New Town

National Museum

Národní muzeum is a huge nature and history museum in the upper part of Wenceslas Square. The building was designed by prominent Czech neo-rennaisance architect Josef Schulz in the years 1885 - 1891. In the older museum, there is an excellent permanent exhibition of various minerals including gems, as well as other interesting exhibitions including insects, fossils, animal skeletons, and stuffed animals from around the world. However, some of the information may be outdated, and the diagrams are not well done. One of the best known pieces is a large whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling, quite unusual in a landlocked country. The building itself is enormous and the architecture very grand, but the exhibitions in themselves need to be fixed up. The newer museum has exhibitions on Communism. Entry to the old museum is 150 Kč, new museum is 80 Kč.

The Dancing House Tančící dům, officially the Rasin Building, Rasínovo nábr 80, Praha 1. The Rasin Building is the work of the twentieth century architect Frank Gehry, and is said to be shaped like a man and a woman dancing; hence its former name "Fred and Ginger".

Botanical Garden of the Charles University

Botanical garden of the Charles University with valuable outdoor exhibition and a collection of tropical plants in greenhouses.