Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, situated on the bank of Vltava. Known as the "city of a hundred domes", Prague is one of Europe's most beautiful and oldest urban centers, famous for its extensive architectural heritage and rich cultural life. Also important as a transport and communications hub, it is the main economic and industrial center of the Czech Republic. Situated in central Bohemia, the city of Prague is set on hills on both banks of the Vltava River just before its confluence with the Elbe River. The winding course of the river through the city, full of beautiful old bridges, contrasts with the imposing presence of the great Prague Castle in Hradcany, which dominates the capital on the left (eastern) bank of the Vltava.

Prague has an area of ​​496 km². According to employment statistics it can be inferred that about 300 000 people work there without being residents, living in smaller cities neighboring or near the Czech capital, thus forming its metropolitan region, the largest urban area in the country.

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Don't be surprised to find hourly hordes of tourists pointing their cameras at an elegant tower in Staré Mesto, Prague's old center. This is where the astronomical clock is located, a construction of complex geometry with figures of apostles and skulls in motion that announce the new time. What's more, don't be surprised if you go back to your watch a few times during your stay, taking the same pictures from different angles. This is Prague, with its architecture that mixes Gothic and Renaissance and modern buildings that live side by side with one of the largest castles in the world. It will cross numerous times the famous Charles Bridge, built in 1357 over the Vltava River, and will wander repeatedly over the same alleys. Prague is throbbing, whether for its bustling nightlife, its many art galleries, or the countless number of tourists you'll find in virtually every region of the tourist circuit: Staré Mesto, Malá Strana (Small Neighborhood) and Nové Mesto (Center). New). This is where most of the attractions are located, such as the Jewish Quarter, the Franz Kafka Museum or the unmissable Museum of Communism. The Kafkanian city is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and vibrant.

Prague was created to be known on foot, making strategic stops at a nice art-noveau café or bar for a delicious wheat beer to be enjoyed without moderation.

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Czech cuisine is based on pork and beef dishes, potatoes (boiled or dumpling) and rice. Sausages are also quite common in downtown food stalls. They come with a slice of bread.
At outdoor fairs, taste a very common sweet here - "Ceske Trdlo". It looks like a dough wrapped around a metal cylinder that goes into fire. Once cooked the dough gets a layer of sugar and cinnamon. It's delicious!

The eating habits of the Czech population do not differ much from other European nations. The day is divided into parts by the trinity of dishes: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For most Czechs, lunch is the biggest dish of the day. At home or in the restaurant, the typical lunch consists of three dishes: soup, main course and dessert (or possibly salad).

Cream soup
Czech cooks know how to make delicious cremated soups and broths, whose main ingredient can be meat, pulses, or vegetables. The nutritive value of these soups is comparable to that of the main dishes, we can recommend the potato soup, which smells like marjoram, goulash soup served on a bread plate.

Meat is a stable element of Czech cuisine. On the table may appear: pork, beef, poultry, or less common, mutton or sheep, game or fish.

Cream Sauce - SVICKOVA
It is perhaps the most typical sauce for Czech cuisine: cream sauce with sirloin.

 Vepro knedlo zeal
Another typically Czech dish is pork - baked dough ball - sauerkraut, which is oven-roasted pork with knedlík and very sour sauerkraut, soaked in meat juice.

Knedlik is a typical accompaniment to numerous Czech dishes - it is usually next to a piece of meat, and is almost always flanked by a sauce.

Fish
Although a typical Czech menu may seem to contain nothing worthy of the admiration of fish lovers, the reality offers some delicious surprises. Carp is the typical fish for the Christmas dinner, but carp dishes can taste throughout the year, be it traditional as per the typical recipe (breaded carp fillets).

Czech traditional sweets
Strudel apple pie from the Czech Republic pleases the palate just as it does in other countries.

Beer
The Czechs consider beer their national drink. Dark, light, mixed, high fermented ... In the Czech market today there are over 470 varieties of beer. Beers can not miss the offer of any restaurant, terrace or club. The best are lager beers - light or dark. The beer ritual contains, as its indispensable element, the typical atmosphere of Czech pubs and breweries. The most famous Czech beers are Pilsner Urquell, Budvaeiser Budvar, Staropramen - but beer lovers should try the other brands such as Gambrinus, Radegast and Krusovice which are very popular in Prague.

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Prague's climate is characterized by its "continental" nature, with cold winters and hot summers. The four seasons feel perfectly demarcated. It should be noted however that, perhaps due to the low humidity, temperatures in Prague are felt by the body differently than in Portugal. The cold is not so cold, does not enter the tissues, does not reach the bones. Strong wind is rare, and even the breeze is not often felt.

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