Prague Christmas Markets (December 2016)
Christmas markets are a key ingredient of the festive magic in the Czech Republic. The markets light up the city, bringing locals and tourists together in a truly magical winter setting. The main markets are at the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square (5 minutes walk from each other). There are also some smaller markets at Republic Square, at Havel’s Market, on Kampa Island, and on the square in front of St. George’s Basilica at Prague Castle. The Prague Christmas markets open every day 26th Nov 2016 – 6th Jan 2017, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The markets consist of brightly decorated wooden huts selling traditional handicrafts that visitors could take home, to decorate their houses or to use as Christmas gifts. But Christmas markets are not just all about shopping. Visitors can observe traditional foods being made, and taste a range of tasty stuff off local produce: large roasted hams, tasty barbecued sausages, cakes, pastries and much more prepared right in front of you! To accompany the food, you can have what the Czech Republic is best known for – BEER! Or choose from a variety of hot drinks including a cup of nice hot mulled wine.
Public Skating Tower Ice Park (Dec 1, 2016 – Mar 15, 2017)
Where do you take a girl for your first date? What should you do with the kids over the weekend? The right answer to both questions is the outdoor ice rink below the Žižkov Tower. Next to the rink there is also an ice-skate rental with a broad range of skates. So you don’t get cold during skating, it is possible to order specialities from the grill or a hot home-made punch, bombardino, mulled wine, hot chocolate, and many other beverages from the outdoor bar. For more info, please visit: www.towerpark.cz
St Nicholas in the ZOO (Dec 5, 2016)
St Nicholas accompanied by a Devil and an Angel will stroll out the ZOO asking children and adults how they behave the past year. The naughty one will get what they deserve; the nice one will receive a present from St Nicholas and the Angel.
Apassionata: Cinema of Dreams (Dec 10-11, 2016)
For more than ten years now this name stands for magic encounters between man and horse with record numbers of more than 30 000 visitors on several weekends. Apassionata is more than a show – it’s a fireworks display of emotions, an experience for the whole family, a work of art with irresistible music and spectacular show acts. More info and tickets booking at: www.ticketportal.cz
Spend a Day Underground! (Dec 10, 2016)
Prague boasts not only beautiful facades, but also there is a wide range of interesting underground structures as shelters, tunnels, historical cellars, and catacombs. Most of them are without public access, but now you have a chance to visit some of them:
- Church of Our Lady Victorious (Infant Jesus of Prague)
- Bomb Shelter Parukářka
- National Theatre
- Estates Theatre
- National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror
UMtrh (Dec 16-17, 2016)
The idea to organize Art-Antique-Design-Vintage Market was born from the feeling that the Old Town is not just a historical backdrop but it should be a lively area for fresh contemporary cultural trends that move European capitals. The Market should become a platform for meeting, workshops. Artists and public should create a business environment accompanying by cultural programs. Aim of this Events Market is to support the art schools. The market will recur every last weekend of the month and it will take place in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in Prague 1. December 16-17 will demonstrate the best Czech applied art and gifts.
Magnetic Festival (Dec 16, 2016)
“Twice a year (in May and in December), we prepare a unique festival with presence of those who dominate the electronic music. We would like to invite you to a gigantic club which can accommodate up to 10 000 visitors where you will experience a ten-hour show with the biggest starts of the world dance music scene.” – Magnetic Festival. More info and tickets at: www.magneticfestival.com
Christmas Lemarket (Dec 17-18, 2016)
LEMARKET is a unique and modern marketplace which allows its guests to explore the local quality products, services, and projects, and to meet directly with their authors. It provides space for presentation of creative people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and at the same time, it offers “big” things from “small” brands. During one weekend LeMarket offers the visitors also everything that belongs to a modern market – an inspiration, a place for meetings, workshops, and cultural experiences. More info at www.lemarket.cz
Alfred Nikodém Memorial (Dec 26, 2016)
The 70th year of the oldest Czech winter swimming contest will be held near to the National Theatre, between Slavonic Island and Střelecký Island. The event will start at 11 a.m. on Boxing Day and will be attended by hardy men and women from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany. The memorial is called after Alfred Nikodém who was a goldsmith in Prague and a proponent of Spartan lifestyle. Winter swimming was first seen in Prague in 1923 when he and six other enthusiasts plunged into the freezing cold Vltava River watched by a crowd of stunned onlookers.
