Here are the available villas for rental in Prague.

Not only here for the beer

Standing in the chancellery room in Prague Castle, I was gazing at rather than out of its eastern window.
To the American and German tourists milling about, the window probably passed unnoticed. But it took me straight back to school.
The Defenestration of Prague in 1618, when two radical Protestants threw two Catholic ministers out of this very window, was the first topic we tackled on my A-level history course.
The two ministers survived because they fell into a moat below that was full of sewage, but the event began a devastating religious war which lasted for 30 years.
If you visit Prague, known to generations as 'the city of 100 spires', you are immediately embedded in our European past.
Yet even if you are not swept up by the city's World War II history and its six-year occupation by Hitler's Nazi regime, the extraordinary - and unchanging - Gothic character of Prague must fascinate.
I went for a weekend in November: the weather was damp and foggy, which only increased the city's spectral beauty.
Below the castle, in the cold, watery light, we saw the city's delicate spires hovering over elegantly curved 18th-century Baroque roofs.
Their sugary-pink and yellow colour made it look as if you were walking through a ballet set or a fabulously illustrated children's book.
The original Disneyland in California aspires to this - it has a reproduction of Prague's famous 10th-century Tyn church, with its fairy-tale clusters of spires, but this is the real thing and nothing can match it.
Even more modern buildings, art nouveau or cubist in style, that were constructed in the early 20th century blend in perfectly. No gherkins with cracked glass here.
Crossing the ancient Charles Bridge in the semi-darkness of early winter, a new moon rising over the Vltava river and its 31 statues of saints set against the glittering lights on the surrounding medieval spires, must be one of the most memorable of European experiences.
Remarkably there is no sign anywhere of the torrential floods which hit the city on August 2, 2002.
At the time 70,000 people fled from Prague and it was feared that many architectural gems would vanish if the Vltava river burst its banks.
The river swelled to its highest since 1890, its waters engulfed the city including the zoo, where many favourite animals drowned, but fortunately all the main major art treasures had been removed before the flood hit. ... more

How to do Prague on the cheap

From the Mail on Sunday

There aren't many capitals where a pint of beer costs just 50p, a hearty meal less than £2 and a trip from the airport to the city centre 25p.
But Prague is one - as long as you know where to look...
GETTING THERE
Low-cost airline Go ( tel: 0870 607 6543) flies to Prague from Stansted and from Bristol and East Midlands airports.
Bus 119 will take you from Prague airport (buy tickets at the arrivals hall transport desk) to the end of the metro line, then it's just a few stops to the city centre. Total journey time 40-60 minutes, total cost 25p.
If you have lots of bags, a Cedaz minibus takes one to four passengers right to your hotel for £7.50.
GETTING AROUND
Within the city centre, you'll only need your feet. However, a ride on the efficient Russian-built metro or the trams costs only 15p-25p, a 24-hour pass £1.50. You must buy tickets/passes in advance.
The most useful tram is 22, which takes you up to Prague Castle. If you take a cab, watch out for overcharging. ... more

Ducking the stag and hens

"Booze and culture," said my mate Shonagh, summarising the virtues of a weekend trip to Prague.

Most Britons heading to the Czech capital have exactly the same idea. But often they end up doing the first and ditching the second.
Within hours of our arrival, we saw a noisy hen party stumble across Wenceslas Square carrying the kind of plastic accessory best left to the bedroom, two blokes dolled up as birds and one fella in a Mr Incredible costume initiating some kind of underwear-swapping game in a pub.
It felt about as cultured as a trip to Blackpool.
But although cheap flights and even cheaper beer have turned into stag and hen party central, you can avoid the beer-guzzlers by choosing your spots wisely.
Like Prague Castle, for example - perched at the top of a steep, cobbled street, this Gothic medieval building was hard enough to reach when sober - "you need crampons to get up here," moaned Shonagh - never mind with a hangover.
Tickets are flexible to allow you to choose which palaces and buildings you want to visit within the sprawling complex.
After wandering past the pretty stained glass windows of St Vitus Cathedral, we headed for the viewpoint of the Great Tower which meant climbing a head-spinning 287-step spiral staircase. Once I'd stopped gasping for breath at the top, Prague's red-tiled roofs, spires and cathedrals swam into fairy-tale focus.
Despite this lofty vantage point, the best way to appreciate the city is walking around, but this means choosing your footwear carefully.
We quickly realised that flat sandals didn't do anything to protect our feet from endlessly cobbled streets and wearing heels, whilst chic, was just plain reckless.
Your best bet is a pair of trainers cushioned with at least five inches of air. They will probably cost more than your flight to Prague but will make sightseeing a painless experience.
Better still, opt for a Segway tour of the city, a two-wheeled scooter that is a favourite with stag parties. You may look a bit daft but it cuts through the crowds, which is useful in Old Town Square.
Stuffed with gorgeous Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic buildings, the square looks like it's leapt straight out of the pages of a storybook, with moody-looking, dramatic towers and steeples next to pretty pastel facades.
Even when the astronomical clock on the old town hall failed to chime on the hour as the guide books had promised, it didn't matter. It was still magical.
The best way to soak up the atmosphere here is by chilling in one of the al fresco cafes, although this could bring you into closer-than-desired proximity with a bleary-eyed stag group. One such encounter led to an inspired sightseeing tip: "Avoid the Sex Museum, it's rubbish."
If there's one other place you definitely shouldn't avoid, however, it's Charles Bridge. Originally built in the 13th century for knight tournaments, the bridge is now the stage for a different kind of joust. This involves prodding your way through hundreds of tourists, souvenir stallholders, caricaturists and buskers to get from one end to the next.
But the bridge is a great spot to linger at sunset when it's far less crowded and heaps more romantic. Although I was with four female friends, I knew as I gazed at the castle in the fading light that I had fallen utterly in love with the city.
If there's one place that failed to steal my heart, however, it was Wenceslas Square.
Although it played a pivotal part in the 's turbulent past, there was no evidence of this as I traipsed past umpteen shops and restaurants. Even The National Museum looming at one end of the boulevard failed to convey any real sense of history.
But I was looking in the wrong place. Tucked away on one of the side streets is the Communist Museum, which ably dramatises the country's political past via memorabilia, photos and a short video documentary.
If there's one museum you visit in Prague, make sure this is it.
All of this exploring is sure to whet your appetite but sampling the local cuisine could be short-lived unless you like beef, dumplings or goulash.
I stuck to international fare - of which there is plenty of choice. Try the excellent, uber-cool, Barock restaurant in the Jewish quarter, delivering everything from sushi to curry at decent prices - and with a smile.
Unfortunately, you'll find that good service is a rare as a sober stag in Prague. Wherever we went, waiters and bar staff shot us steely glares.
But if there's any compensation, it's the price of beer. At just 60p a pint, I got excited - and I don't even drink the stuff.
Whatever your choice of poison, after you've sunk a few drinks, be prepared to explore Prague's legendary nightspots.
Wander through the twisty streets of the Old Town, past the occasional neon-lit, lap dancing joint, and head for underground club La Fabrique. It's tiny but has a relaxed vibe.
If size and thumping tunes matter, visit the riverside Karlovy Lazne Dance Club. It may resemble an NCP car park, as Shonagh wryly commented, but it's central Europe's biggest disco.
You'll have fun if you don't mind steel pipes, sticky floors and the antics of hen groups that cause even the boldest stags to blush… but what can you expect? This is Prague, after all.
Feeling inspired? ... more