This itinerary starts on the Old Town Square. A place rich in history and architectural styles, starting with the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Tyn. The Church has been dominating the city landscape since the 14th century with its two 80 meters high towers. Looking at it carefully, you might notice that the right tower is slightly wider than the left one. A feature of several buildings in Prague, it seems. 

The beautiful pink Baroque building next to the Church of Our Lady before Tyn is home to the National Gallery of Prague.

The Church of St Nicolas comes in a Baroque style, right beside the statue of Jan Hus, a Czech theologian, philosopher, church reformer and national hero.

And last but not least on this square, the world famous Prague Astronomical Clock and its tower. This is one of the oldest astronomical clocks and the oldest astronomical clock still in use today. Built in 1410, the legend says that Hanus, the clock’s creator, was blinded so that he could not build another magnificent astronomical clock in any other city. The same legend exists about the astronomical clock of Gdanśk in Poland.

Among other information, the clock shows the position of the moon and the sun, the calendar’s days and months for years to come, the zodiac signs and eventually…the time.

Every hour, between 9AM and 9PM, the clock offers a show of 12 apostles showing their face to the crowd from the clock’s top two windows. 

Continue toward Charles Bridge. A 13-meter-high pedestrian bridge with 30 statues. This bridge connects the old town to the Mala Strana district. Built in the 14th century, it was the only bridge in the city until 1841. You will cross it on several occasions following this itinerary.

If you have come to this blog before, you know that I am an early bird when it comes to visiting any main attractions. When it comes to Charles bridge and Prague Old town Square, you will therefore not be surprised that my recommendation here is to be there very early in the morning. You'll share the place with a few photographers and party animals finally going home, but overall you'll feel like you have these magical places all to yourself. The photos below were taken at dawn.

From the bridge, reach Prague Castle through the Staré zámecké schody path, also called the Old Castle Staircase. Here again, you will be delighted to be there early in the morning to admire the view over Prague and this long cobblestones staircase, free of tourists going to the castle. Climbing these steps may be a challenge for some, but I promise the view from the top of the stairs will reward your efforts.

Enter Prague Castle. You will discover that it is above all a complex of several buildings, such as St Vitus Cathedral, St George's Basilica, or even official buildings from which the Czech government still operates today. If the Czech flag is hanging above the castle, it means that the Czech President is currently in the Czech Republic. From the castle, you will see a familiarly shaped tower. This is the Petřín Tower located on the hill of the same name. This tower is a smaller replica of the Eiffel Tower. Stroll inside the Castle and take advantage of being there early to take beautiful photos. If you wish to visit it, we have included a visit of the castle on Day 3 of this itinerary.

Go back to Mala Strana by walking down the stairs leading to Nerudova Street. Nerudova Street is one of the most important streets in the city. It is part of the old royal road and is now home to many galleries, cafés and souvenir shops.

Nerudova Street will take you to Malostranské Square from where you can admire the Church of St Nicholas. There are two St Nicholas churches in Prague, the one in Mala Strana and the one in the Old Town Square. The city of Prague has more than 250 churches, so it is not entirely surprising to find two churches with the same name.

After visiting Mala Strana, take a break at the Cukrkávalimonáda café (good luck to prenounce this one!). This place is a tiny bit pricey for Prague, however, it is super cozy and their brunch options are super tasty.

Continue your journey towards the Dancing House. This will give you the opportunity to cross Charles’ Bridge again, coming from Mala Strana this time. If you are in Prague on a Saturday, continue past the dancing house along the Vltava river to see the Saturday's farmer market. This market of local products operates along the Vltava every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Continue towards Wenceslas Square. Walk up the square to the equestrian statue of Saint Wenceslas and the Prague National Museum. Saint Wenceslas is celebrated by the Czechs as the first Saint of Slavic origin. He is also the patron saint of Czech Republic, Poland and beer makers!

If you see people laying flowers near the National Museum, it will most likely be for the Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc memorial. These two students set themselves on fire in 1969 in Wenceslas Square as a sign of protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact troops, becoming revolution symbols.

After all this, it is already more than time to enjoy a Czech beer! You will be spoiled for choice when it comes to drinking a beer in Prague, but you have to be careful not to end up in a pub for tourists where the prices will be unfairly more expensive than in any other pubs.

We can recommend U Pinkasu, a small traditional pub appreciated by the locals and recommended by my friends, both Slovaks and Czechs. Don't be surprised if no one asks you the type of beer you want. You ask for a beer and they bring you one, it's as simple as that!

After this nice break, continue towards the Klementinum, making a short detour to check the Powder Tower. This tower may look familiar as it is the twin tower of the one at the entrance of Charles Bridge. This tower marks the entrance to the Royal Road which leads to the Old Town Square.

The Klementinum is one of my favourite place in Prague. And that's because it has everything, a magnificent library and one of the most beautiful viewpoints over the city of Prague. The visit is obligatorily guided and lasts about 50 minutes. The entrance ticket is 300 korunas per adult. From the top of the Klementinum astronomical tower, you will get a 360 degree view of the city. Prague is called the 'city of the hundred spires'. This name makes a whole lot of sense from this viewpoint.

For dinner, we recommend trying U Červeného páva which is located in the old town. This restaurant serves comforting Czech food in a cozy atmosphere, for a very affordable price. We paid 20 euros per person for a very hearty starter and main course, and a beer.

If you fancy a few drinks after dinner, head back to the Old Town Square and go up to the 5th floor of the Prince Hotel. From their Rooftop bar, you can enjoy a great cocktail and one of the best views over the Old town Square by night.

This second day starts on the hill of Petřín, another nice viewpoint over the city. You can get there with a funicular but you might as well choose to go up the hill through its beautiful gardens.

The hill is home to the Petřín tower which opens at 9 am and is 60 meters high, offering a great viewpoint over the old town and Mala Strana. You can access the highest viewing platform through a staircase made of steel. The cafe at the base of the tower is very nice if you are in for a coffee break before or after the climb.

Stroll through the gardens around the tower, and then continue towards Strahov Monastery and its library. It is only about a 15-minute walk from Petřín. If you liked the Klementinum library the day before, you will be dazzled by the monastery one. Admission costs 150 koruna (about 6 euros).

From the Monastery, go down towards Mala Strana to reach one of my favorite place in Prague, the Vrtbovská garden or also called Vrtba garden of the Vrtbovský palác. This Baroque garden was built in the 18th century. You can access it through a gate from Karmeliská Street. Coming from this street, you could never tell that there is a garden behind those doors. A true hidden gem in Mala Strana!

Head to the top of the garden for a great viewpoint over the whole city.

Access to the garden costs 120 korunas.

For lunch, we recommend going to one of the most authentic taverns in the area. The pub U Hrocha, meaning hippopotamus in Czech. This pub is located a few minutes from the garden and next to the British Embassy. A beer is only 47 koruna (about 1.90 euros), and a coffee is 20 koruna (about 80 cents). We recommend trying the Czech specialties such as the sausage or baked cheese, together with a freshly poured beer of course.

Cross the Vltava river to reach the Rudolfinum, an imposing building which is home to a concert hall. Prague is so full of history and legends that we chose to sign up for a free walking tour for a bit of storytelling. We chose to go for a tour of the old town and the Jewish quarter with 1 2 Tours. The tour starts in front of the Rudolfinum and lasts for about two and a half hours. It takes groups to the old town square and then in front of the astronomical clock to explain how it works. It then continues to Wenceslas Square, the Powder Tower, and the Jewish Quarter where you can see the Franz Kafka Monument, the Spanish Synagogue, the Old-New Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery.

The access to the Old Jewish Cemetery is not free, however, you will be able to see it a bit looking up from the Old-New Synagogue.

At the end of the tour, go to the Municipal Library, not far from the Rudolfinum, to see the tunnel of books in the entrance hall. The library has a small café where you can take a nice and cheap coffee break. Please note that the library is closed on Sundays. You might want to check it out on your first day in Prague if you are visiting during the weekend.

We finished with a nice dinner at the Mexican restaurant La Cantina that day. Apparently we already had enough Czech food after 2 days! Not very local but the place is worth it. To enjoy a few drinks among locals, we recommend the nearby pub Klub Újezd, a bar decorated with surprising metal sculptures, and the bar of the new theater in Narodni street, the interesting Café NONA (recommended by my local friend).

This third day begins with a hearty brunch in a magnificent baroque setting at Next door by imperial. This place was recommended to us by a Czech friend of mine and we absolutely loved it. We couldn't not add it to this itinerary. Next Door serves breakfasts in the form of a high quality all-you-can-eat buffet, coffee and tea included, for only 15 euros. It was opened in 2016 by Zdenek Pohlreich, a famous Czech chef.

With a happy belly, it’s now time to check the Prague Astronomical Clock from the inside. Don’t miss the opportunity to watch the clock show from the old town square, which takes place every hour, before going inside the tower to see the show from behind the scene. 

From the top of the tower you will have the most amazing view over the Old Town Square, Petřín hill and the castle. We were there on a rainy day and it did not take away from the beauty of this view. Accessing the viewing platform is also possible by elevator, however you will have to pay a supplement for it.

Next, walk up to Prague Castle, this time to visit it. On the way, stop for a nice coffee with a view at the Lobkowicz palace café. From the terrace you will have an incredible view of Petřín and Mala strana. We did the shortest tour of the castle with a ticket that gives access to St Vitus Cathedral, St George's Basilica and the Golden Lane. We were a little disappointed to find out afterwards that it was possible to enter St Vitus Cathedral for free. Without a ticket, you won't be able to walk around it, however you will be able to see the interior as a whole and take pictures, which for us is more than enough. If you only want to see the inside of the Cathedral without visiting the rest, there is then no need to buy a ticket. We still enjoyed visiting the Golden Lane, a small medieval street which includes a collection of armor, shops and reconstructions of interiors from the medieval time.

After visiting the castle, go down towards Charles Bridge to explore the čertovka district, and the narrowest street in Prague (so narrow that it has its own traffic light), which is located not far from the Franz Kafka Museum. Along the way, we took a short break in the lovely Shakespeare a Synové bookstore, and on the beach located just behind the Franz Kafka Museum for a great view over the Bridge.

From čertovka, stroll in the cobblestoned streets looking at the colorful buildings built along the river. Take a boat trip on the Vltava river and around Charles Bridge. A very touristic activity for sure, however your feet will thank you for this break after three days of walking around the city.

Then, walk up the river to reach Legií Park, located on the small island that you can see from Charles Bridge, and which is accessible from the Legion Bridge. You will have another great view on the bridge from the viewpoint called Vyhlídka. However beware if you have a phobia of rodents, this small island is populated by muskrats. You may want to skip this one if you are not comfortable with muskrats coming near you.

To close this trip to Prague, we have two addresses to recommend to enjoy a nice dinner with a view of the castle or Petřín hill. The first being the café Slavia, not far from the Vyhlídka viewpoint. A charming and welcoming café / restaurant, where you can enjoy Czech food for only 12 euros, and a wide selection of cakes and other pastries. A pleasant place to dine, have lunch or simply enjoy a warm cup of coffee.

If you've had enough dumplings and Czech gravy over the last few days, try the Marina restaurant, which is located on an imposing barge not far from the Rudolfinum. From there, you can enjoy a lovely Italian dinner with a view of Prague Castle by night.