Entertainment in Prague 1 (Prague)

Pálffy Palác

Housed in the Malostranska baroque palace of the same name, the space attracts a crowd of young professionals, politicians sneaking down from the castle for a bite, and trendy hipsters. The first floor offers a restaurant room, a banqueting hall and a beautiful roof terrace which overlooks the castle gardens. The French menu consists of trout, salmon, poultry, as well as steak and more exclusive seafoods like oysters and swordfish, all elegantly prepared. The main restaurant room is a beautifully decorated baroque salon with fresh flowers on the tables.

Kino Blanik

This is one of the largest downtown cinemas. Like most of its competitors it concentrates on Hollywood films, which may screen earlier in Prague than in other European cities. This is one of the main venues for the annual winter FebioFest festival of new European and American films.

Kinokavarna Jalta

The main screen of this cinema features first-run Hollywood films (in English). Alternatively, you could sit in the Kinokavarna, (or 'Cinema Cafe') and watch second-run or long-running Hollywood offerings, also in English. To get here, you will have to walk a fair way down into one of Wenceslas Square's many shopping arcades.

Cinema Lucerna

This gorgeous, ornate, old-fashioned cinema has a fairly modern sound system. It is extremely popular and has become one of the chief attractions of the Lucerna Arcade, warren of entertainment and shopping outlets built almost 90 years ago by a grandfather of Czech President Vaclav Havel. Hollywood premieres are shown here. These are, as a rule, screened in English. This is also one of the main venues for the excellent offerings presented every spring at the "Days of European Film" festival. Tickets are also available at Ticketpro outlets.

Praha

This is one of the few city center cinemas to feature two screens. The main auditorium may show American or Czech films; the former are normally in English with Czech subtitles (titulky). The smaller hall shows first- and second-run foreign films. Both halls show films for children on weekends at 3pm. There's also a small bar and refreshment stand.

Perštýn

At this Old Town cinema you can sit at tables and watch recent Hollywood, Western European and Czech films. It's small, so advance booking is a good idea.

Divadlo Archa

Sine the time it opened with the performance of Japanese dancer Min Tanaka, Archa has presented compelling dance and musical performances of all genres to a discriminating audience. Some of the famous names that have performed here are John Cale, David Byrne, Meredith Monk, The Residents and Robert Wilson. Other artistes who have performed here include the best of Czech progressive art from the Agon Orchestra to the HaDivadlo and Goose an A String theater troupes. The hall's modest size means that no one is more than a few rows away from the action. The theater is open from Monday to Friday from 10am onwards and closing timings vary on performance days.

Klementinum - Mirror Chapel

This sprawling complex houses the National Library, National Technical Library, and no fewer than four Baroque chapels. The Mirror Chapel, dating back to around 1724, has dark decor in marble and stucco, with gilded harp and trumpet playing cherubs sailing over one of the two eighteenth-century organs. Concerts are held nearly every day here at 5pm and 8pm. Baroque music, naturally, features strongly. The ever-popular Bohemia Saxophone Quartet performs regularly, otherwise, it's standard chamber ensembles. The organs also get frequent workouts.

Kolowrat Theater

This is a historical landmark build in 1868. The National Theater uses this compact hall, next door to the Stavovske Theater, for intimate productions of drama, dance and chamber opera. For more details of upcoming productions, check the web site or call at the given number. The theater opens its doors daily at 10am.

Malostranska Beseda

The Beseda is a wide-open, second floor room in the former Mala Strana town hall. It purveys the best of Czech rock, folk, jazz and blues. Regulars to look out for include the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra, who recreate a 1920s swing band, right down to the singer's frock and the microphone. Also frequenting the place are the master of all wind instruments Jiri Stivin and his jazz band, blues-rock crooner Vladimir Misik et al, and the Czech-Colombian folk-pop duo of Zuzana Navarova and Ivan Gutierrez.

Divadlo Kalich

The pop musical was the theatrical phenomenon of the nineties in Prague and the trend is still going strong. In 1999, two new theaters designed especially for musicals opened. This one occupies a former evangelical church and its only show is Hamlet, with songs and dialog by a local teen idol, Janek Ledecky, who also takes the title role. He is assisted by a throng of pop stars and big-name actors, so you can be assured that the performance is nothing short of professional.

Rudolfinum

This elegant sandstone monument by the river is a wonderful place to listen to classical music. An ensemble that many think of as the last proponent of the rich "Central European sound," considers the main Dvorak Hall its home. This ensemble is the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, now conducted by the Russian emigre, Vladimir Ashkenazy. Chamber concerts are held in the Suk Hall. When the Czech Philharmonic isn't playing, you can hear anything from provincial Czech orchestras to the excellent Talich Quartet or the Prague Chamber Philharmonic, headed by ex-Czech Philharmonic conductor Jiri Belohlavek. In the fall you can listen to concerts for the Bohuslav Martinu Festival.