Prague’s historic centre is about two kilometres across and receives an enormous number of visitors, which means the single most useful planning decision is not what you see but when.
The famous places are transformed by the hour. Charles Bridge at six in the morning and at noon are two different bridges. This itinerary is arranged around that.
What to book
Very little, which is unusual.
Prague Castle tickets can be bought at the gate, though buying online saves the queue.
A concert at the Rudolfinum or the National Theatre if you want one — book on the venue’s own site, not from a man in a Mozart costume on the street.
The Strahov library interior, only if you want to stand inside the halls rather than look in from the doorway; that needs arranging in advance.
Day one: the castle side
6:30 — Charles Bridge. This is the reason to set an alarm. The bridge is nearly empty, the light comes up behind the Old Town, and there is often mist on the river. Twenty minutes here now is worth two hours here later.
7:30 — breakfast in Malá Strana, on the far side.
8:30 — Prague Castle. Tram 22 to the top, or the Old Castle Steps if you want the climb. Go straight in when it opens — St Vitus Cathedral first, for the Mucha window and the Wenceslas Chapel, then the Old Royal Palace and Golden Lane before the coaches arrive.
11:30 — Strahov Monastery. Fifteen minutes’ walk from the castle along the ridge. The two library halls, the cabinet of curiosities, and the terrace with the best view in the city.
13:00 — lunch at the Strahov brewery, or walk down into Malá Strana.
14:30 — Malá Strana properly. St Nicholas Church, then get off the main route: the Wallenstein Garden, which is free and which nobody finds, Kampa island, and the lanes either side of Nerudova.
17:00 — Petřín Hill. The funicular from Újezd is covered by an ordinary transport ticket. The tower for the view, or just the orchards and the memorial to the victims of communism at the bottom.
Evening. Back across the river. Dinner, then a concert or a pub.
Day two: the Old Town and the river
9:00 — Josefov. The Jewish Quarter, and give it two to three hours. The Old Jewish Cemetery, the Pinkas Synagogue with the 77,297 names on the walls, and the Spanish Synagogue. It is the most substantial thing you will do in Prague and it is heavy — do it in the morning, not at the end of a day.
12:00 — lunch, away from the Old Town Square.
13:30 — Old Town Square. Watch the clock do its brief thing so you can say you did, then climb the town hall tower, which is the genuinely worthwhile part. Týn Church, the 27 crosses in the pavement, and the Jan Hus memorial.
15:00 — choose one:
- Mucha Museum for the posters, an hour.
- Museum of Communism for the forty years, ninety minutes.
- Veletržní Palace for Czech cubism, which exists almost nowhere else — but that is a tram ride and two hours.
17:00 — Náplavka. The river embankment, the vault bars, and the walk south along the water.
18:30 — Vyšehrad. Up the steps from Výtoň. The ramparts have the best view in Prague, the basilica has an extraordinary painted interior, and there is a beer garden. This is where Praguers go and it is nearly empty of visitors.
Evening — Žižkov for dinner and beer at half the Old Town price, among Czechs.
If you have a third day
Get out. Kutná Hora is an hour by train for the bone chapel and a miners’ cathedral. Terezín is an hour by bus and needs the whole day and the right frame of mind. Český Krumlov is three hours each way and deserves an overnight rather than a day.
What to skip
The Old Town Square restaurants, which are priced for people who will not come back.
Street-sold “classical concerts” in small churches. The real thing costs less and is better.
A second look at the astronomical clock.
Any exchange booth advertising 0% commission. Use a bank ATM and decline the conversion offer — see the costs guide.
Two practical rules for this city
Validate your tram ticket in the yellow machine before you travel. Inspectors work the tourist routes and the on-the-spot fine is many times the fare.
Always choose crowns, never your own currency, when an ATM or a card machine offers you the choice. The alternative hands the conversion to the operator at a rate several per cent worse.
If it rains
Prague absorbs rain well. Josefov, the Mucha Museum, the Museum of Communism, Veletržní Palace and Strahov are all indoors, and the cafés are a national institution built for exactly this.