Magical, beautiful, historical, electrifying: Prague represents every superlative in the book. And for every superlative, there exists a different reason why the City of a Hundred Spires occupies the stratosphere of Europe’s top-five most visited cities alongside London, Paris, Istanbul, and Rome.

First, Prague is living, breathing history. It may currently serve as the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, but its 1,100-year existence has seen it transform from the capital of the Holy Roman Empire to the political, cultural, and economic heart of central Europe and Bohemia. Throw in a pivotal stake in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years’ War, both World Wars, and the post-Communist era, and even the most avid history buffs couldn’t encapsulate all of its historical worth. Within Old Town’s Jewish Quarter alone, one can still feel the spirit of Kafka and the legends of Golems.

Then, there is its UNESCO status, a designation Prague earned for being a veritable three-dimensional architectural textbook. The city was founded during the Romanesque period, flourished under the Gothic and Renaissance eras, and remained almost undamaged by World War II, thus creating a magical mixture of Roman cathedrals, Neoclassical gold-tipped towers, Baroque palaces and gardens, worldly Art Nouveau buildings, Cubist masterpieces, and Gothic bridges spanning the swan-filled Vlatava River. One doesn’t have to be an expert historian to recognize and appreciate the diversity. From Frank Gehry’s iconic Dancing Building to the mystical interiors of St. George Basilica, the ultramodern greenhouse of the Royal Gardens, and the majestic 9th-century Prague castle—the largest ancient castle in the world—Prague presents itself as a constantly changing city: romantic and driven, ancient and modern, and cosmopolitan and welcoming.

Finally, Prague is a city saturated with Bohemian-infused creativity. Art is literally all around here. It comes in the form of public spaces, showcasing a smorgasbord of the weird and witty. It comes in the form of fine dining and the city’s characteristic café culture, where generations of artists and intellectuals have shaped the country’s creative landscape. And it comes in the form of Czech beer, honed and perfected to produce some of the world’s finest brews and a famous pub scene.

Traveling to Prague caters to any intrepid traveler’s thirst for adventure, beauty, culture, and history. Contact Ker & Downey to include this charming city on your next Central European journey.