Karlín

What it is

Praha 8's showpiece: the flat grid of streets squeezed between Vítkov hill and the river, laid out in 1817 as Prague's first planned suburb. In August 2002 the flood put it metres under water and half-emptied it; the rebuilding that followed turned Karlín into the city's clearest regeneration success — a neighbourhood of restored nineteenth-century blocks, new riverside offices, and more interesting kitchens per street than anywhere else in Prague.

What is here

Two handsome squares: Karlínské náměstí with the huge neo-Romanesque church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and Lyčkovo náměstí, an Art Nouveau ensemble around a small park that is one of the prettiest corners in the city. Eska, the bakery-restaurant in a converted factory that became the flag of new Czech cooking, is here, and so is Dva kohouti, a craft brewery pouring in its own yard. Forum Karlín stages the mid-size concerts. The riverside path runs flat and quiet toward the islands, one of the best casual walks or runs in Prague.

What it is like

Brunch-and-laptop Prague, and the district young Praguers most reliably say they want to move to. It is calm in a prosperous, tree-lined way: no sights drawing coach crowds, evenings that are social but not loud, everything reachable on a flat ten-minute walk — a rarity in this city of hills. If your idea of travel is living somewhere for a few days rather than ticking monuments, this is the strongest candidate.

Practical

Metro line B runs beneath the main street (Florenc, Křižíkova, Invalidovna) — the Old Town is two stops away — and Florenc is also the main coach station, convenient for a Kutná Hora or Český Krumlov day trip. Trams 3 and 8 cross the quarter.

Hotels and aparthotels here are newer and better value than their Old Town equivalents. Look for the small plaques on house walls marking the 2002 flood line, well above head height — the district you are standing in was rebuilt from that.