The National Gallery's several homes
Prague's National Gallery isn't one building but a collection spread across several historic sites. Sternberg Palace, near Prague Castle, holds the old masters collection — European painting from the medieval period through the 18th century. Across the river near Letná Park, the vast Veletržní Palace (Trade Fair Palace) is one of the largest functionalist buildings in Europe and holds the modern and contemporary collection, including major Czech Cubist and Art Nouveau works — a striking, under-visited counterpoint to the historic centre's architecture.
The Mucha Museum
Alfons Mucha's flowing, decorative Art Nouveau posters and paintings are practically shorthand for turn-of-the-century Prague style, and the dedicated Mucha Museum in the New Town gives his work a focused home — a manageable, single-artist visit rather than a full-day museum commitment.
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
Out in Holoví (a short tram ride from the centre), DOX occupies a converted factory space and focuses on contemporary art, design and architecture with a changing programme of exhibitions — the most consistently interesting contemporary art venue in the city, and one that rewards checking what's currently showing before you go.
The Museum of Communism
For 20th-century political history to sit alongside a visit to Wenceslas Square or the Terezín Memorial, the Museum of Communism covers daily life, propaganda and the lead-up to the 1989 Velvet Revolution in a compact, accessible exhibition near the centre.