LIZZIE CATT is won over by the Czech capital’s beauty, style and love of the bizarre

STROLLING back across the medieval Charles Bridge from Prague Castle on a balmy summer evening, feeling woozy after strudel and plenty of local beer, a starburst of fireworks lit up the sky.

Caught in the moment, I turned to Drew and sighed: “Now would be a pretty fantastic time to propose...” He laughed in my face, the only drawback of a romantic long weekend in Prague with a platonic chum.

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Neither of us had been before. I was ambivalent, notions of marauding British stag parties dulling my desire to see one of Europe’s most charming capitals. I couldn’t have been more wrong.  

A cheap hop from Stansted on easyJet and an affordable room at the Jurys Inn,  a 15-minute walk or short tram ride from the bustling Old Town, allowed us to explore this ravishing city on a budget.

Our hotel proved to be the perfect bolthole. While our twin room was not brimming with character (beige walls,
russet carpet and pine-effect furniture) it was spacious and comfortable. The hotel also had a small gym, funky little bar and a restaurant serving buffet breakfasts and delicious three-course evening meals.

We spent our first day happily lost, gazing upwards at the beautiful buildings of the Old Town, using the blackened,
golden-topped spires of Tyn Church in the Old Town Square as a homing beacon.

We gawped at the abundant, sometimes bizarre-looking, art dotted around the town. Pieces included a line of yellow plastic penguins on the river and sculptor David Cerný’s giant, 800kg bronze babies with ventilation shaft faces in Kampa Park. The artist’s bizarre creations, including an upside-down hanging horse close to Wenceslas Square, are all around.

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On day two, hotel staff arranged a two-hour tour with a Mrs Hermanova,  a red-headed, super-enthusiastic lady with a dazzling knowledge of her home city and boundless energy to show off its wares. City novices should start, as we
did, at the Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vltava river linking the Old Town  with Malá Strana, or Lesser Town,  near Prague Castle.

Commissioned by Czech king  Charles IV in 1357, the bridge’s mortar had egg yolks mixed in to strengthen it.

Today it is lined with Baroque statues, artists, jazz musicians and street vendors. A short hike up the hill immediately on the west side of the river in the Malá Strana took us to the sprawling grounds of the castle, which dates back to the 9th century. We got our breath back in the soaring St Vitus Cathedral where a series of vast, vibrant stained-glass windows flood the interior with coloured sunshine that ignites on the ornate gold and silver of the
tombs.

The castle terrace, on the ramparts immediately above the British Embassy, is a superb vantage point to admire the cityscape of church spires jutting from terracotta red roofs. On our way back down we passed the graffiti-covered  John Lennon Wall in the Malá Strana, which began as a tribute to the musician but where the messages of peace and  love came to symbolise resistance during years of communist rule.

MANY arrive here keen to sample the pilsner, and who were we to say no to  a few jars? We stumbled across what felt like the city’s best-kept secret,  the terrace of Klub Lávka bar next to the Charles Bridge and with stunning views of the hilltop castle. The fleecy blankets considerately placed on the chairs made this an ideal spot for a sundowner as we considered how best to sate our hunger.

The following night was more highbrow. We booked tickets for The Storm by Czech composer Vítezslav Novák performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in the 19th-century Rudolfinum, a converted and grand former parliament building. The elegantly dressed-up crowd of locals flock here week after week.

Swept away by the glorious setting, the baffling rotation of opera singers and the wonderful dramatic music, I turned to Drew to gauge his reaction, certain he’d be as wowed as I. He was asleep. Perhaps a platonic mini-break to Prague isn’t so unlike the romantic version after all!

GETTING THERE:
Jurys Inn Prague Hotel (0870 410 0800/ www.jurysinns.com) offers doubles from €89 per night (two sharing), B&B.

easyJet (0871 244 2366/www.easyjet.com) offers return flights from various UK airports from £60. Hilton London
Stansted Airport Hotel (01279 680800/ www.hilton.co.uk/stansted) offers doubles from £119 per night (two
sharing), room only.

Czech Tourism: 020 7631 0427/www.czechtourism.co.uk