Fodor's Expert Review Loreta

Sitting outside the castle complex, the sometimes-overlooked Loreta is home to one of Prague's greatest architectural treasures: a replica of the original Santa Casa, said to be the house in Nazareth where the Archangel Gabriel first appeared to the Virgin Mary. Constructed in the early 1620s and a place of pilgrimage for 400 years, the building is covered in spectacular stucco figures of Old Testament prophets and scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. The cloisters surrounding the casa are also home to treasures of their own, including beautiful frescoes, sculpted fountains, and soaring bell towers. Look out for the Prague Sun monstrance, an incredibly valuable golden vessel encrusted with thousands of diamonds.