Prague is one of Europe’s best-preserved cities, having been spared from last century’s bombs. Nowhere is this more evident than in the hilltop Castle Quarter, which looms above the city and dominates the skyline. Filled with high art and grand buildings from the past 1,200 years, this area is packed with history. Even today, you feel like clip-clopping through these streets in a fancy carriage.
Dominating the neighborhood is Prague Castle. Czech leaders have ruled from here for more than a thousand years. The castle is hailed as the biggest anywhere, with a 1,500-foot-long series of courtyards, churches, and palaces. If exhausting is a measure of big, I'll buy that claim. On one memorable visit to the castle, I felt as if I were in a pinball machine—rolling downhill, bouncing from sight to sight before funneling out the lower gate.
