Prague is one of Europe’s historically great cities. I’ve never heard a single person say a bad thing about Prague. People usually rave about the city and it’s usually on people’s short list of top cities to visit in Europe if they’ve ever been. For centuries it served as the capitol of the region of Bohemia. Today it is the capitol and largest city of the Czech Republic. Famous for it’s medieval architecture its city center is considered a World Heritage Site. Unique among many European cities this magical city of cathedrals, bridges and pristine cobblestone lanes was left largely undamaged from World War II.
Pastel buildings mix with medieval church spires, walled courtyards and charming cobblestone alleys to form the backdrop to an otherwise vibrant modern city full of great restaurants, bars art, and cool things to do. Above it all looms a gorgeous 9th century castle and palace complex, formerly the seat of power for Bohemian monarchs, that sits atop the city’s westwardly hill. Through the center of the city runs a horseshoe portion of the, swan filled, Vltava River.
In the main city center the river cuts the city into two sections, East and West, by slicing through the city center from North to South. On the west bank of the Vltava you will find the Castle and Palace Complexes, large parks, like Petrin Hill, Prague’s replica Eiffel Tower, Strahov Monastery and Malá Strana, which is also referred to as Lesser Town. Malá Strana is one of the oldest sections of Prague, originally built at the base of Prague’s original castle. It is also one of the nicest places to stay and walk around in Prague. The main bridge, crossing over to the East bank of the river is the Charles Bridge, which is one of Prague’s most famous attractions.
On the East side of the river, you’ll find Old Town, Prague’s famous astronomical clock, it’s main city square (Old Town Square), New Town and Jewish Town, as well as some of Prague’s best restaurants, bars and museums. You honestly can’t go wrong favoring either the West or East sides of the river in picking a place to stay. They’re both incredibly nice places to spend your time. We prefer the west bank as it’s a little more quaint and quiet and is close proximity to the major site seeing attractions. But, regardless of where you stay you’re going to spend at least a full day, if not more, walking around and exploring the other side of town. Our recommendation though is to stay on the west bank of the river, enjoy the quaint, quiet streets of Malá Strana as your home base, while being in super close proximity to the castle, palace, Strahov Monastery and Petrin Hill where you will undoubtedly spend a full day during your trip, and then enjoy the crowded bustling streets of Old Town as a place to walk around and explore before heading back to the tranquility of your home base.
Places to Stay
West Side of the River:
Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa: Luxurious hotel with fantastic spa services right across the street from the US Embassy. The hotel also gives you free passes to up to 6 different tourist sites that are good for pretty much every museum and attraction in the city.
Mandarin Oriental Prague: Very expensive, but about as fine a hotel as you’ll ever see.
Best Western Hotel Kampa: Fantastic medieval interior decorations and dining hall in a more budget friendly price range than the two luxury hotels listed above
Vintage Design Hotel Sax: Reasonably priced, but decent location with comfy cool rooms. Each room is incredibly unique.
Old Town – East Side of the River
Four Seasons Prague: Right on the rivers edge. Reasonably priced with fantastic location, right next to the Charles Bridge
Hotel Elite: Nice boutique rooms in a historic building
The U Prince: Faces the astronomical clock and sits right on the main Old Town Square. Comfy beds and beautiful marble bathrooms
Grand Hotel Praha: Old classic charm in a luxury hotel setting. Located across from the astronomical clock and right on Prague’s main square.
Buddha Bar Hotel: Chic, modern, asian inspired decor in one of Prague’s most luxurious hotels.
The West Side of The Vltava River
Start your day with a morning stroll through the Malá Strana neighborhood on your way towards St Nicholas Church. Make sure to stop in St. Nicholas Church and pay the nominal entrance fee. It’s one of the most stunning churches in all of Europe and a must see on your visit to Prague.
After exploring St Nicholas Church you’ll head up the hill towards the castle and palace grounds. There is a tram that drops you off right at the palace, but the hill is not very steep or high. It’s a very easy stroll to the top. On the way there is a Medieval themed bar and restaurant called Medieval Tavern – U krále Brabantského. This is a great spot to stop in for a craft Czech beer and their Medieval style food is pretty good too.
After your beer at the Medieval Tavern continue up the hill until you get to the Palace gates. At the top of the hill, the palace complex will be to your right. You’ll have to go into the ticket office, even if you have the free passes from the hotel, and get passes for the palace exhibits. Your best bet is to get the total pass ticket that works for all of the sites in the complex. You’ll be able to walk from one end of the complex to the other and stop in at all the attractions.
Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. Once the home to Bohemian monarchs and emperors, it is now the official residence of the Czech president. As the worlds biggest medieval castle complex, there are plenty of things to see here and you could easily spend 3-4 hours walking around. If you are there at noon, make sure to stop and watch the changing of the guard. Inside the the palace gates, the first site you’ll see in the palace complex is Prague’s famous St Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral’s stained glass is completely stunning. And, inside the cathedral is the beautiful St Wenceslas Chapel. From here you will walk around the right side of the cathedral to the Old Royal Palace and Vladislav Hall.
And, then to St. George’s Basilica…
As you walk to the back of the castle complex you’ll reach Golden Lane and a museum of torture devices and Medieval armor. Golden Lane was originally built in the 16th century to house castle guards and the kings favorite obsession, alchemists. Famous writer Franz Kafka lived in House #22 for a year at one point.
Past the Golden Lane, at the end of the street, is the Black Tower, a medieval dungeon where prisoners where once held and often tortured.
Past the Black Tower is Prague’s only winery that makes their wines from grapes grown on the hills of Prague. You might not have time today to go up to St. Wencesla’s Vineyard, but make a point to stop there once during your trip. There’s a great terrace with a fantastic view to drink their wines on.
You can either take a detour from your site seeing and go spend the rest of your afternoon drinking wine overlooking Prague or you can save that for another day and head back up around the other side of the palace walls, walking through Paradise Garden on your way back towards the castle gates that you entered from.
Once you get back to Mathias Gate, instead of turning right back into the palace complex, turn left and check out Hradcany Square. Here you’ll find a charming square with a number of restaurants and cafes as well as a few of Prague’s best museums and attractions, such as National Gallery Salm Palace, Archbishop Palace and Schwarzenberg Palace.
Walk through Hradcany Square, staying to the left as you head towards Strahov Monastery. The monastery complex has a really nice church, an incredible library and one of the best breweries in Prague. Across the street from the church and library is a small beer garden where monks brew their own beer. The beer is almost entirely consumed on the premises and is very hard to find anywhere outside Prague. The have absolutely delicious pils, hefeweizen, amber and porter selections. Makes sure to take some time to try a couple glasses before you head on to Petrin Hill.
Just past the monastery you’ll see the entrance to a massive park on your left. Follow the trail up this small hill and into the Petrin Hill Park. It’s a great place to walk around and there’s a couple great sites to stop and check out. You’ll pass a giant statues of Jesus on The Cross, before arriving at a 378m tall replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can walk up or take the lift to the top for stunning panoramic views of the city below. They also have a nice café and food truck at the base.
Around the Petrin Tower are a couple of other small spots to stop and spend a couple minutes on your walk. There’s St Lawrence Church, a Mirror Maze and JUICEE, a lemonade and ice cream truck. A little further up the path is The Štefánik Observatory. None of these things are worth making a special trip for, but they’re all worth a quick stop in as you make your way through the park.
As you wind your way back down the hill, make sure to stop at Reon Argondian – Magical Cavern to check out their collection of black-light art. And, just past the gallery is Caffe Atlant and Restaurant Nebozízek which have a stunning view from their terrace to enjoy some drinks and food on your way down.
You’ll wind your way down the hillside of Petrin Park and eventually find yourself in Malá Strana. This area, south of the Charles Bridge, is probably one of the nicest and most charming places to walk around in Prague. Make sure to walk past Prague’s famous Lennon Wall. The Lennon Wall features a large mural of John Lennon and acts as an open air gallery for street artists who continually repaint the mural with graffiti.
There’s some fantastic restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars in this area. Particularly there are quite a few open courtyards with crumbling facades and vine covered walls around the Lennon Wall that are the perfect place to stop. After the Lennon Wall, you’ll continue on back towards the Vltava River, crossing a little tributary stream with a water mill attached to one of these great restaurants with a beautiful courtyard to sit in. There’s an interesting John Lennon (Beatles Themed) Pub at the end of the street, that is also worth stopping in for a bit.
From here head to the river and walk along the banks as you turn back north towards the Charles Bridge. Chances are it’ll be time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. For your first night in Prague, there isn’t a better place to have your first dinner than Terasa U Zlaté-Studnê. This restaurant is a little on the expensive side, as you’re partially paying for the view. But, man…that view is phenomenal and well worth the premium you pay for it. The tasting menu and wine pairing are some of the best in all of Prague. Just a perfect dining experience.
This is Prague’s best restaurant, with an unparalleled view and a fantastic tasting menu. It’s not cheap, you definitely pay for both the view and the food, but like everything in the Czech Republic, even the most expensive meals are fairly reasonable by the standards of other major cities. You’ll definitely want to make a reservation in advance for this dinner.
Other Great Places to Eat on the West Side of the River
U Modré Kachničky – A fantastic and reasonably priced tasting menu for those who like meat. Most of the meals are meat based, so it’s a little more heavy than most tasting menus, but the food is truly fantastic. The wine pairing is perfect and the atmosphere is really wonderful. The restaurant is in this old crumbly building with a truly authentically cool ambience.
Cafe Savoy – A great Viennese-style cafe with vaulted ceilings and wonderful ambience. Serves up some great coffee, really fantastic food and absolutely perfect desserts.
Czech Slovac Restaurant – Upscale classic dining Czech style. Chic modern decor with modern takes on Czech classics like goulash, stew, roast beef, and slowly roasted duck. Also, have a great selection of pastas and pizzas. But, the stars of the show are their grilled meats.
Restaurant Kampa Park – Great food, great price point and absolutely the best view in all of Prague. The restaurant is situated right on the Vltava River at the base of the Charles Bridge. Check out the photo below for a sense of how nice this view is.
Laboratorio della Pizza – A fantastic brick oven pizza spot with outdoor seating in a really nice part of town.
ART&FOOD – Family restaurant featuring a modern art gallery to go along with artistically plated meals prepared from fresh seasonal ingredients from local farms. They have a creative menu and a beer selection from over 30 local small scale Czech breweries. They feature some of the best steaks in town. And, to top it all off they have live music every night from 7-10pm
Wine Bars in Mala Strana
Make sure to walk through one of Prague’s oldest nieghborhoods, Malá Strana. There’s a really pretty area right in front of the Charles Bridge that has a lot of great bars, restaurants and cafes.
Wallenstein Palace
A vast complex of palaces and gardens from the Baroque era. This palace, built between 1624 and 1630 houses rare albino peacocks and a handful of regular peacocks surrounded by some of the most scenic gardens in Prague. It’s a great place to start your day with a scenic stroll before heading across the nearby bridge to the other side of the Vltava River. The peacocks offer some stunning photo opportunities as well.
After Wallenstein Palace walk out the eastern side of the palace passing a small park with a statue dedicated to the fallen soldiers of WWII
Past here you will cross the Mánesüv Bridge and head to the opposite side of the Vltava River.
You’ll pass Prague’s University of the Arts.
From here head towards the Old Town Square.
Astronomical Clock
The undeniable star of the old town square is Prague’s Astronomical Clock. The clock has been operating continuously since it was first installed in 1410, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in existence and the oldest one that still operates. “The Walk of the Apostles” is an hourly show of moving Apostle figures and other sculptures, notably a figure of a skeleton that represents Death, striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months that the clock performs every hour on the hour. If you happen to be walking by the clock around the turn of the hour make sure to look up, but don’t waste a bunch of time waiting for the hour to turn. It’s extremely underwhelming so don’t worry too much if you miss it. You’re really not missing much.
Absintherie Jilksá
If you’re interested in trying some real Absinthe while in Prague, right down the street from the central square is a fantastic absinthe bar named Absintherie Jilksá. It’s got a great atmosphere, fun bar tenders and surprisingly tasty absinthe based concoctions.
The Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge is the center of Prague’s outdoor social scene. The bridge is packed with street performers, carts selling handmade items and just dozens of people hanging out and enjoying the view from the bridge. You can walk up to the top of the Old Town Bridge Tower (pictured above) for a great view. The bridge is beautiful at night particularly when the lamps gas lights are set ablaze. Over the advent from November 27th to December 23rd, the gas lamps are actually lit by hand by a period specific lamp lighter.
Transforming Franz Kafka Statue
While on the East side of the river make sure to check out the transforming statue of Prague’s favorite author, Franz Kafka. It is located right next to the Quadrio shopping center.
Best Restaurants on the East Side of the River
1 – La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise: High end tasting menu based on classic Czech recipes in Czech’s Old Town. Expensive and requires a reservation beforehand.
2 – Field: Another high end Michelin Star tasting menu, this time based on Scandinavian Cuisine made with locally sourced ingredients.
3 – Restaurace Mlejnice: The perfect spot for a casual, yet delicious, homemade meal. Perfect place to bring kids. Make sure to try their pickled Cheese (pictured above).
4 – Kantyna: Prague’s best butchery and steakhouse.
5 – Lehka Hlava: Prague’s best vegetarian restaurant with a really cool ambiance. The walls and ceiling are painted like a starry night sky.
Best Bars in Prague
1 – Anonymous Shrinks Office: A cool speakeasy style bar where the menu is just Rorschach Tests. Make a reservation in advance for their underground speakeasy.
2 – Strahov Brewery: Small scale brewery run by the monks of Strahov Monastery discussed above.
3 – Letná Beer Garden: Prague’s best beer garden with one of the city’s best views with a great Czech beer selection and some fantastic sausages.
4 – Hemmingway Bar: A bar dedicated to Ernest Hemingway with great classic cocktails.
5 – Lokál: This large beer hall in the center of Prague near its town square is designed after the classic Czech beer halls of the 1960s. They serve traditional Czech Pilsner and traditional Czech Liqueurs.
6 – Black Angel’s Bar: Located in the basement of the Hotel U Prince in the Old Town Square, Black Angel’s Bar serves award-winning vintage cocktails in a Prohibition-era speakeasy setting fit for Al Capone.
7 – Harley’s: Dark, dingy, underground bar that blasts classic rock in a party atmosphere. Weeknights are more mild, but on weekends, expect every square inch of the floor, the bar top, the tables and chairs to turn into a dance floor as people rock out to everything from Led Zeppelin to Eminem.
8 – Bukowski’s: Named in honor of the famous writer, this cozy bar is the perfect spot to start an evening or grab cocktails before dinner. Every Tuesday is Ladies Night with free pitchers of sangria, and every Sunday is Seven Crown Night where you pay only 7 crowns for a small draft beer. These specials, the great prices, the wonderful cocktails and the cool atmosphere make this a popular and trendy spot, so get there early if you want a seat.
9 – Cash Only Bar: Small specialty cocktail bar with seasonally changing menu of unique cocktails along with the classics. They also serve homemade hotdogs and popcorn.
10 – Parlour: An underground gem that doesn’t even have a sign. This place specializes in making unique cocktails to match each patron’s taste. The bartenders will ask you about your preferred flavor profile and then concoct a drink just for you. It’s a great place for a couple to relax and enjoy dim lighting and old jazz tunes.
11 – L’Fleur: Specializing in a cool leather-bound atmosphere, classic and modern mixology and champagne. They have an amazing food menu too.
Beer Spas
Prague is world renowned for its beer spas. These are surprisingly exactly what they sound like, spas where you sit in giant hot tub vats of beer while drinking all you can drink beer. We went to the Grand Relax Beer Spa on our trip to Prague. It is known as one of the most luxurious beer spas in Prague and it did not disappoint. It was an incredibly fun experience to sit in a tub of roasting barley and hops with a never ending tap of delicious pilsner and a tasting plate of cheese and sausages. We haven’t been to any other’s so I can’t tell you if they’re all the same, so until we go back you can click HERE and read up on some advice if you decide to go to a spa other than the Grand Relax.
Falconry
A somewhat unknown aspect of Prague is that it is well known for its falconry. Skilled falconers train their birds to help them hunt as well as participate in performances to increase awareness of the sport.
One of the absolute coolest experiences we’ve had anywhere on Earth, is the falconry experience that is available on the outskirts of Prague. A lovely man that owns this bird sanctuary will pick you up in the center of Prague and drive you about 20 min outside the city. There he will teach you about falconry before eventually letting you fly giant birds like falcons, buzzards and even bald eagles. It’s the coolest thing in the world. Kids are welcomed. Check it out HERE.
Kutna Hora
The small town of Kutna Hora is about an hour outside of Prague. If you make it out to Prague, make sure that you make time for a trip to Kutna Hora. There’s only one thing in the town worth seeing, but it’s one of the coolest places on earth. In the center of Kutna Hora is a church called Sedlac Ossuary that is decorated entirely with the bones of the almost 70,000 people that were buried on its premises during the plague. If you wish to take photos make sure to visit the website and fill out a permission form prior to your visit. Due to the morbid nature of the church you need permission to photograph there. Permission is easy enough to obtain, but if you don’t ask prior to arrival by filling out their forms they will stop you from taking photos.