I know that Prague is a victim of aggressive tourist industry, but it has affected the inscribed parts pretty unevenly, and Prague is still one of the most beautiful and valuable historical towns in Europe!

Above all, the historical core of Prague is a unique assembly of two castles (Vyšehrad and Prague Castle) and four originally independent medieval towns (Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradčany) including quite large former Jewish ghetto within the Old Town, all picturesquely sitting on the bent of Vltava river. Furthermore, this WHS has two separate components, and besides the city center, the Průhonice castle with huge park has been also included.

I live in Prague for around 20 years, and my office in the Charles University campus is located within the inscribed area, close to the outer gothic walls of New Town, not far from Vyšehrad Castle.

During the Covid-19 outbreak in March-May 2020, it happened to me that I was “confined” within this WHS and its buffer zone almost continuously for two months – my home is several hundreds meters from the borders of the WHS area. I took an opportunity to explore the entire core zones again and without annoying masses of tourists… and I realized again how beautiful Prague is.

In May, I also did an afternoon trip to Průhonice component by metro (C-line stop Opatov) and suburban bus to admire its magnificent gardens in bloom and without masses of tourists.

Only one part of Prague was almost inaccessible during the quarantine: the whole area of the Prague Castle was impenetrably closed due to the decision of our Mister President till the last week of May. Declared suspension of security anti-terrorist checkpoints of the re-opened castle was a fake-news, because everybody had to walk through the metal detectors under careful supervision of soldiers with weapons. OK, they did not check your baggage now as they usually did, but the Prague Castle is still NO-GO zone for too many Czechs, and in May, there was lower number of the castle visitors than soldiers and policemen standing at almost every corner… Well, I broke the rule and entered the castle two times by the end of May to see if the castle and cathedral are still so beautiful, but I am planning my next visit after the president elections in 2023.

Every part of the inscribed historical core is interesting and worth-visiting, and for me it is impossible to pick up highlights – my review would be enormously long. So, my suggestion is to get lost in the streets… during that, one can find the first class monuments from the periods spanning from middle ages to 21st Century.

The classical route starts by Strahov Monastery with views towards Petřín hill, continues in direction Hradčany Square and main entrance to the Prague Castle with beautiful panorama of the very core of Prague, then it descends through Lesser Town to the Charles Bridge, and it ends at the Old Town square or at Wenceslas Square.

I also like walking in the area of New Town, which is not such picturesque as Lesser Town or Old Town, but it is refreshingly non-touristy and everyone can find his/her own hidden treasure there, such as the southern area around the Charles Square, which is the largest gothic square in the world (PHOTO: New Town municipal hall that remembers the first Prague defenestration in 1419 – the beginning of the Hussite revolution).

Now in July, I am afraid that the pristine fleur of tourist-free Prague is slowly disappearing…