Prague Tour

First day in Prague

At the very beginning of our stay in Prague we immediately wanted to plunge into the atmosphere of the city. We had only half-day and we started our tour with the district called Nove Mesto.

Vltava river in Nove Mesto

Paying tribute to history it should be noted that the district is far from modern. Construction of the district started in 14th century by Charles IV. The district was intended to connect Staré Město and Vyšehrad. We just took a walk around the district and didn’t enter any museum or church. However during that walk we were struck by a large number of beautiful and interesting buildings and plenty of greenery (it was the beginning of May). From the very first minutes we managed to put into practice our desire to plunge into the atmosphere of Prague.

Spring in Prague

We started our walk with Wenceslas Square and then made our way toward the church of St. Stephen (Kostel sv. Štěpána). It’s a 14th century church the renovation of which was carried out in 1870. We didn’t enter the church but we were impressed by its interesting clock tower. Besides, in the courtyard just behind the church we saw another interesting church Kostel Svetoho Longina which is even older and very interesting too.

In a few hundred metres we found ourselves in Karlovo Square (Karlovo namesti). It’s a quite big and very green square with a simple but big fountain in the middle. After seeing the attractions of Karlovo namesti we found ourselves on the bank of Vltava River.

Swans on the Vltava river in Prague

We enjoyed our walk along the embankment with its beautiful buildings, green islands and the Dancing House.

“Dancing House”

After the walk we found ourselves amidst numerous interesting souvenir shops and very exciting narrow streets of the old town. In the evening we enjoyed very nice supper in the Slavia cafe.

As I have written above, it was the day of getting acquainted with Prague and we got plenty of pleasure from our walk. I have already mentioned about the places we saw that day. But there are a few attractions I would like to give more information about. They are Wenceslas Square, Karlovo Square, Vltava River embankment and the Dancing House.

That is how our tour looked like on the map.

View Larger Map

Of course I would like to start with Wenceslas Square.

Second day in Prague

We spent the second day walking along narrow streets of Old Town of Prague (Stare Mesto).

Our walk started near The Powder Tower. It’s a very big tower the construction of which started in 1475. But it was never completed and the tower was used as a gunpowder storage space. And only in 1878-1886 it was finally rebuilt.

Powder Tower in Prague Old Town

Currently the Powder Tower is home to a photography exhibition. Besides, 186-steps staircase leads to the observation platform from which you can enjoy nice view of the Old Town.

We crossed Celetna Street with its numerous stores, pastry shops and cafes and made our way to Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) where we spent plenty of time.

Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí)

After Staroměstské náměstí we crossed Parizska Street which is considered to be the local Champs-Élysées and found ourselves in the Jewish Quarter (Josefov).

Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

As continuation of the Jewish theme, from the Jewish Quarter we went to one of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe – the Spanish synagogue located nearby.

One of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe – the Spanish synagogue

During the entire walk we couldn’t help but admire the beauty of numerous buildings. You can view photos in the section “Photos of Prague”.

It started raining toward evening and we went to our room for a short rest. Then we took a wonderful walk around the district called Mala Strana. We took a lot of photos of Certovka River, Na Kampe Street and the Charles Bridge under night illumination.

Kampa (also Na Kampě) is an island in the Vltava river in central Prague on the side of Malá Strana

We had supper in a very nice restaurant Hergetova Cihelna famous mainly for its spectacular view of the Charles Bridge from the terrace. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to sit on the terrace as it was drizzling now and then but as for supper it was really excellent.

Although the restaurant is a bit more expensive than typical restaurants but it is remarkable for its well prepared and superbly presented cuisine.

Third day in Prague

I would like to start my story with Old Town Square.

Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí)

When planning a trip to Prague we were going to spend a day outside the city. We were choosing between three options such as Kutna Hora, Karlovy Vary and even Dresden.

Finally we fixed upon Český Krumlov. When I first saw photos of this town I thought we must visit that toy-like town. I’m sure that wasn’t a mistake. In the evening after we returned from Krumlov we took a nice walk around Old Town Square.

First I would like to inform you how to get to Český Krumlov.

Fourth day in Prague

The fourth day turned out to be very intensive. However it wasn’t fatiguing due to beautiful sites all around us which inspired us to continue the trip and discover new beauties of the city.

We started our trip with the Charles Bridge and continued with Malá Strana, Kampa Island and Prague Venice. We took a boat trip and enjoyed the city from a different perspective. Then we continued our walk around Malá Strana and visited the Wallenstein Garden which in our opinion is the most beautiful park in Prague.

Wallenstein Garden

After that we moved up to the Prague Castle, visited the Church of St. Vitus and the Toy Museum. After a while we returned to Malá Strana with the aim of spending some more time walking around that interesting district.

Malá Strana – Charles Bridge

In the evening we had supper in a restaurant that turned out to be rather bad. The story of how we went there was the following. We were looking for good and interesting restaurants in Prague and found “a knights restaurant” which looked beautiful and offered interesting food.

When we came we saw an amazingly beautiful restaurant but to our annoyance there wasn’t a single visitor and nobody came in while we were there. It seemed quite strange to me. Moreover, we had to wait too long for our meal. Besides, food was below average but prices are well above average. The conclusion we made was that the restaurants without visitors are not worth visiting.

Our evening ended at the Prague Musical Fountains show.

Fifth day in Prague

Our last day in Prague wasn’t full because in the evening we had to be at the hotel. We started the day with visiting Vyšehrad and then Petřín.

Vysehrad castle

Both sites turned out to be very beautiful and green. We had some more time left to visit Pražská Loreta, a remarkable Baroque complex located not far from the Prague Castle.

Pražská Loreta

The building with a rather interesting exterior is most known for its peal of 27 bells which may be heard every hour. Apart from the church, the building hosts the exhibition of liturgical treasures including  the Diamond monstrance, also known as the Prague Sun decorated with 6 622 diamonds.

We couldn’t resist another visit to the Slavia Café for wonderful hot chocolate and fantastic dessert. After the café we went to the city center again. As we had some money left we went to the Havelská Market located not far from Old Town Square in Havelská Street to buy more souvenirs.

Havelská Market

Prague offers the widest selection of souvenirs but that is another story for another time. So, let’s start with Vyšehrad.