Prague Looks To Gentrify Its Party Zones

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Newly-arrived expats as well as tourists are to be targeted in an upcoming nighttime noise blitz.

One law either not understood or conveniently forgotten by new expat arrivals and tourists in Prague is the controversial 10.p.m ‘night time noise ban’ rule. Also about to be strongly enforced is the ban on boozing in the streets. Both laws carry hefty fines, but are still regularly ignored by visitors and sections of the expat community. By the end of next month, an advertisement campaign aimed at several favourite party zones in the historic city in the hope that residents can get a good nights’ sleep and be ready for work in the morning.

Also affected will be the city’s famous stag parties where anything goes, especially late at night. The first two areas targeted by the campaign will be the popular Rasin embankment and Diouha Street, long considered party central by locals, expats and tourists alike for its late-opening bars and clubs. The two areas will also be the focus of a tourist survey, to run for the rest of August in the hope that the reason for the 10 p.m rule will be fully understood by visitors and newcomers, and the survey will also help in giving direction to future campaigns aimed at noise prevention.

During the past several years, Prague has attempted to change its image as a destination for stag parties and cheap alcohol to one well-known for its history and unique culture. Vast increases in the number of tourists are no longer the focus, having been replaced by cultivating tourism in a different format. For expats living and working in the city, the changes may come as a shock, but the vast majority understand the need for restraint as regards hordes of drunken Britishers staggering around after midnight.