A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PRAGUE

Prašná brána

(Powder Tower) was built in 1475 by King Vladislav Jagiello on the site of a 13th
century fortified tower. It was supposed to be an official gateway of sorts to
the Old Town. The Royal Court where the kings of Bohemia used to stay from the
late 14th century on was situated where the ...
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Old Town Bridge Tower

(Staroměstská mostecká věž)

The bridge tower on the Old Town side of Charles Bridge was built at the same time as the Gothic bridge by Charles IV in 1357 as not only a fortified tower but also a symbolic triumphal arch on the Bohemian kings’ coronation route. This is attested by the rich sculptural decorations on its eastern facade. Inside the tower is an exhibition of old musical instruments from the National Museum collections.

Charles Bridge

was built in 1357 to replace an earlier Romanesque bridge from the second half of...
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This tour takes you through the historic city centre. It starts at the Prašná brána (Powder Tower), at the site of the one-time Royal Court from where the coronation processions set off, then proceeding through the Old Town, across the Gothic Charles Bridge towards Prague Castle and St. Vitus’s Cathedral. The tour is divided into two parts, each of which can take either 30 minutes (if you don’t look around you too much), two hours (if you stop at the recommended sites) or four hours (if you decide to look around the corner or enter some of the buildings).

The history of the Old Town of Prague dates back to Romanesque times. The walls surr...
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Turn right at the end of Nerudova street and you have arrived at Prague Castle.

The tour of Prague Castle takes two hours provided you do not enter the buildings and the gardens. A thorough inspection of Prague Castle may take the whole day, but without the art galleries, 4-5 hours suffice. Earphones for a guided tour are available at the information centre.

The seat of the rulers of Bohemia was built on a hill overlooking the River Vltava probably as early as in the 9th century and was gradually expanded over the centuries, bearing traces of all historic periods.

Enter Prague Castle’s first courtyard through the main gate from Hradčanské náměstí sq...
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The town of Hradčany was founded as the third town of Prague after 1320, under the reign of King John of Luxembourg, but was granted the full rights of a free royal town only under Emperor Rudolph II. The tour may start at Pohořelec and may be followed by the tour of Prague Castle, or vice versa. Without an inspection of the interiors, two hours will suffice, interiors included it may take half a day.

Pohořelec is one of the three squares of this smallest of Prague’s towns and its Czech name alludes to the local frequent fires. The memorial of two astronomers, Johann Kepler and Tycho de Brahe, was erected here in memory of the house where the latter once lived. He died in P...
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The tour of Malá Strana includes visits to the gardens and inspection of other places of interest and takes between half a day and a whole day. To see everything it offers it is best to make the tour between April and late October, starting at the Malostranská Metro station or walking from Hradčanské náměstí square down the Zámecké schody (Castle Staircase).

In Valdštejnské náměstí (Wallenstein Square) is the entrance to the garden of Ledeburský palác (Ledebour Palace; Valdštejnské náměstí 3/162). This early-18th-century garden is one of the ring of palace gardens on the southern slopes below Prague Castle. The others are the...
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This is a tour to be made if you are staying longer in Prague. It consists of two parts of which the first is dedicated to the former Prague Jewish ghetto (and takes 4-5 hours), and the other is a tour of other places of interest across Prague’s oldest town, complete with a tour of the National Gallery collections (it takes another 4-5 hours).

Josefov is the name of Prague’s former Jewish Town, established as an independent fifth district within the territory of the Old Town of Prague following the emancipation of the Jewish population after 1850. It was named after Joseph II, under whom Prague’s Jews were at last granted some civil rights. The former ghetto used to be one ...
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The tour of this part of Prague takes a whole day, with half a day dedicated to the town itself and 2-3 hours to an inspection of Vyšehrad.

The New Town of Prague is the fourth, and last, of Prague’s towns which closed the medieval development of Prague. The town, founded in 1348 by Charles IV, was actually fully built-up only as late as in the 19th century. Its network of streets with three large marketplaces has been preserved to this day. Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square, originally the Horse Market), is now the centre of the city. The buildings in the square are from the 19th and 20th ce...
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The tour of the complex takes 2-3 hours and Vyšehrad is best accessible from the Vyšehrad Metro station on the C line.

A beautiful view of Prague can be had from the terrace of the Congress Centre from where you continue towards the fortress’s walls. Vyšehrad has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the 10th century, there was a Prince’s mint here, and in 1070, the chapter at the Church of St. Peter was founded. Shortly afterwards, the first King of Bohemia, Vratislav I, moved to Vyšehrad, and some of his successors also resided here. Charles IV built a new royal palace and had the entire Vyšehrad fortified. Most of the Gothic structures were destroyed at the time of the Hussite wars and though partly reconstructed ...
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