The mysterious charm of Prague, both solid and light at the same time

Kafka said of Prague, "both dark and lyrical", that it "never relinquishes whosoever discovers it". To describe one of its most mysterious charms, one is tempted to paraphrase Milan Kundera's famous novel and speak of "unbearable lightness". It is difficult to explain but Prague is a city of stone that is nonetheless imbued with an amazing impression of lightness. This is no doubt due to the myriad of slender bell towers that transform the city's skylines into fine lacework. The light golden colours that adorn all the period constructions, among which the Best Western Premier Royal Palace, and the ubiquitous wooded parks also contribute to this wonderful sensation. Stone whose strength has nonetheless enabled the city to withstand painful historic events and nature's anger, in particular the spates of the Vtlava. Indeed, the bridges that formerly stood on the site of the famous Charles Bridge were destroyed several times. It is said that the inhabitants of Prague mixed egg yolk with the mortar to reinforce the bridge's pointing, and it is true that since then, it has withstood all the vagaries of time…

But Prague's incomparable lightness is also due to its quite unique elegance, renewed from century to century by the city's architects and artists who reinvented each new trend, adding their own very distinctive and inimitable hallmark from baroque and Renaissance Prague to romantic Prague. The Best Western Premier Royal Palace, a splendid example of 19^th century Neo-Renaissance architecture (built in 1892), in no way detracts from its albeit spectacular environment. The hotel lies in the heart of the perimeter classed by Unesco as a world heritage site of inestimable value. Its street façade commands exceptional views of the Waldstein gardens and the castle of Prague while the garden side enjoys breathtaking vistas of the river, bridges and the city's right bank. The symmetry, refined ornamentation and noble volumes of the façade are worthy of special note in their own right. Once past the door flanked by two columns and crowned by a characteristic triangular pediment, the hotel lives up to the promise of its name, environment and architecture. Sumptuous is the word that springs to mind as the eye is greeted by the generous dimensions of the guestrooms, marble bathrooms, "royal" details such as the curtain tiebacks, the restaurant's wall hangings, scintillating crystal chandeliers and the leather furnishings and wooden parquet floor in the bar, etc. With only 36 incomparably distinguished guestrooms, this hotel is greatly appreciated by a discerning "happy few".

As Prague is not as spread out as London or Paris, a central location of the likes of the Best Western Premier Royal Palace really does make it possible to discover the city on foot as you stroll along its delightfully romantic cobbled streets. The first vision of the city begins from the hotel's windows. This discovery continues in the Amadeus restaurant of the Best Western Premier Royal Palace whose menu pays tribute to the country's culinary traditions. A discovery that acquires a distinctive flavour as soon as one ventures outdoors into the city's apparent disorder, intrigued by the geometric patterns of the cobbled pavements, amazed by the divine surprise of a street corner or a house's façade and enchanted by the cornices of the houses and their intricately carved doorways. And as you venture further into the city, gradually captivated by its soul, one realises how it has suffered over time but one is nonetheless light-hearted and amazed to discover how beautiful and refined it remains, like one of Mozart's compositions. Nowhere else did the composer feel so much at home and loved as in Prague where he composed Don Giovanni, one of the rare triumphs he enjoyed during his lifetime.

Best Western Premier Hotel Royal Palace

Letenska 11, Prague, Czech Republic - 118 19

Phone: 0042 0 224811281 Fax: 0042 0 224811287