Jul 16 2008
Prague Parks and green spaces
Near to Castle you can find Certovka Park. It is a small, but very pleasant park at the western end of the Charles Bridge, with a sandpit and playground for kids. The area of this park is fenced off, so you don’t need to worry that your offspring will get lost in the city. It is open from 8 am to 5.30 pm daily.
The other park close to Prague center is Petřín Hill. A cable-car leads to the very top of the hill, where it is possible to visit the Štefánik Observatory, the Hall of mirrors and chiefly the Petřín Tower, a miniature copy of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. If you follow the paths through the orchards and parks below the tower you will fall into romantic atmosphere.
Kampa – Kampa is the area immediately under Mala Strana and bordering the river on both sides of the Charles Bridge. The park extends south to the Legie Bridge and is largely a walk-through park on the way to somewhere else. During the summer it appears to be hosting a continual open air party. Free.
The Letná Hill can be seen clearly from in front of the Hotel Intercontinental at the end of Pařížská Street, and recognized by the strange metronome on top, near the Dvořákovo nábřeží embankment. Some areas of the park are surprisingly messy especially around the metronome, whereas other areas are taken care of and landscaped. If you climb the Letna hill you’ll get a beautiful view of Prague and the Vltava River with its bridges. The park is very popular with skateboarders, cyclists for whom the majority of the paths seem to have been built. On a weekend day you can walk along these paths can be a bit, especially if you have a dog or kids with you.
Stromovka - Otakar II established the royal hunting park here in 1266. It was a public garden since 1804. It has several ponds ideal for duck-feeding in summer and ice-skating in winter. Its beautiful and meandering paths offer you easy and interesting strolling.
Pruhonice – This attractive village 15 minutes from the centre of Prague is home to a beautiful landscaped park, now the best botanical garden in the Czech Republic, surrounding the main chateaux. It is packed with families at the weekends during the summer and just at nice weather but on a slightly drizzly week day you could have all the beauty of the gardens, woods and three artificial lakes all to yourself. The best time when you can see the rainbow colors of rhododendrons is during May.
If you really want to feel nature in Prague, go to Botanical Gardens. It has wonderful outdoor section with vineyard, chapel, bonsai, a Japanese Zen garden, greenhouses and wonderful views of the city. A little further up the hill you will find greenhouse exhibiting desert the Fata Morgana, with high sierra and tropical plants in a realistic setting. Residents include moths, butterflies, greenery galore and frogs.
Would you like to visit a natural reservation just 30 minutes from Wenceslas Square? Believe it or not, but it is true, just go to the natural park Dikova Sarka. Creeks, mini waterfalls and even a small canyon, rocks in different shapes and water flowing between them, unfold their mystical beauty on the huge surface of Divoka Sarka (Sharka the wild). Visitors can find their way up the rocks or just wander along the paths through the small forest and enjoy a wonderful view of the entire place.