lookalike built in 1891 for the Prague Exposition. You can climb its 299 steps for some of the best views of Prague; on clear days you can see the forests of Central Bohemia. On the way to the tower you cross the Hunger Wall (Hladová zed'), running from Újezd to Strahov.
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Powder Gate
The 65m-tall Powder Gate was begun in 1475 on the site of one of Staré Město's original 13 gates. Built during the reign of King Vladislav II Jagiello as a ceremonial entrance to the city, it was left unfinished after the king moved from the neighbouring Royal Court to Prague Castle in 1483. The name comes from its use as a gunpowder magazine in the 18th century. Josef Mocker rebuilt, decorated and steepled it between 1875 and 1886, giving it its neogothic icing.
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Powder Tower
A passage to the north of St Vitus Cathedral leads to the Powder Tower (also called Mihulka), built at the end of the 15th century as part of the castle's defences. Later it became the workshop of the cannon- and bell-maker Tomáš Jaroš, who cast the bells for St Vitus Cathedral. Alchemists employed by Rudolf II also worked here. Today the first floor houses a rather dull exhibition of 17th- and 18th-century weaponry.
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Prague Main Train Station
What? The train station is actually a tourist attraction? Perhaps not all of it, but it's worth heading up to the top floor for a look at the grimy, soot-blackened splendour of the original Art Nouveau building designed by Josef Fanta and built between 1901 and 1909. The domed interior is adorned with two nubile ladies framing a mosaic with the words Praga: mater urbium (Prague, Mother of Cities) and the date '28.října r:1918' (28 October 1918 - Czechoslovakia's Independence Day).
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Southern Gardens
The three gardens lined up below the castle's southern wall - Paradise Garden, the Hartig Garden and the Garden on the Ramparts - offer superb views over Malá Strana's rooftops. The two main gardens, Paradise Garden and the Garden on the Ramparts, were landscaped in the 1920s by Slovene architect Jože Plečník, and Paradise Garden has an obelisk marking where the victims of the second defenestration of Prague fell.
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Spanish Synagogue
The most beautiful of the museum's synagogues, this boasts an ornate Moorish interior, an exhibition on recent Jewish history and a handy bookshop. Concerts are held here regularly.
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St George's Basilica
Behind a brick-red façade lies the Czech Republic's best-preserved Romanesque church. The original was established in the 10th century by Vratislav I (the father of St Wenceslas), who is still buried here, as is St Ludmilla. All in all, it's quite a sparse venue, popular for small concert performances.
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St Vitus Cathedral
Although it was begun in 1344 and appears Gothic to the very tips of its pointy spires, much of St Vitus Cathedral was only completed in time for its belated consecration in 1929. The view from the 96m-tall Great Tower is worth climbing 297 steps. And don't miss the Art Nouveau stained-glass window by Alfons Mucha, the baroque, silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk with its draped canopy and cherubs, or the ornate Chapel of St Wenceslas.
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Tunnel
In 2002 an arty new tunnel - red-brick and rather Freudian - was completed by architect Josef Pleskot beneath the castle's Powder Bridge, making a quirky alternative exit route from the castle. Turn west from the bridge's castle side and follow the footpath down into the moat to reach it. If you keep going, you'll reach Malostranská metro.
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Tv Tower
Prague's tallest landmark, and - depending on your tastes, either its ugliest or its most futuristic - is the 216m-tall TV Tower, erected between 1985 and 1992. The viewing platforms, reached by high-speed lifts, have comprehensive information boards in English and French explaining what you can see. There is also a restaurant (at 63m; see for details).
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Villa Müller
Fans of Functionalist architecture will enjoy this masterpiece of domestic design. It was built in 1930 for construction entrepreneur František Müller, and designed by the Viennese architect Adolf Loos, whose clean-cut, ultramodernist exterior contrasts with the polished wood, leather and oriental rugs of the classically decorated interior. The villa can be visited only by guided tour, which must be booked in advance.
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Vítkov National Monument
This hilltop monument (great views) commemorates 15th-century Hussite commander and independence fighter Jan Žižka with a huge, 9m-tall equestrian statue of the one-eyed warrior after whom Žižkov is named. The embalmed body of Communist president Klement Gottwald once rested in the accompanying mausoleum, until the corpse went a bit mouldy. Now the mausoleum is set to reopen as a history museum in 2009.
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Wenceslas Statue
The focal point of Wenceslas Sq (Václavské náměstí) is this equestrian statue of St Wenceslas at its southern end. Sculptor Josef Myslbek has surrounded the 10th-century duke of Bohemia and the 'Good King Wenceslas', of Christmas carol fame, with four other patron saints of Bohemia - Prokop, Adalbert, Agnes, and Ludmila. Nearby, another small memorial to the victims of communism displays photographs of Jan Palach and fellow martyred student Jan Zajíc.
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Žižkov Tower
Hideous or futuristic? Miminka , the 10 giant babies crawling up Prague's TV transmitter, have quelled such debates about this structure (1985-1992), as people just enjoy the quirkiness that sculptor David Černý has brought to the city's tallest landmark. Attractively lighting the 216m needle at night helps, too. High-speed lifts go to a 93m observation deck, but many people prefer the view from Petřín tower.
