A thousand spires above the Vltava

Prague looks like a city dreamed into being. Gothic towers and baroque domes crowd the skyline, the medieval Astronomical Clock still draws a crowd on the hour, and Charles Bridge carries you past weathered stone saints toward the castle glowing on the hill. Cross into the Old Town and the lanes tighten and twist, opening onto squares where café tables spill into the open air and the smell of roasting trdelník hangs sweet in the cold. This is a city made for walking after dark, when the cobbles shine and the spires are lit amber against the sky. Add a glass of crisp Bohemian pilsner, poured the way it has been for generations, and the picture is complete. Local Soul leads you beyond the bridge crowds to the Prague that still keeps its mysteries.