National Museum

Prague's National Museum fills a spectacular neo-Renaissance palace that looks like it could house royalty instead of rocks and bones. The 2018 renovation revealed gilded ceilings, marble staircases, and crystal chandeliers that honestly outshine most of the exhibits. You'll find everything from meteorites to stuffed animals, plus the Pantheon upstairs where Czech cultural heroes get the marble bust treatment. The building itself tells Prague's story better than many of the collections inside.

Your visit flows up the grand central staircase past restored frescoes and into halls that feel more like Versailles than a natural history museum. The mineral collection sparkles under ornate ceilings, while the paleontology section puts dinosaur bones in rooms fit for emperors. Most visitors spend time gawking at the architecture, which is exactly right. The rooftop terrace opens onto sweeping views of Wenceslas Square, and you can see why this building anchors Prague's most famous boulevard.

At 250 CZK, you're really paying for the building tour with some decent exhibits thrown in. Skip the zoology floors unless you love taxidermy, and don't expect world-class collections. The Pantheon feels like a who's who of people you've never heard of, but the gilded dome above makes it worthwhile. Come for the restored interiors and that rooftop view, treat everything else as a bonus.