Adults

Do you have free time and do not feel like sitting at home? There is a wide and varied range of opportunities for you in Prague. You may draw inspiration for your leisure time from the following paragraphs.

Leisure time can take various forms. Some people prefer spending most of their free time with their family or partner. Others use their free time to meet their friends, doing their hobbies, deepening their knowledge and skills, having a rest or doing some other activity. Most often, it is a combination of the aforementioned forms of spending one’s free time.

Relaxing plays an important role in our free time as it enables us to gather strength and recharge our energy, which we spent on making our living or fulfilling our duties. From the psychological point of view, it is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Without sufficient rest we risk overloading of our body and mind. As a result we are more susceptible to long-term fatigue, illness, loss of life energy and motivation.

Leisure time also has a strong psychohygienic effect. It offers us an opportunity for personal development, to learn new things, to develop our knowledge and skills and find new chances in life. In our free time, we can meet new people and make new friends. Leisure activities are important for adults as well as children.

Free time activities are also a great help in learning Czech. Communicating with people you meet outside your work makes learning the language better and faster. You can use your free time to talk to native speakers – you will improve your language skills and at the same time get a chance to learn important information, which may be useful for you.

There are plenty of ways of spending one’s free time. In the following chapters we will tell you more about the most common ones.

 

As the first source of inspiration you may use the official website of the Capital City of Prague. You will find there regularly updated information about interesting events, which take place in different districts of the city. For easy orientation you may use an interactive map of Prague.

 

 

Go Get Some Culture

Prague is a city with a rich cultural life and a meeting place for Czech and international artists (musician, dancers, painters, photographers, actors etc.).Every day, there are hundreds of cultural events (concerts, exhibitions, theatre performances, movies). Choose an area that you are interested in and look at the world through the eyes of artists. The chapter called Culture in Prague (link) on this website will provide you with more details.

 

 

Discover New Places

If you have a free afternoon, head to a place that you have never been before. There are a lot of interesting places in Prague. Of course, the tourist attractions (Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Vyšehrad) are worth visiting but there is much more to Prague. The city is able to surprise even people who have been living here for a long time.

 

Prague Planetarium

Observatories and planetariums are not the same thing! At an observatory, you can view the actual sky with the help of a telescope. At a planetarium, stars are projected onto the ceiling above the viewers. The Prague Planetarium, with a 23 m high projection dome and with a surface area of 843 square meters, is one of the largest in the world. The integrated opto-mechanical and digital systems can create a perfect illusion of outer space.

To learn more, have a look at Prague.eu – The Official Tourist Website for Prague.

 

Štefánik Observatory

The Štefánik Observatory has stood in Petřín Park since 1928. Its current appearance dates back to an extensive renovation that was carried out in the 1970s. The most interesting attractions offered at the observatory consist of the public viewings of the day and night skies, a permanent exhibition about astronomy, and tours of the observatory’s equipment.

To learn more, have a look at Prague.eu – The Official Tourist Website for Prague.

 

Go on a trip to the largest known Celtic oppidum both in the Czech Republic and in the Central Europe. It is located on the Závist Hill in Zbraslav Prague district. More information in Czech is available here.

Take part in some of the walks in unknown places of Prague with Prague City Tourism. The current list of local history walks can be found here.

 

 

Get to Know Prague on a Bike

In Prague there are over 400km of marked bike paths. Set off on a bike trip (e.g. from the city centre to Zbraslav along the Vltava River). You can find maps of all Prague bike paths and a lot of useful information for cyclists on the website called Prague by Bike.

 

 

Prague Parks and Gardens

From time to time, all of us need to escape the busy streets of the city and find a peaceful place instead. In Prague there is a lot of small and large parks, wooded areas and gardens, where your mind can perfectly relax. You can find information about the main city gardens and parks at the portal of the City of Prague.

 

Prague Botanical Garden, Fata Morgana Greenhouse

The garden is laid out over almost 30 hectares, with exhibition areas including the historic vineyards of St. Clara, a Japanese meditation garden and the unique tropical greenhouse Fata Morgana. The 130 m long greenhouse, divided into three separate areas with different temperature and humidity, offers a trip through tropical nature at any time of the year.

To learn more, have a look at Prague.eu – The Official Tourist Website for Prague.

 

Prague Zoo

Thanks to its unique position, Prague Zoo is considered one of the most beautiful zoos in the world. The rugged terrain offers over 10 km of walking trails through such exotic exhibitions as the Africa House, the Indonesian jungle, or the Valley of the Elephants. This beautiful slice of nature is a popular destination for families with children who can pet and feed animals at the Children’s Zoo.

To learn more, have a look at Prague.eu – The Official Tourist Website for Prague.

Go for a walk to the Stag Moat which is situated just next to Prague Castle. More information in Czech is available here.

 

 

Nature Trails

Some of Prague’s interesting places are connected by nature trails. These are themed routes the aim of which is to inform people about a certain area (e.g. sports, local history, geology, conservation of nature etc.). One aspect of these nature trails are the information panels with explanatory texts, various pictures, charts etc., regularly distributed along the way. You can read about the best nature trails in Prague on the following websites:

Go on a trip to the valley of the Únětice Stream. More information in Czech is available here.

 

 

 

Trips

If you have enough time, go on a trip outside of Prague. Thanks to the Prague Integrated Transport system (PIT) it only takes a short time to get from the city centre to the surrounding countryside or interesting villages and towns near Prague. It is just as easy to get back as well.

Visit castle ruins of Okoř, which was once an inaccessible fortress. The official website of Okoř is available here.

 

 

What is there for Free in Prague?

A lot of points of interest, museums, sights, galleries etc. offer free admission. It would be a shame not to make use of it. A list of places with free admission can be found on the following websites:

 

 

Sport

Sport is one of the most popular leisure activities, whether spectating or participating.  There is probably no need to describe the watching of sport broadcasts on TV. However, if you like doing sports actively, there are hundreds of opportunities for you in Prague. It is not difficult to find the right place for you, no matter whether you like playing tennis, running, climbing, diving, archery, martial arts or any other sport.

Links:

 

 

Volunteering

If you want to spend your free time doing something good for other people, try one of the volunteer activities available. In recent years, volunteering has become an increasingly popular way of spending some of one’s sparetime by charitable activities. You can get involved in voluntary activities on a one-time basis or on a long-term basis. Voluntary associations offer a wide variety of activities, ranging from assistance in hospitals to giving extra lessons to school children, improving public spaces, looking after nature, helping NGOs with implementation of interesting projects and many more options.

To find detailed information in Czech on how to volunteer, go to Dobrovolník.cz.

To find information in English, you may have a look at the Facebook page called Prague Volunteering.

 

 

Courses and Education

Use your free time to learn something new. Every day there is a great number of courses and workshops for adults in Prague. You can start learning a new foreign language or improve knowledge of the languages you already know. Think about what you have always wanted to try. Perhaps, now it is the right time for a course of acting, painting, Japanese calligraphy, creative photography or dance. Maybe you will opt for the basics of home design, memory training, a course of working with a graphic programme or something else from the countless offer of educational activities.

 

Links:

You can find some inspiration on the following websites:

 

List of Key Words for Searching for Leisure Time Activities

The offer of leisure time activities is wide and it is constantly developing. To get an idea of the currently available options you can simply write one of the following words into your Internet browser (in connection with the word “Prague” or “in Prague”).

Keywords: free time, culture, trip, walk, sports, relax, park, attractions, fun, events, volunteering, courses for adults, education, language learning