The City of Prague – What we did

Overview of our break 

The first international travel destination of the year, in a totally new country for us both, to celebrate our birthdays / anniversary – I don’t think we could have picked a better way to do it. 

The whole reason we decided on Prague was because of a racing game that David used to play where he drove over a ‘really cool bridge’ in Prague and he wanted to see it in real life. Turns out that was Charles Bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges I’d ever seen with its gothic features and cobbled pavement, it truly is something. Apart from that we knew very little about Prague, but we decided to book our flights anyway for the end of April. 

David and I have very different ways of planning (or lack of). I love researching places to visit and logistics and budgets, whereas David would happily book a plane and hop on it the next day knowing nothing about the place he was going. I like to think I can be spontaneous when I need to be (like when David whisked me off to Amsterdam at 06:00 with 12 hours’ notice!), and I’m sure people have equally as great a time when things aren’t planned, but I like to have a sound idea of what’s out there to avoid wasting money or missing out on under-the-radar opportunities. 

Where we went 

First of all, I want to lay out a sort of rough itinerary of what we did whilst we were there and how we fitted it all in. You can find more information about many of the places featured here online, however some of them also feature in the ‘Tips & Tricks’ section so make sure to have a look!

Day 1: Saturday the 27^th of April 2019 

• 13:00 – Arrived at our accommodation, unpacked and went shopping for tonight’s dinner and things to make up packed lunches 
• 14:30 – Walked to Powder Tower 
• 15:00 – Walked into the Old Town  to have a wander round, stopping off at the Astronomical Clock 
• 16:00 – Walked across Charles Bridge
• 16:15 – Trekked up the many steps to the Castle to take in the view 
• 17:30 – We headed back to the apartment to make some dinner and get ourselves sorted for the next day 

Day 2: Sunday the 28^th of April 2019 

• 07:30 – Arrived at Charles Bridge before the crowds so we could actually take some decent scenery shots 
• 08:00 – Tried to find Prague’s narrowest street… turns out it was closed? Google Maps lied to us 
• 08:30 – Explored more of the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) including stopping off at a bridge over Devil’s Stream
• 09:00 – Caught the first funicular up Petřín Hill and had a wander through the gardens and along the Castle wall 
• 10:00 – Climbed up Petřín Tower and witnessed some incredible views 
• 11:00 – Visited Strahov Monastery Library 
• 12:00 – Just in time to watch the Changing of the Guard at the front entrance of the Castle 
• 12:45 – Sat down on a wall overlooking Kampa Island and enjoyed our lunch surrounded by pigeons 
• 13:00 – Explored Kampa Island before heading back to the apartment for a couple hours to get changed and have a cheeky nap
• 16:30 – Headed over to the Spanish Synagogue to immerse ourselves in the Jewish religion and reflect on the past lives of Jews 
• 17:30 – Visited the very funky-looking Jerusalem Synagogue
• 18:00 – Scoped out T-Anker (a rooftop bar) for a drink and a rest whilst looking the mishmash of buildings that is Prague from yet another viewpoint 
• 19:00 – Devoured a traditional Czech dinner at Pivovarský Dům  (recommended by our host) 

Day 3: Monday the 29^th of April 2019 

• 05:30 – Got out before it was light (and before it started raining) to visit Charles Bridge one more time and see the sunrise 
• 07:00 – Went back to bed until 10:30 which is when we had to be out the apartment 
• 11:00 – Walked through to the City Hall to a much lesser-known rainy day attraction… 
• 12:00 – Rode the tram out of town and hopped on a ‘boat’ across the river 
• 13:00 – Played some glow-in-the-dark mini golf in an abandoned warehouse 
• 14:30 – Had a look around the world’s largest Lego Museum – David was in his element! 
• 15:30 – Popped into the Municipal Library to see a huge cylinder of books (cooler than it sounds, trust me) 
• 16:00 – Went for a mooch around the Palladium Shopping Centre and grabbed a bite to eat before our plane back home 

Tips & Tricks

There is so much to see and so in Prague, it is sometimes hard to know what to do, what order to do things in and what is going to excite you the most. This section is here to suggest ideas and point out things to consider when planning your trip.

Getting around Prague

We had already decided to get the 72 hour public transport ticket for a grand total of 620 Kč (which sounds a lot I know but not when you work it out – for us it was £10 each for 3 days of unlimited travel – bargain!). More information about these tickets can be found here.  

The pass includes a bus from the airport into central Prague, when you can then catch the metro to wherever you happen to be staying. The ticket also covers all the metro, tram, bus and boat stations across the city, as well as the funicular up to the top of Petřín Hill so it feels great value for money. 

Whilst the metro, trams and buses are pretty standard for a lot of European cities, there is one mode of transport that stands out for being extremely quirky – the boats. These boats are best seen to be believed because, in all honesty, its a wonder that they stay afloat! We didn’t know what to expect either when we were waiting on the riverbank at Výtoň and all of a sudden a shed on a plank of wood approached the dock. The only thing that showed it was public transport was the yellow ticket activator machine under cover. Anyway, I won’t say much more but what I will see is you need to cross the river by boat at least once just to experience it.

There is public transport all over Prague but we didn’t seem to use it that much on the first two days anyway, because it is just lovely to walk around. But I still think it is worth getting the pass because its so cheap and you never know when you may need (or want) it. We used it more on the last day to get around the city because of the rain.

Places to see

The Royal Route – A well-trodden tourist route through the heart of Prague that hits a lot of the main attractions. Follow the route here.

Old Town – There is so much to see in the Old Town, so just take some time to stop and take it all in. We were there around Easter time so we had the added bonus of the Easter market to explore which was super cute. One of the main attractions here is the Astronomical Clock, specifically on the hour when the clock chimes and the 12 apostles ‘put on a show’. The crowds can be 15 deep surrounding the clock on the hour so you’re quite lucky if you can see anything much at all – we both decided after reading various reviews that it’s not worth the wait.

Charles Bridge – The most famous bridge in Prague, and possibly one of the most famous in the world. Charles Bridge is truly magnificent. But unfortunately, it is crowded. So crowded. When we got there on the first day it was just a sea of people and you kind of got swept along with everyone, not really being able to appreciate its true beauty. The way to overcome this? Go early in the morning. Around 07:00 seems to be the best time for this (in the spring anyway) because the light is perfect for photos and you only have to share the bridge with a few other keen beans like us. Oh, and you may have to dodge a pre-wedding photo shoot (or five) as the bridge is a prime location to get a magical shot. We both really enjoyed this part of the trip, it felt really special and something that not many people had experienced.

Prague Castle – We didn’t end up paying to actually venture into the Castle, however there is plenty to do without shelling out for anything. One of the highlights was definitely the Changing of the Guard, roughly a 20-minute long affair with a band and rather menacing-looking weapons. They really put on a show and it was actually quite mesmerising to watch – something a little bit different to break up the day.

Petřín – Some people miss out this green area of Prague in favour of the more urban areas. However, we believe the views from the Tower are not to miss. You may think that waiting until you get to the top of the Tower would be the best place to get a picture but you’d be wrong – the glass and crowds make it almost impossible to get even a half decent picture without glare and/or faces. So how do you get a good picture? Sounds counterproductive but actually slightly closer to the ground we discovered the best view. It is quite easy to find, basically there are a series of benches placed frequently along the stairs. Just before you reach the top there is bench where you can see the whole of Prague in all its glory, without the glare. If you get to the top accidentally and haven’t stopped, you can sneak back down to the bench and take all the time in the world there – hardly anyone stops for a rest because they know they are so close to the top.

Kampa Island – another pretty green area of Prague, Kampa Island is another one of those places that is sometimes overlooked. Just spending half an hour or so here eating our sandwiches and watching the world go buy was so lovely and so different from the hustle and bustle of the inner city. It is also a great place to get a photo of Charles Bridge from a lower vantage point, so I would say go there even if it’s just for the showy ‘Gram.

The Synagogues – I didn’t feel like we could stay in the Jewish Quarter for two nights and not visit one Synagogue – and I’m so glad we did. We decided to head to the Spanish Synagogue first as this was meant to be the most ornately decorated. We certainly weren’t disappointed, the place was beautiful. There was also lots of information about the horrific past of Prague as especially the Jewish community. I found it very moving to pour over all this information and pictures, it showed to me how lucky we are now. We then headed over to the Jerusalem Synagogue which unfortunately wasn’t open by the time we got there but we were most interested in the outside anyway. It was so strange walking along a street with normal buildings (well, normal for Prague) and all of a sudden stumbling across the funkiest Synagogue I’ve ever seen. It was quite hard to take pictures of as it was quite a narrow street, but we are glad we went.

Pivovarský Dům – Whilst we were in the Czech Republic, we wanted to sample some of the local cuisine. However, we were not sure where to go because a lot of ‘traditional’ restaurants are just tourist traps. To avoid this, we asked our Airbnb host for a recommendation and he came up with this establishment. One thing we didn’t do was book in advance, but if you want to be seated straight away I would strongly suggest you do – we were waiting around 30 minutes before we were seated. But the wait was so worth it, the food just felt so authentic. We opted to share the Knight’s Bowl which included quarters of duck, pork and roast beef, three kinds of dumplings, cabbage and spinach, at a price of 415 Kč (£14.10). It was a super filling but reasonably priced meal, and we also bought a roasted sausage with mustard to share (another traditional dish) because why not! If you’re looking for a foodie experience, this is the best place to come. You can find their website here.

City Hall Paternoster Lift – I know what you’re thinking “A lift? How is that a tourist attraction?” but I promise you, these are the weirdest and most fun lifts around. Basically these types of lifts used to be popular in Central Europe, but most of them have been replaced due to safety concerns and the amount of power they use (as they are going constantly they are not very energy-efficient at all!). It is basically a chain of open compartments that move slowly in a loop without stopping. It is such a weird experience riding the lift as it switches from one side to the other, it’s hard to describe but it is such a quirky thing to do and really off the beaten track. It was a miserable rainy day on Monday, but we managed to find a lot of indoor things to do like this. You can see them in action here.

Prague Glow Golf – Another great rainy day activity. The place doesn’t open until later in the day (and stays open until very late) but we were already second in the queue when we got there as it opened – it certainly is a popular place! It was the idea of an American guy who moved to Prague and wanted to do something wacky. All of the props are home made (and look great) and true to Prague’s most famous landmarks. The glow in the dark element just makes it even more fun!

ADD GLOW GOLF PICTURE HERE

Other Tips

Free toilets – One thing I didn’t realise about Prague was that you had to pay to go to the toilet pretty much anywhere you went. All the subway stages and most of the attractions force you to pay out when you ‘spend a penny’ (30p more like). Basically they are usually only free in government-run places like galleries and museums. The City Hall is the place we used a few times when we were in that area.

Viewpoints – Prague has a lot of high-up viewpoints, we counted about six that you have to pay for. Obviously up high is a great vantage point in which to see a city, but with so many to choose from we struggled to decide what ones to go for. In the end, the only paid viewpoint we went to was Petřín Tower which is on the top of a hill so offers the highest vantage point. However, there are plenty of other places where you can get a good view for free. See below for a list of our favourites.

• T-Anker Rooftop Bar – Although not strictly speaking free as you have to buy at least a drink, this rooftop bar offers some great views of the Old Town. It’s a great place to relax in the late afternoon after a long day of exploring.
• Castle wall – Because the Castle complex was built on the hill, this means there are great views around pretty much the whole of the Castle walls.
• Kampa Island – This one is for a lower view not a higher one, but you can get some great pictures of Charles Bridge from here.
• Mánes Bridge – This is the next bridge North from Charles Bridge, and again you can get some fantastic shots from here. I don’t know why more people don’t walk across this bridge, it is far less busy than Charles Bridge and allows you to wonder at the bridge in its entirety.

That pretty much wraps up what we’ve learnt about Prague for the moment, but I daresay this post will be added to at some point in the future when we remember more…

If you have any questions or comments about this post or Prague itself, ping us a message and we’ll try our best to give you an answer!

Happy travelling!

Zoe and David x

Written by Zoe