"Excuse me, could you please tell me how to get to Wenceslas Square?"
The tourist who walked up to us and asked this question seemed to be rather confused.
"You are standing on it," we replied, adding to his confusion.
He is not to be blamed though as Wenceslas Square really does not look like a typical square. It is a 750 metres long and 60 metres wide boulevard which could have been compared with a mini Champs-Élysées in Paris. The size however is always relative. Wenceslas Square might be very small compared to the famous Parisian boulevard, but it is still large enough to accommodate 400 000 people. It accommodated such a crowd on several occasions in the past, including during anti-Communist demonstrations.
Wenceslas Square spreads out on a gentle slope. At the top of it, there is a statue of St. Wenceslas on a horse. This is the good king Wenceslas, a Czech national hero, who was murdered by his own brother more than a thousand years ago. Under the statue of St. Wenceslas, there are two plaques in memory of victims of the Communist regime. One of the plaques is dedicated to Jan Palach, who set himself on fire in protest of Soviet invasion.
The large building behind the statue of St. Wenceslas, right at the top of the square, houses the National Museum. This is the oldest and the largest museum in Czech Republic with rich historical, mineralogical, paleontological, zoological and anthropological collections.
Wenceslas Square is lined with dozens of shops, shopping malls, cafés, restaurants, bars, discos and night clubs, thus this area of Prague never sleeps. Many establishments at Wenceslas Square (including McDonald's) are open 24 hours.
The prices at the restaurants, bars and night clubs along Wenceslas Square are as high as one would expect from such a prestigious location. On the other hand, there are a few colourful kiosks at strategic points of Wenceslas Square selling sausages and hamburgers as well as beer at rock bottom prices. Believe it or not – we bought a beer from one of these kiosks for 30 CZK (1,17 €), while an espresso at Starbucks set us back for 45 CZK (1,77 €). The conclusion based on our 'empirical' research: beer in Prague is cheaper than coffee.
Location: Wenceslas Square, New Town, Prague 1. Transport: metro A and C (station: Muzeum) or metro A and B (station: Mustek).