Prague’s royal heart and hidden corners

25 places

Prague unfolds like a living museum, where every cobbled square and crumbling tower tells a story older than the nation itself. The city’s skyline is dominated by the Prager Burg, a vast complex that has watched over Bohemia since the ninth century and now houses the Czech president. Below it, the Wenzelsplatz hums with the energy of a modern capital, while the narrow lanes of the Altstadt still whisper of alchemists and emperors. From baroque palaces to medieval fortresses, Prague’s layers of history can be traced in a single route that begins where the kings once rode and ends where the artists now gather.

A royal fortress above the city

The Prager Burg rises above the rooftops of Hradčany, its walls enclosing nearly seventy thousand square metres of power and stone. Built in stages from the ninth century onwards, the fortress absorbed Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles as each ruler left a mark. Inside, the Veitsdom stands at the heart, its spires piercing the sky like the ambitions of a thousand years. Visitors enter through courtyards where statues of saints and kings keep silent watch, and climb to terraces that offer sweeping views over the red roofs and winding river below.

A museum of the nation’s soul

At the top of the Wenzelsplatz, the Czech National Museum looms in neorennaissance grandeur, its golden marble façade listing the names of those who shaped the country. Inside, halls stretch across eleven thousand square metres, filled with fossils, jewels and the relics of a nation’s turbulent twentieth century. Interactive displays and multimedia stations bring history to life, while the building itself, restored between 2011 and 2018, stands as a monument to modern curation. From the mineral galleries to the childrens’ discovery zone, every floor reveals another facet of Czech identity.

A citadel of saints and artists

South of the Neustadt, the Vyšehrad fortress guards the river’s bend, its walls dating back to the tenth century. Within the enceinte, the Basilika St. Peter und Paul rises in layers of gothic, baroque and neogothic stone, its interior glowing with frescoes and stained glass. The adjacent Vyšehrader Friedhof holds the graves of composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, their tombstones framed by chestnut trees. A short walk leads to the Hungermauer, a medieval city wall that once fed the starving, and to the Vyšehrader Tunnel, bored through the hill in 1904 to ease the journey into the city.

A gate to the old town

Standing sentinel at the Platz der Republik, the Prager Pulverturm marks the start of the old royal road that climbs to the Burg. Built in the fifteenth century as the New Tower, it once stored gunpowder and now stores memory. Its neogothic façade, added in the 1880s by Josef Mocker, bristles with statues of kings and a sweeping copper roof. From its base, the Zeltnergasse begins its gentle ascent, lined with houses that have watched merchants and messengers pass for half a millennium.

A hilltop of dreams and science

Across the river on the left bank, the Petřín hill rises 327 metres above the city. A narrow-gauge railway, opened in 1891, winds up to the summit where a miniature Eiffel Tower offers panoramic views. Beneath it, the Štefánik-Observatorium tracks the stars, while the Hungermauer, a remnant of medieval fortification, traces a jagged line across the slope. At the foot, the St.-Laurentius-Kirche and the Strahov-Kloster stand among gardens, their baroque domes reflecting the changing light.

A palace of power and politics

On the Kleinseite, the Palais Waldstein spreads its baroque wings around a formal garden. Begun in 1623 for the general Wallenstein, the palace was designed by Giovanni Pieroni, a pupil of Galileo. The Giardinetto’s Neptune fountain once spouted into a pool lined with statues, though many were lost to war and now reside in the Burggalerie. Today the building serves as the seat of the Czech Senate, its frescoed halls echoing with the debates of democracy.

A jewel of rococo and revolution

At the corner of the Altstädter Ring, the Palais Goltz-Kinsky glitters in pink and white rococo. Built between 1755 and 1765 by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, it has sheltered figures from Franz Kafka to Václav Havel. Inside, fragments of medieval vaulting survive beneath ornate ceilings, while the Nationalgalerie displays treasures from ancient Asia to Czech landscapes. From its balcony, the square below pulses with tourists and tram bells, a daily reminder of Prague’s enduring role as a crossroads.

A town hall that ticks with time

At the southwest corner of the Altstädter Ring, the Altstädter Rathaus rises with its 69.5-metre tower. Completed in 1364, the tower houses the famous astronomical clock installed in 1410. Inside, the old council chamber still holds its Renaissance ceiling, its walls lined with portraits of mayors long gone. The tower is accessible to all, and the climb rewards visitors with views over the red roofs and the spire of the Teynkirche. The square below remains a stage for history, from royal proclamations to modern rallies.

A basilica of light and legend

Perched on the Vyšehrad ridge, the Basilika St. Peter und Paul commands the river bend. Founded in 1070, the church has been rebuilt in romanesque, gothic, baroque and neogothic styles, its final touches added in 1902. Inside, frescoes depict the lives of the apostles, while the Vyšehrader Madonna gazes from a side chapel. The stained glass by František Sequens casts coloured patterns across the pews, and the high altar rises beneath a vault that seems to lift the roof towards the sky.

A vanished colossus of steel and stone

In the Letná-Park, only the memory of the Stalin-Denkmal remains. Erected between 1949 and 1955, the statue measured fifteen and a half metres high and twenty-two metres long, its weight seventeen thousand tonnes. After its demolition in 1962, the concrete plinth became a skatepark and gathering place for the young. Though the monument itself is gone, the flat terrace still offers sweeping views over the Vltava and the bridges that link the city’s halves.

A baroque retreat by the river

North of the centre, Schloss Troja rises above the northern bank of the Vltava, its salmon-pink façade glowing in the afternoon light. Built between 1679 and 1685 for the Counts of Sternberg, the palace is a textbook of baroque art, its ceilings painted by Italian masters and its halls lined with mirrors. The gardens descend in terraces to a fountain and orchard maze, while the vineyards on the slopes produce wine for the city’s tables. Inside, exhibitions of Czech art and costume tell stories of a court that once danced through the night.