From music museums to jazz clubs, Christina Pfeiffer explores Prague through its music.

One of the few cities in Europe that escaped widespread damage during World War II, Prague has cobblestone streets that are some of the most picturesque on the continent, lined with baroque, gothic and renaissance architecture. But if you close your eyes and listen, there's another world to discover.

The city's reputation as a centre of musical excellence was forged when Mozart conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni in the Theatre of the Estates in 1787. Today, with four orchestras, three opera theatres, beautiful baroque churches and historic palaces that serve as concert venues, there's classical music everywhere.

Not all music in Prague is classical, of course. In the 1920s and 1930s, the city was Eastern Europe's jazz capital. And in the 1960s, Czech musicians played the most popular rock in the Eastern bloc. Musical genres from folk to pop and rock are represented by a slew of Czech artists in Prague now and there's a hip jazz scene.

Travellers can immerse themselves in the city's musical heritage at several museums. The Antonin Dvorak museum is a shrine to the Czech Republic's most famous composer and the Bedrich Smetana museum celebrates the country's most patriotic composer. Foremost is the Czech Museum of Music with its interactive displays of the republic's musical history. Highlights include audio systems where you can listen to original recordings performed on venerable instruments and a hammer piano that Mozart himself tinkered on in 1787.

The arts went underground during the Communist era, when writers and composers were heavily censored. "Those who were not indoctrinated were fearful of expressing themselves freely," says Ivana Stehlikova, the conservatory-trained music director at Aria Hotel, the city's only five-star hotel dedicated to music. Each room at Aria is named after a famous musician; it has a library of 3000 CDs and the hotel is furnished with music-related paraphernalia.

Musicians who remained in Prague went underground, save for a brief period (known as the Prague Spring) in 1968 when Communist Party leader Alexander Dubcek tried unsuccessfully to abolish censorship. Afterwards, a popular underground culture emerged around a band called Plastic People of the Universe. The arrest of its members in 1976 was one of the events that triggered the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the uprising that finally overthrew the Communist government.

One evening I'm tapping my feet in U Stare Pani, an atmospheric jazz club in the old part of town. A band called Limbo launch their new album with a 1930s-style swing number. Leader Pavel Hruby belts out the tune on four instruments - tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet and bass clarinet. He's a professional classical musician yet the jazz clubs pay him poorly - about $50 a night. "There are many jazz musicians like me in Prague who perform jazz for love not money," he says.

I enlist a 19-year-old trumpet student named Jaroslav to help me search for more jazz music. We head to his favourite hangouts, starting with the jazz section of Bontonland, Prague's version of Virgin Megastore. Later, we wind our way through cobblestone lanes in search of second-hand music stores. Finally, we end up in the Unijazz cafe, a bohemian hangout that is the grunge version of Europe's historic grand cafes, where centuries ago poets, writers and musicians gathered to drink coffee, listen to music and discuss politics.

Each year it runs the Alternativa Festival, which aims to encourage audiences to embrace innovative music. "During Communist times, people were forced to play music chosen by the government," says Unijazz's marketing director, Jana Cerna. "So the collapse of Communism sparked a fascination with video clips, MTV, jazz music, rock and roll, pop ... pretty much anything vaguely American."

Many here still prefer music that defies convention, making the musical journey all the richer.

Christina Pfeiffer travelled courtesy of Korean Air and Aria Hotel.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Korean Air has a fare for $1595, flying from Sydney and Melbourne to Seoul, where you stay overnight at the airline's expense, then non-stop to Prague. The cheapest fare is with Malaysia Airlines at $1341, where you fly to Amsterdam with a change of aircraft in Kuala Lumpur and then on to Prague with KLM. A fare with Air France is $1490: you fly Qantas to Hong Kong or Singapore and then Air France via an aircraft change in Paris. Austrian Airlines has a fare to Prague for $1540 where you fly Qantas to Tokyo and then Austrian Airlines with an aircraft change in Vienna. (Fares are low-season return from Melbourne and Sydney, not including tax.)

Staying there

Prague's boutique music hotel, Aria Hotel, has a special "stay three days, pay for two" deal in August. Rooms from EUR215 ($363), see http://www.aria.cz.

Listening there

* Prague Walks runs tailored jazz tours. See http://www.praguewalks.com.

* U Stare Pani jazz lounge has a program of modern jazz, soul, blues and Latin. See http://www.ustarepani.cz.

* Reduta Jazz Club is Prague's oldest jazz club. Former US president Bill Clinton was spotted jamming there in 1994. See http://www.redutajazzclub.cz.

* The 18th Prague Autumn International Music Festival features the city's philharmonic and symphony orchestras. From September 12 to October 1. See http://www.pragueautumn.cz.

* The Dvorak's Prague festival is at the Rudolfinum. Until September 4. See http://www.dvorakovapraha.cz.

* The Italian Opera Festival runs until the end of September at the Prague State Opera. See http://www.opera.cz.

* The city's International Jazz Festival has performances in venues around Prague each autumn; this year's dates yet to be announced. See http://www.jazz festivalpraha.cz.

* The O2 Arena has live concerts by international performers including Coldplay (September 22), DJ Paul van Dyk (September 20) and Queen and Paul Rodgers (October 31). See http://www.o2arena.cz. International acts playing other Prague venues include Snoop Dogg (September 8), Iggy Pop & the Stooges (September 20), Leonard Cohen (September 27), Alicia Keys (October 14) and James Blunt (October 27).

* Palac Akropolis is popular with independent touring bands, hosting alternative music as well as drama. See http://www.palacakropolis.cz.

* The 16th Alternativa Festival takes place on November 21-29. See www.unijazz.cz.