http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12252 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12252 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12065
The model was made between 1826 and 1837 from cardboard and wood.

The model is, in many cases, the only witness of how some parts of central Prague looked almost 200 years ago.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12065 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11831 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11831 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10944
However, quality opera performances and productions do not appear to come
much more low-cost than Prague.

There, the National Theatre (Narodni
Divadlo), together with its little sister, the Estates Theatre, and the State Opera (Statni Opera) provide excellent performances.

The NT has a stunning little auditorium in a large building so there is plenty of room for bars and restaurants. With its superb orchestra it
provides a substantial diet of the classics whilst putting on more Czech opera than the opposition.

The musical and production standards are very
high. Really worth catching are Jenufa (I have seen Anja Silja, Rosalind Plowright and Eva Randova all give wonderful and different versions of the
Kostelnicka), Dvorak's The Devil and Kate (why isn't this hilarious twist on the Orpheus and Euridice story more popular abroad? As fine as Hansel and
Gretel, it is perfomed most Sunday mornings to hoards of delighted children) and an operatic version of Verdi's Requiem. The musical director, Oliver
Dohnanyi, conducts regularly. The intendant is the superb designer Daniel Dvorak who often works in tandem with the theatre director, Jiri Neksavil. Jenufa is the best I have seen.

The State Opera, with a larger auditorium, squeezed into a smaller building is more variable and more based on the classics. Former conductors include Mahler, Klemperer and Szell. Both houses have excellent productions of
Dvorak's Rusulka. The best principals seem to appear in both houses and occasionaly one is spoilt for choice with Aida or Carmen on at both houses
on the same night.

Hardly surprisingly, as the birthplace of Don Giovanni and Il Clemenza diTito, the gorgeous little Estates Theatre mostly does Mozart and Donizetti. In all
the theatres opera prices are extraordinarily low by our standards; £20 - £25 for the best seats. The subtitles are in English, as are large sections
of the programme notes which come in paperback books at the NT for about £1
or glossy magazines elsewhere. Tickets are usually available at the box offices if you go between September and March or are easy to book online
www.narodni-divadlo.cz will show full repertoire and let you book. They also run the Estates Theatre). For the State Opera, details can be found on
operacz/en/index/opera and booking made through Bohemia Ticket: www.BohemiaTicket.cz

Forget hotels: go for apartments. Mary's Travel in Prague can put you near the NT for about £20 a night. Restaurants cater for every taste and nationality. Czech food itself is filling with the ubiquitous dumpling and meats acting as a ballast.

The city itself? Need one say more than it holds the most varied and
stunning architecture? Prague is an opera lover's paradise.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10944 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9717 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9717 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9715 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9715 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3254 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3254 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3179 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3179 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3155 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3155 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3124 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3124 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3107 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3107 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3106
The Mucha museum houses one hundred or so of his works. The 'Slav Epic' series however is now on public display in the Czech village Moravský Krumlov - for this worthwhile (90 minute) trip you'll need either a map and a hire car or a helpful train enquiries desk.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3106 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3097 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3097 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3093 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3093 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3087
The bridge links Stare Mesto and Mala Strana and on a trip to Prague you'll probably find yourself strolling accros it on much more than one occassion.

The bridge itself is a beautiful piece of architecture and engineering, lined with statues (get yourself a good guide book which lists the sculptures) and punctuated on either end with towers. The views from the towers, along the bridge and over Stare Mesto at one end and Mala Strana at the other, are wonderful. Indeed you won't be stuck for photo opportunities. The bridge itself and the views over the Vltava towards Petrin Hill and the Castle will have you reaching for your camera. There are also stalls saying a range of crafts and souveniers and plenty of buskers entertaining the crowds. And it does get very - and I mean very - crowded. Try and go early-ish in the morning to catch the views without too many people around

At night it is just magical. Lit by street lamps, the statues dark silhouettes against the sky, the lights of Prague illuminating the buildings and reflected in the river it can feel almost un-real. As if you have stepped back in time to the late 19th early 20th Century.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3085 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3085 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3019 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3019 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3017 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3017 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7169 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7169 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3446 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3446