Prague Walking Guide: Districts, Routes and What to Know

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Prague is a city to see on foot. The historic centre is compact, and almost everything people come for fits into a couple of hours of walking. What follows is how the centre is put together, and the things worth knowing before you start.

How the centre is laid out

Staré Město (Old Town). The Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, and the tangle of streets between them. This is usually where people begin.

Malá Strana (Lesser Town). The other bank, at the foot of the castle hill: quieter, greener, and with the best views back over the river and the rooftops.

Prague Castle. The largest castle complex in the world, on the hill above Malá Strana. Walk up if you can — and definitely walk down.

Nové Město (New Town). Wenceslas Square and everything around it: shops, theatres, restaurants. This is the part of the centre people actually live in.

All four are linked by bridges and trams, and you can cover them on foot in a day if you are not in a hurry.

Things worth knowing first

Charles Bridge at seven in the morning and at one in the afternoon are two different places. If you want photographs without a crowd in them, go at dawn.

The nostalgic tram, line 42, runs vintage Tatra carriages from the Střešovice depot past the Castle and Malá Strana to the National Theatre, on an ordinary Prague ticket. Weekends and public holidays only, from late March to mid-November, roughly midday to six.

Cobblestones. There are a great many of them and they are uneven. Footwear matters more here than you would expect.

Distances are deceptive. On a map everything looks close, but there is a climb between the Old Town and the Castle, and in summer heat or winter ice you feel it.

If you are here briefly

When time is short, the drive to and from the airport is the part worth not spending it on. We meet you at Václav Havel Airport and drive you around the city and beyond it, at a price agreed before you set off. See private transfers in the Czech Republic and day trips and excursions from Prague.

Ask us

Tell us your dates, how many of you there are and where you are staying — you get the car and the price in reply.