Prague

We asked Petr Zezula, Concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Prague, to gather the savviest sightseeing suggestions he could find—not just his own but also those of the local connoisseurs, including some he works with every day at the Hotel. In the very heart of Europe, Prague is one of the continent’s loveliest capitals thanks to its architecture, which ranges from a medieval cathedral and castle district to the Gehry-era leading edge, by way of beautiful baroque lanes and outstanding 20th-century Modernism.

Coffee: Historic Cafés

Czech coffee culture dates back to its days as a Habsburg capital, so perhaps it’s not surprising that one of its finest coffeehouses is Café Imperial, which was restored two years ago to its 19th-century splendour. Older still is Café & Restaurant Slavia. The restaurant sits on the embankment of the Vltava River, where the Czech painter Jan Zrzavy and writer Jaroslav Seifert used to frequent, and where the writer and former president Vaclav Havel can occasionally be spotted. The café maintains its original look and can be described as shabby chic.

Art: Best Galleries

The Veletrzní Palác, the city’s fabulous functionalist modern art gallery, once was considered the best gallery in Prague. But it now has a rival in the Lobkowicz Palace, just below Prague Castle, which houses one of the world’s most extraordinary private art collections: works by Bruegel, Canaletto, Cranach and Velasquez, whose portrait of the Infanta Margarita Teresa is its jewel. In addition to its collection of paintings, the museum has decorative arts, books, musical instruments and autograph manuscripts by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.

Shopping: Gifts and Homewares

If a visit to the House of Black Madonna and the Czech Cubist paintings, furniture and ceramics it contains have inspired in you a love of such design, then make for Modernista, a remarkable furniture and homewares store that deals in first-rate reproductions of pieces by the likes of Adolf Loos, Pavel Janak and Vlastislav Hoffman. Inspired by the design of same era, Kubista—on the ground floor of the House of the Black Madonna—is another good place for local gifts. For contemporary Czech design, try Designshop at the new contemporary art centre DOX in Prague 7.