A summary of my tips and recommendations for a successful stay in the “city of a hundred spires”!
As a journalist and writer of tourist guides to Prague, I’ve lived in the Czech capital for many, many years. In this article, you’ll find my best advice. Study it carefully and come back to it. You’ll find everything you need for a successful trip to Prague. No need to spread yourself too thin or get lost. Trust me, it’s all here!
There are so many experiences, activities, museums and monuments in Prague that it’s sometimes hard to sort them all out. As a local, I’m here to help!
It’s easy to get lost among the hundreds of suggestions. As a local, here are my ultimate recommendations for making the most of your stay (you’ll also find some hotel tips at the end of the article if you haven’t already found and booked one).
1- Explore Charles Bridge and Old Town Square at 9 a.m. or late at night to avoid the crowds
Two must-see places, if only once.
Tip : as in all tourist cities, visitors congregate in the same places, so don’t be afraid to leave the hypercentre. Some neighborhoods, such as Petrská near Old Town Square or Nový Svět near the Castle, are well worth a stroll (the same goes for more out-of-the-way areas like Vinohrady or Letná, where you can also pack your bags if you want to escape the mass tourism of Prague 1.
2- Castle and synagogues, Prague’s two classic paying visits
These are the two classic paying visits (nothing compulsory, but well worth it!)
- Castle
Tickets here.
- The Jewish Quarter and synagogues
Tickets here.
3-Discover Czech cuisine and eat in one or two traditional Prague restaurants
Based on my local tests and experiences, I recommend the Prague 1 district (the center of the city):
- Restaurace Hybernska
- U Parlamentu
- Mincovna
- Červený Jelen or
- Masaryčka in Prague 1
More off-center in Prague 2 but less touristy:
In recent years, Prague’s gastronomic scene has exploded
Czech cuisine is moving upmarket. But this applies to all cuisines (25% of Praguers are foreigners)! Special mentions to Italian cuisine and Asian cuisine!
Excellent Asian cuisine. Czechoslovakia armed the Vietcong, North Vietnam and, in the 70s, many Vietnamese settled in the Czech Republic. They integrated so well that since then it’s a bit of a ‘selective immigration’ with lots of Asians (Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan), and in my opinion, Asian cuisine is fantastic in Prague!
For Asian cuisine in Prague, I recommend :
- Modry Zub
- Sia (very nice restaurant)
- Madame Lyn (more out of the way in Prague 2, very attentive service)
For Italian cuisine in Prague, I recommend :
- San Carlo Dittrichova
- Aromi (more off-center in Prague 2 and more expensive)
3- Take in a show or activity in Prague
You can enhance your sightseeing program with an activity such as:
A classical concert in Prague
My favorite is at the superb Spanish Synagogue!
Tickets here.
A medieval dinner show in Prague
Always popular and fun!
Book here.
A Prague cruise on the Vltava River
Jazz Boat has the best reputation, but there are many very different cruises.
Tickets here.
A beer bath in Prague
Czechs are the world’s biggest beer drinkers , and beer is everywhere in Prague. Brewer Bernard offers the most popular beer baths.
Book here. To find out more about beer-related activities, read this article.
4- Visit one or two of Prague’s historic cafés
Prague is a veritable open-air museum, a patchwork of architectural styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Functionalism, Brutalism…) Don’t confine yourself too much!
Between two walks (Praguers’ favorite cultural activity…), take a break in one of the capital’s pretty historic cafés for a little relaxation.
Tip: I also highly recommend the cafés of the Municipal House and the Hotel W (ex Grand Hotel Evropa), two fine examples of Art Nouveau.
5- Climb two or three hills in Prague
You can’t leave Prague without climbing 2-3 of its many hills! Without them, it’s impossible to get a good feel for this large, very green city (one of the greenest cities in the world, with numerous parks and tree-lined islands). Prague is a city of hills, with only the Vltava riverbed flat. You can explore :
- Petřín hill, with its “Eiffel Tower” built in 1891.
- Vyšehrad hill, home to the Czechs’ ancestors.
- Vítkov Hill, my favorite for its third-largest equestrian statue in the world, its memorial and its military museum (free of charge). And you won’t run into many people, if any!
- Letná hill for its view and its national technical museum.
- Riegrovy sady park, with its view of the castle.
6- Explore Prague’s many passageways
It’s a myth that you can walk through Prague without taking a single street. There are plenty of them, in both the New Town and the Old Town. The most emblematic? The Lucerna, still owned by the family of the late president Václav Havel.
7- Stroll along Prague’s quays upstream along the Vltava River from the National Theater
This is the walk I always recommend, along with the Jewish Quarter in the Old Town and Malá Strana at the foot of the Castle, because it’s so easy and accessible. You can even go as far as the famous Dancing House and beyond, to Vyšehrad Hill (see above). The Art Nouveau facades in this part of the New Town are superb (as are those in the streets behind).
On the way back, walk along the quays below, along the water’s edge. Here you’ll find cafés and galleries set into the quayside stonework, lively barges (cafés, theaters, saunas or beach volleyball courts), festivals in fine weather and a bustling Saturday morning market (outside the winter season).
8- Climb a tower in Prague
- Petřín’s “Eiffel Tower”. Tickets here.
- the bell tower of St. Nicholas (my favorite Prague climb!) Tickets here. The Baroque church itself is a must-see, as it’s the most beautiful in Prague! (2 separate tickets)
9- Discover one of the city’s emblematic artists
for me,3 artists from different eras are quite emblematic of Prague.
- Franz Kafka, one of the world’s greatest novelists
- Alphonse Mucha, the master of Art Nouveau
- David Černý, Prague’s ubiquitous visual artist
10- In the late afternoon, go pedal-boating in fine weather and ice-skating in winter
Prague, like Venice or Paris, is a city that visitors love to come back to. All the more so as it changes enormously with the seasons.
- There are visitors who want Prague’s famous Christmas markets and aren’t afraid to explore Prague when it’s cold (numerous ice rinks).
- There are visitors who want the beer gardens and prefer to discover Prague when it’s warm (numerous parks and one of the greenest cities in the world).