About Prague

Old Town Square – 500 m

Old Town Square draws the greatest number of visitors in Prague as it boasts meticulously preserved buildings and monuments: the Church of Our Lady in front of Tyn, The Old Town City Hall and the Baroque church St. Nicolas. One building that truly dominates the square is the Old Town City Hall, which dates back to 1338. In 1410 the astronomical clock was added to the Hall with a chronometer and the zodiac below; this clock is a worldwide attraction and one of the signature stops on your visit to Prague.

Prague Castle – 1 900 m

Prague Castle is the official residence and office of the President of the Czech Republic. Located in the Hradčany district of Prague and dating back to the ninth century, the castle has been a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. Nowadays, the castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle, based on the collection of Rudolph II. The Summer Shakespeare Festival regularly takes place in the courtyard of Burgrave Palace.

Address: Pražský Hrad, Praha 1, Hradčany

St. Vitus Cathedral

For more than 600 years, the roofs of Prague Castle have been overlooked by the towers of St Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral, whose original name is St Vitus, St Wenceslas and St Adalbert Cathedral, is the biggest and the most important church in the Czech Republic. It’s the seat of the Archbishop of Prague and the place where saints, kings, princes and pmperors of Bohemia are buried. The coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held there until 1836. It’s one of the best examples of Gothic architecture.

Opening times:

November – March: Monday – Saturday 9:00 – 16:00, Sunday 12:00 – 16:00
April – October: Monday – Saturday 9:00 – 17:00, Sunday 12:00 – 17:00

Address: III. nádvoří 48/2, Pražský hrad, Praha 1

The Statue of St. Wenceslas – 1 300 m

As you look towards the upper end of Wenceslas Square, you will notice the Statue of St. Wenceslas, an equestrian statue by J.V. Myslbek and probably the most famous statue in Prague. The most significant Czech sculptor of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and a representative of monumental realism, Josef Václav Myslbek, worked on the sculpture for almost 35 years.

Karolinum – 800 m

The Karolinum is the original building of Charles University, Central Europe’s oldest university, founded by Charles IV in 1348. Throughout the centuries many distinguished figures, such as Jan Hus held lectures at the Karolinum.

Address: Ovocný trh 3, Praha 1

St. George Convent – 2 100 m

St George’s Convent contains the National Gallery of old art collections, that is Czech Baroque painting of the 17th and 18th century, including Mannerism artists of the court of Rudolf II.

Address: Jiřské náměstí 33, Praha 1

Opening hours: 10 am – 6 pm, closed on Mondays

Vrtba Garden – 2 000 m

The UNESCO listed Vrtbovska zahrada or Vrtba Garden, is located in the charming quarter of Mala Strana. Vrtba Garden, designed by Frantisek Maximilian Kanka in 1720, is considered one of the most beautiful Baroque gardens in Central Europe.

Address: Karmelitská 25, Praha 1

Dancing House – 2 300 m

This unique office building designed by the famous Frank Gehry and Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic, has quickly become one of the signature structures of Prague. The style of the Dancing House is known as deconstructivist (“new-baroque” to the designers) architecture due to its unusual shape. The “dancing” shape is supported by 99 concrete panels, each a different shape and dimension. On the top of the building is a large twisted structure of metal nicknamed Medusa.

Address: Rašínovo nábřeží 80, Praha 2

The Bohemian Coronation Jewels – 1 900 m

The Czech Coronation Jewels are extraordinary and precious masterpiece created by the dexterous hands of the best goldsmiths. It is utterly impossible to express the value of these symbols of the Czech statehood. Being invaluable, they are safely kept in the Crown Chamber, which can be found above the southern vestibule of St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Mucha Museum – 900 m

Located in New Town is the intimate Mucha Museum. The world’s first Mucha museum is housed in a renovated Baroque palace and showcases an informative and impressive collection of Alfons Mucha’s work.

Address: Kaunický palác, Panská 7, Praha 1

Events in Prague

The Charles Bridge – 1 200 m

The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge but has been the “Charles Bridge” since 1870.As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, the Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city’s Old Town and adjacent areas. This “solid-land” connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.

The bridge is 621 m long and nearly 10 m wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards.[2] It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

Address: Karlův most, Praha 1

Petřín Hill&Observation Tower – 3 200 m

Overlooking the glorious city of Prague is the equally beautiful Petřín Hill, one of the former vineyards of King Charles IV. This is the place to go and relax under a blooming cherry tree during a clear spring day or smell the fragrant beauties in the lovely rose garden on a lazy summer night, and it is also the perfect place to capture the wonder of Prague via your camera. There is located Observation Tower which is 60m tall. It doesn’t seem particularly high until you add in the fact that it sits at the summit of Petrin Hill, which is 318m (1043 feet) high.

Opening time:

March: Daily 10:00-20:00
April-September: Daily 10:00-22:00
October: Daily 10:00-20:00
November-February: Daily 10:00-18:00

National Museum – 1 500 m

The largest and oldest Czech Museum has its seat in the neo-Renaissance UNESCO protected building that dominates Wenceslas Square. Apart from housing the Pantheon of the Czech nation, located there are primeval, historic-archaeological, theater, mineralogical, geological-paleontological and zoological collections.

Opening hours:

May – September: daily 10:00 – 18:00
October – April: daily 9:00 – 17:00

Address: Wenceslas Square 1700/68 Praha 1

Kinsky Palace – 500 m

On one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, sits the lovely neo Rococo Kinsky Palace with its delicate pink and white stucco fasade.

Permanent exhibition: Landscape in Czech Art from 17th – 20th centuries.

Opening hours: 10 am – 6 pm, closed on Mondays

Address: Staroměstské náměstí 12, Praha 1

The house of the Black Madonna – 500 m

The house of the Black Madonna is the host of the Czech Cubist Museum, exibiting works of Czech Cubism since its beginnings to the mid 50`s of the 20th century (E. Filla, J. Capek, B. Kubista).

Besides the Czech Cubism exhibition situated on the 2nd and 3rd floor, you can also visit the short-term exhibitions set on the 4th floor of the building. On the 5th floor you will find the studios of lectures’ department.

Address: Celetná 34, Praha 1

Náměstí republiky – 300 m

Náměstí Republiky translates to Republic Square, and this beautiful square indeed exemplifies the variety of the beauty and history of the Czech Republic. With buildings ranging in age and architectural style from the 1475 Powder Tower, refinished and redecorated in the 1800’s in a highly romanticized Neo-Gothic style, to the austere Baroque Church of St. Joseph tucked along side the Neo-Romanesque former barracks building now housing the Palladium shopping center, to the gorgeous mosaic-encrusted splendor of the Art Nouveau Municipal House, to the 1942 Czech National Bank building, and the newly-remodeled Kotva building, you can see the wonders of the ages in Prague’s Náměstí Republiky.

The Powder Tower – 500 m

This impressive monument is one of the 13 original entrances to Old Town. The Gothic building dates back to the reign of King Vladislav II Jagiello in 1475 when it was known as the Mountain Tower, it was later used to store gunpowder in the 17th century, hence the current name. It is an elaborate 65-meter tower, which hosts a permanent exhibition of many other beautiful historic towers in Prague.

Address: Náměstí Republiky, Praha 1

St. Nicolas Church – 1 900 m

The giant green dome looming over Lesser Town Square belongs to the wondrous St. Nicolas, one of the finest examples of High Baroque architecture in Central Europe, this massive imposing dome and the Catholic church have continued to look over and protect the Lesser Town for centuries.

Address: Malostranské náměstí 38, Praha 1